Baby chinchilla help.

[woozyeyes]

Okay so I'm a new chinchilla owner I've never owned one in my life. I have two that I was told never before had babies in the several years this person owned them so they assumed they were fixed. Well come to find out, they weren't fixed and I became a very unexpected grandparent last night. I took the male out and left baby with mom and everything seemed to be going great, this morning I got up to check on them and...there was no baby in the cage. I found him under my baseboard heater (which wasn't hot thank god) I had no idea they were born ready to run and stuff and could get out of the cage.. I checked him over he seemed fine but all of a sudden two more that i had no idea even existed came running out too...So now I'm the grandparent of triplets. They are all developed and they all have opened eyes and move around and make noise but one of them seems to be having trouble breathing- like hes almost panting it seems? and every time I put him by mom she doesn't reject him but he moves himself away from her and puts himself in a corner of the cage away from her. So I have been trying the syringe feeding thing and sometimes he licks it off but most of the time it just sits there on his lips (until i clean it off) The only vet that treats chinchillas is four hours away from where I live now and I don't want to be attacked for this but like I said the pregnancy was very unplanned/unexpected and having just lost my job I have $56.24 in my bank account and that's about what it would cost for an office visit without additional treatment. I have looked online to see if there was maybe a rescue that could take him and help him but there isn't one in my state. I was just hoping someone could maybe tell me something that could help because I'm trying my best with what I have available and I don't want to see the little guy suffer. Thanks in advance for any help I receive.

 

[halfstache]

I can't speak to the breathing issue, as I have no idea what might be going on there, but I would definitely recommend doing something about their cage so that the babies can not get out again. Covering all the sides in 1/2" x 1/2" wire is the best option, but since you are in a bind financially I doubt that spending money on wire is going to seem like a realistic option but it is a necessary one. Whatever you use, if its not metal it is going to get chewed on. You can't just cover the sides, you'll have to cover the top of the cage as well because the babies will very soon be able to climb all the way to the top of the cage and will get out that way if it isn't prevented. What are you trying to feed them?

 

[woozyeyes]

I have wire left over from my job that I will be using to reinforce the cage tonight. As for feeding, the baby I have been trying the goat milk/ rice baby formula mixture and mom has been getting hay, pellets and in addition to her water I give her a little bit of Unsweetened Organic apple juiced mixed with water because I read that it will help her produce milk. Baby seems to be physically fine other than the weird breathing- he climbed from my lap onto my shoulder and has been squeaking a lot..Also I put him in with mom for a little to see if he would suckle and she cleaned him but he just didn't seem to have any interest in trying to suck so I'm going to keep trying to feed him through the syringe and keep putting him back with her so she knows he is still her baby and maybe he will get hungry enough to want to suckle? I don't know, I feel awful but I'm trying my best. :/

 

[AZChins]

Take out the apple juice. It will probably do more harm than good, it will do nothing to help with milk production. Fresh, clean water is the way to go with mama chins.

The kit with the breathing issue may or may not make it at this point. You have to be prepared for that. One or two babies is hard enough for a mother chin, but three is very difficult many times. He could have something wrong with him that's causing the breathing issue. Be very very careful with handfeeding him because he could aspirate the milk you give him, that would be bad for a baby that is already having breathing issues.

What state do you live in? We may be able to find someone nearby to help you.

 

[EMSChins]

You can try rotating one of the other two kits out every two hours, leaving the one that is struggling, with mom full time.

When I rotate triplets, I take the strongest one out and "top it off" so to speak with goats milk and place it in a small warm cage by itself for two hours, leaving the other two with mom. If I have the dad in a cage by himself, I prefer to put the rotated baby with him and he will generally care for it until it is time to put it back with mom. After two hours, I take the next stronger kit out and "top it off" with goats milk and put it in a separate cage or with dad putting the first baby back with mom and the weaker kit.

