Birthing question - 1st Kit passed

[ChiChi2010]

Our 6 month old Chinchilla "Dragonoid" that we rescued ended up being pregnant. She gave birth to one kit this morning (we were gone for 3 hours) and when we came back, the baby kit was in the corner ... appeared wet still and was dead. I am not sure if it was alive at birth or not. Baby appeared to be fully formed and a good size. The vet yesterday said she is pregnant with 2 kits. It has been at least 3 hours ... and the second kit has not arrived (I know it can take up to 24 hours). Dragonoid is behaving fine, eating etc. We are hoping the second kit is fine ... do we have a chance the second one is alive even though the first died? We are going to check on her every 15 minutes to make sure it all goes well ... maybe the first one got cold since the young mom didn't know to dry her and warm her? Any advice?

 

[tunes]

There's no way to know for sure whether the second one is okay. It's possible, but you won't know for sure until you see it out of mom. I wouldn't bug her every 15 minutes. I'd let it go a bit longer than that. If she's a first time mom, you constantly going in may just make her not deliver at all. They can get nervous.

If she hasn't displayed any signs of labor in the next few hours, I would at least consult with your vet.

This is pretty pathetic if you got this chin from a breeder. That means she was bred when she was 3 months old. Not cool.

 

[addictedtochins]

I'm sorry you lost the baby. Be very vigilant with her as she is too small and I'm sure the risk of having her baby stuck inside her are much higher than usual.

 

[bchins]

You also never know if she ate the 2nd kit. It can happen, I had one chinchilla have 3 babies- she killed them all and I barely found the remains of each, as they were so torn apart...Just something to maybe think about. I'm very sorry about your 1st kit
Keep us updated!

 

[ChiChi2010]

Still no kit #2 in site. Mom is behaving fine and eating. We went and got her better food (Oxford) as she was eating Kaytee previously. Also picked up some Alpha hay which she is gobbling up. I saw somewhere to get some cransberry juice and I mixed 1 part juice and 2 parts water in the water bottle. I heard it increases mild production? We will pick up goats milk and baby rice cereal if #2 comes out OK. I am thinking mom may need some help since she is so young herself. I am not happy that our baby was pregnanat at a young age. A college student who worked at the pet store told my daughter and husband that she had a free chincilla for her. We already had another one ... and my son wanted one too. So when my husband and child went to go see the chin .. it was in a very small cage .. with her mom, dad, and brother. Not good since she was probably pregnant by dad or brother ... and poor mom is most likely pregnant again becasues there was no separation. WE felt so bad for this little one as she was being bullied by the dad ... so we took her home to care for her. So not a good story on this one ... but we are keeping our fingers crossed that baby #2 comes out OK and the health of Dragonoid is maintained. Do you think we should give mom "dragonoid" some goats milk and rice cereal too ... as she was probably deprived of this as a baby ... and she is still a baby? Or just give the Pellets, TImothy and Alpha Hay? Dragonoid's fur is not as soft as our other chin and is kind of stragley ... anything to help with the fur? Thanks for all your advice.

 

[bchins]

If you put your hand on her stomach without disturbing her (taking her out of the cage) and not pushing on it, can you feel any kicking? Or even obviously feel a big lump (kit). I have never had to take any of my chins to the vet for this problem, and also have never had any chinchillas under a year and a half give birth...Hope she does okay!

 

[addictedtochins]

Do you also have a plain water bottle? She needs that. I would not feed her goats milk and cereal, it will give her diarhea. Just give her good pellets, timothy hay and clean water daily.
Oh, and don't blame yourself for that kits death because you weren't home. The odds are against having healthy full term kits. I am sorry your kids are having to deal with this needless heartache. I'm glad you are here on CnH and look forward to happier posts and pics.

 

[tunes]

The mom isn't a baby anymore so giving her formula won't help her and may, as mentioned, give her diarrhea.

Go easy on the alfalfa. A small handful here or there, but if you load her up, in addition to the Oxbow, and giving birth, you may have a problem. Alfalfa is much higher in protein than what she is most likely used to and giving her too mcuh protein could cause her to have diarrhea.

