BB's Motherhood Endeavor

[MyFuzzies]

I started a thread in "Breeding and Babies" about Bumble-Bee (BB for short) http://chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4632To sum it all up...I took BB in and she "may" be pregnant...and she more than likely is! I figured I would start a thread just for her to document her progress along her venture into motherhood. I will be weighing her on a weekly basis to make sure she is gaining the appropriate weight throughout her "possible" pregnancy LOL.

She arrived here one week ago and weighed in at 582g...tonight she weighed 637g. Does that sound about right as far as a good amount of weight gain in one week?? I've never had a preggo chinnie and I just want to make sure she's thriving well. I managed to get a few pics of her tonight. Everyone, meet Bumble-Bee (BB)...

Pretty BB

BB wanting OUT!

Coming in for a scritch!

She's a beautiful girl and very cuddly!! The boys go absolutely NUTS when they hear her LOL...and I KNOW they can smell her!! Anyway, I'll keep posting her progress here and will probably have questions from time to time. I guess the main question right now is...is a 55g weight gain in one week for a pregnant chin ok?? Is that about average?? Should it be more?? Thanks!

 

[Tanya]

Bumble-Bee is so sweet! I love the pic where she is wanting out!
About weigh gain "Normal pregnancy weight can be as low as 100 grams, to as high as 350 grams. This does not always tell you how many kits the mother is going to have. You will see about 25-30 grams of weight being gained each month for the first few months, then the last month to month and half, a substantial weight gain. The weight gain often slows a week or two before birth, and sometimes the mother may lose some weight as well" (from Pitter Patter Chinchillas).

 

[tunes]

Hehe - I love when they bite the bars, like little prisoners.

Yes, that's a very nice weight gain for a week's time.

 

[moon]

What a cutie you've got there Tabitha! Yeah, sounds like she's probably pregnant. You really don't have to weigh her each week, and many breeders actually avoid weighing them when pregnant as it can cause stress.

I would work on getting a baby safe cage with wire spacing no more than 1x1/2". You can just attach the wire outside of the cage you have her in in a pinch.

You'll be able to tell when she's relatively close to delivering by cupping your hand under her stomach. If you can feel movement, she's probably within a couple of weeks of delivery (I have felt movement up to a month before though, so not the best indicator), and if you can feel her nipples elongated, she should be within about a week or so of delivery.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

 

[MyFuzzies]

What a cutie you've got there Tabitha! Yeah, sounds like she's probably pregnant. You really don't have to weigh her each week, and many breeders actually avoid weighing them when pregnant as it can cause stress.

I would work on getting a baby safe cage with wire spacing no more than 1x1/2". You can just attach the wire outside of the cage you have her in in a pinch.

You'll be able to tell when she's relatively close to delivering by cupping your hand under her stomach. If you can feel movement, she's probably within a couple of weeks of delivery (I have felt movement up to a month before though, so not the best indicator), and if you can feel her nipples elongated, she should be within about a week or so of delivery.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

I try my best not to stress her out LOL...for now, when I put the scale in her cage, she willingly jumps on it...I don't know how long that will last though. I figured if she IS pregnant she would gain a significant amount of weight each week, that's really why I wanted to do the weekly weight thing, but advice taken...I will not stress her out with weighing her...THANKS! Also, I have another cage (spare cage) that has 1/2" bar spacing. It's about the same size as the cage she's in and I'll probably switch her over to that one this weekend...I need to clean it really good first. So far, I haven't felt any movement, but I'm also, not handling her alot and just letting her get adjusted to her new environment and myself. She will jump right onto my hands though. She just seems awfully small to be having kits...I thought the female should be bigger than she is to carry kits, but then again I don't know much about all of this. I've been hanging out in the "Breeding & Babies" section alot just reading old posts. Trust me...I'm sure I'll have a million more questions for you guys LOL.

Thanks for the advice so far!!!

 

[Essentia]

Aww, BB is precious. I have no advice since I'm not a breeder, nor have I ever had to deal with kits, but I just had to stop in and comment on her cuteness.

 

[S & C's Chin]

Best of luck to you and BB!

 

[Sandi]

BB is a beauty, how's she doing?

 

[MyFuzzies]

BB is a beauty, how's she doing?

I've had a bit of a hectic week and haven't been on the forum, but finally got a few minutes this morning.

Little Miss BB is doing just fine! She's quite the character too LOL. Every time I open her cage door, she jumps on my hand...even if I'm just trying to give her fresh food or hay...she will sit on my hand/arm the ENTIRE time it's in the cage LOL. She definitely likes things a certain way in her cage and can't stand to have ANYTHING on her ledges! She rearranges things so that ALL of her chew toys/sticks/hay cubes are in one spot :laughitup:

I don't know how strong of a scent she has, but my boys go absolutely nuts over her...and they're in separate rooms!! It's kinda funny to watch the boys when they get all crazy...boys will be boys!

I'll continue to keep everyone posted!

 

[6Dusters]

Wow Tabitha she is so pretty! I know very little about pregnant chins. However she might be gaining weight due to "thriving" care. Roo for example was well taken care of and he gained alot of weight after he was adopted by you. Lets hope she's not pregnant. But if she is I know she's in wonderful hands.