I supplement the weaker kit every 2 hours if it does not appear to be nursing but I also like to rotate the bigger or stronger kits out to give it every chance. I do this 24 hours a day for generally a week. If they make it that long and mom starts producing milk, then I have been able to stop the nighttime feedings and leave all 3 with mom after the first week but I continue the rotating and supplementing for at least another week, sometimes longer depending on how they are doing. If they are all gaining 1-2 gms per day and they are not fighting then mom is making enough milk. It is common for them all to lose a small amount of weight the first couple days till her milk comes in strong.

I would get a gram scale and weigh them daily at the same time each day. I do it first thing in the morning. I hope this helps.

 

[woozyeyes]

Okay I will do that, I didn't give her much so thats a good thing you told me before I kept doing it. I live in Maine...The nearest vet is in Orrington, Maine. I was referenced to another one but she told me they weren't supposed to be born with hair so I don't think she really knew anything about them...

 

[woozyeyes]

Ok I will stop giving her the apple juice mixture, I live in Maine thanks everyone for the help. I'm gonna keep trying, if I do lose him at least I will know that I tried my best. They are very cute though, I have two gray babies and the runt (who is actually the feisty one) is black with a silver tail and silver feet.

 

[woozyeyes]

Woke up today and it seems like he is all of a sudden better! I isolated him last night because I honestly thought he wasn't going to make it. When I last checked on him he was all wrapped up in a blanket just trying to sleep woke up this morning he was running all around the cage so I put him with mom and now he is trying to nurse off of her which he wasn't doing yesterday. I'm going to keep and eye on him and try to syringe feed him again too just to make sure he's getting food but seems like whatever was wrong with him has passed and now I hopefully have three healthy babies!

 

[AZChins]

Good to hear! Sometimes it will take certain babies a little longer to get moving like that. Keep a close eye on those little ones. If you have a gram scale, weigh them everyday to be certain that they are gaining. Hopefully the mom will produce enough milk for all three with no issues.

 

[Vyxxin]

The breathing may've been caused by fluid in his lungs. Considering it was a litter of triplets, if the mother didn't remove the sac quick enough or whatnot some fluid may've been aspirated causing the breathing issue. Which could resolve itself through normal lung function. Happens in newbors of any species, sometimes

That all said, you really do need to weigh them but as finances are tight you're probably going to just have to keep a really good eye on them. They need to feel strong, warm, stomachs shouldn't be empty feeling. Monitor frequently for all of those. Watch for nursing.

Triplets are hard, really they are. Anytime I have them born I expect to lose one. I don't always, but I prepare myself mentally for that possibility.

You've done great reading up, removing dad, and trying to take care of them. Don't be too hard on yourself. Make sure the cage is escape proof. Kits that get out get cold, they use their energy to stay warm and then lose weight...they get weak and then dont feed and just slowly fade away. wishing you the best of luck!

 

[imahkinusa]

I have got the same problem as you. I adopted 2 chins from a friend right when I lost my job (currently going to college also). And cause my friend wasn't responsible enough to take care of them at all. The chins had really really bad habits of not eating pellets(he feeds them with mixed food) so they just picked out what they like to eat and they don't like drinking water at all. one day i noticed my chin-mom got really really fat (like twice the size of dad) and that day i knew she was prego. 2 days after, i woke up and i found 2 little things running around my cage and it was all bloody. I separated the dad and the 2 kits with mom. one of the kits was doing the same thing like what your kit did (just sat there and not like going to mom). So i kept pushing the kit to mom and now the kits sits under mom 24/7. I guess it takes a little bit time for them to realize it. And now i have to train my chin-mom and chin-dad to eat quality pellets which they seem to hate and drink more water from their water bottle before i train the kits. its all a process of love, but i enjoy doing it. Hope your kits stay healthy and grow up like the rest of the pack ^_<

 

[Anna35]

how is the baby?

 

[woozyeyes]

I had to have that baby put to sleep, he went back downhill after so I pawned some stuff and rushed him to the vet and they told me his jaw was deformed/broken so it was impossible for him to feed and he was too small for surgery so that was the best option. I didn't want to try to keep feeding him and risk drowning him or just let him starve. The other two babies are perfectly healthy and getting really fat! Ty for all the help.