 

[addictedtochins]

A question for the breeders. Could all the handling and activity of going to the vets caused the mother to abort 1 kit early. Do you have pics and weight of the kit? Maybe kit 2 is going to be on time (111 days) and kit one was early?

 

[bchins]

I'm a breeder, I have a herd of 120 now, and I would say that could be possible. But I would think that both would come at the same time (day). Does she know if the placenta (or part of it) is in the cage? Because if for some reason the mom did eat the 2nd kit, as that is more likely to happen when the mom is really stressed and doesn't know what to do with the kit, then if for instance that happened, we wouldn't need to be worrying about a second kit?, just the mom's health. I do not handle my moms when they are pregnant. I will put my hand under their tummies when they are in the cage though, so I can get an idea of how far along in their pregnancy they are. Let me know if you've got any other q's for me

 

[bchins]

Also, how is the vet sure there was 2 kits? Did he/she do X-rays or anything like that on the mom to prove their were actually 2?

 

[addictedtochins]

Oh I just thought of something. Are they in a baby safe cage? 1/2 x 1/2 inch opening? If not one may have gotten out of the cage. You better look for him.

 

[bchins]

Very good point. Also, 1/2" x 1" opening is okay too. My second pair of chinchillas were in a Tommy Kay type cage, which has big spaced bars, and one day my little brothers were in the basement and came up yelling, "Mommy, there's mice in the basement!" Turns out when we found them they were baby chinchillas. So it is extremely important that they are in a baby safe cage.

 

[ChiChi2010]

The vet did an xray and said there were two kits. I do not see any Placenta or blood in the cage. All I found was the baby kit in the corner. It measured 2 inches long (not including the tail). After watching other birth pictures, this one does look premature. Doesn't look like it walked around at all. Still in fetal position (but has it body parts intact). I tried putting my hand under the Mom and she won't let me. I am hoping number 2 is still inside and developing. I did baby proof the FN cage, put in metal walls against the side so no baby will fall. I also removed the ledge. I put the water in a dish and the mixture of cranberry and water in the bottle. Can they drink from a dish? I hope going to the vet didn't lead her to premature birth. The vet gave her anesthesia and was going to perform an Enema (thought she was constipated) ... but did not give the enema as he felt her stomach again and decided on an Xray (still had given her the anesthesia). Bummer I hope this didn't cause it. We took her to the vet since the last few days (began on Thur) she was acting weird ... as if she was going in labor and hunching up on her hind legs. She would also fall to the side and drag her back legs. So maybe she was in labor for 4 days and finally was able to expel the dead fetus. I will wait and see. Right now she is still doing fine and not acting at all strange like she did the last few days.

 

[tunes]

If you're expecting a kit, I would not put a water dish in the cage. They stumble around and jump and that's the last place you want them to land.

I wouldn't hang a juice bottle until after a kit is born. Giving it to her now is just giving her sugar she doesn't need and may make her not want to drink her plain water.

It's generally necessary for the kits to be live for mom to go into labor. Dead kits hanging around in mom tend to cause problems like pyometra. You didn't find the placenta because mom eats it. They need to to replenish their bodies.

 

[bchins]

Hope for the best, and hope the other baby is still healthy! Sometimes my moms only eat part of the placenta, so that's why I mentioned that. Alot of moms will not let you touch their stomachs, as most get very moody during their pregnancy. I hope your little girl stays healthy!

 

[ChiChi2010]

Thanks for all your posts. I will keep you updated of any progress. I will remove juice and hang only water in the bottle. Thanks.

 

[Vyxxin]

Update?

 

[ChiChi2010]

Don't see anymore baby's or signs of labor. Dragonoid is acting great and is more friendly then ever and eating well. I am going to call the vet to have him look at the x-rays again to make sure there were 2 babies.

 

[ChiChi2010]

I just called the vet and he confirmed there were two. I asked how far along in the process the fetus are and he said they would be due within a week. I asked how he knew and he mentioned based on the size and calcification of the bones. Intersting. The one fetus I saw only measured 2 inches ... but looked smaller than the other babies I see delivered on the internet ... so I thought maybe it was premature ... I guess not. Still crossing fingers that baby #2 is in there. I will try to feel later for kicking ... but I don't think I will be able to tell.