Kit Cage Reccomendation

[Sunnyastounded]

I currently have two holding cages for Snickers and Vienna (http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4191242). With breeding time nearing, I will need to purchase another cage for the kits. I understand that cages with a wire bottom like the two I currently have don't compliment the kits because they are unable to be in direct contact of the bedding and thus are unable to warm themselves as effectively. I do have a couple fleece pillows I would line the nesting box with to help them get off the wire and stay warm with Vienna.

My housing plan is to put Vienna in this third cage when she nears birthing. Once she gives birth, she will stay in this cage with the kits until the 8 week mark. At that time I will move her back into her holding cage, move the boy kits in with Snickers (if the boys and dad don't get along, I'll temporarily put them in one of my older cages and make an emergency trip to the pet store for a fourth cage), and leave the female kits in this third cage.

Should I just get another one of these cages (if I did I would remove all the ramps and shelves) or should I look elsewhere?

 

[Lillybabe]

I do not see why you could not use the current set up without the ramps/wire levels. It implies on the website that you could simply remove the wire mesh at the bottom. Why not take the mesh out and line the cage with bedding or fleece so that the kits and mom can snuggle up together? I don't see that you really need to get a third cage right now. If you have older cages to use as temp cages you could keep the girls in with mom, put any boys in with dad at the 8 week mark. Then if everyone doesn't get along you could make that run to the petstore. Typically it's said that kits and dad and kits and mom tend to get along okay. I would just make sure that if you take out the wire mesh on the bottom you make sure there isn't a gap between the pan and the wire of the cage that a crafty kit could sneak out through.

 

[Sunnyastounded]

If I was to only have two cages, I couldn't wean the female kits from their mother. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the point of weaning to physically separate the kits from the mother to stop nursing and to promote independence and eating of a mature chin diet?

I have experimented pulling out the grate and it leaves close to an inch of a gap. This size of a gap scares me, so if I was to get a new cage with the intent of having no bottom grate it would not be the same as the ones I have.

Also, I edited my original post before the 15 minute cut off, but I guess I never submitted. The edit was adding a segment that noted that we should take in account that if I got a new cage that did not have a bottom wire grate then the boy kits would have to make a transition once they got moved in with their father. Going from a non-wire grate cage to a wire grate cage might be a little stressful especially during weaning.

 

[Lillybabe]

I totally didn't think of the period of time the female kits would need to be away from their mother. Yes, they'd need to be away from their mother for a while at least to be weaned but then they could go back in with mom later. According to the website you posted there is a lock to keep the pan in if you take the grate out. An adult chinchilla should not be able to escape an inch gap as many people's cage bars are that wide or even wider. The FN bars are slightly more than an inch in width when I measured them and they are several inches long. However, with the kits you'd need to modify the cage so that they can not escape. Most people do not recommend wire mesh bottoms for any age kit. If the boys are going in with dad at 8 weeks they are still quite young and I don't know how widely spaced the mesh in that cage is. Overtime though wire can damage a chinchillas feet as well as risk getting toes or even feet caught in it. Especially a young 8 week chin might be able to get one of their feet caught in the mesh and break it. I'd recommend definitely recommend getting another cage without wire mesh. You might try looking on craigslist or ebay to see what sorts of deals you can get. Sometimes even Ferret Nations go on sale and sell fairly cheaply. A Ferret Nation can be modified with hardware cloth around the outside in order to keep the kits from escaping. Also, if you got a Ferret Nation or the Critter Nation (this one has small enough bar spacing for kits I believe) with a double level you could put the female kits in the top and the male ones in the bottom or mom/dad in the top and male/female kits in the bottom.

 

[Sycamore Chins]

If I was to only have two cages, I couldn't wean the female kits from their mother. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the point of weaning to physically separate the kits from the mother to stop nursing and to promote independence and eating of a mature chin diet?

I totally didn't think of the period of time the female kits would need to be away from their mother. Yes, they'd need to be away from their mother for a while at least to be weaned but then they could go back in with mom later.

This is entirely unnecessary. Young chins will start experimenting with pellets and hay as young as 2-3 weeks. Moms will wean the babies off themselves and you can easily leave female kits with moms for however long you want.

I would also put the pregnant female in the cage she will give birth in, sooner than later. That way she is comfortable and not stressed, so everything should go smoother.

 

[Sunnyastounded]

Thank you so much for the clarification, Sycamore! I was under the impression that the mother wouldn't wean her kits by herself (figured that it had to do with something about being in captivity).

So, just to clarify, when the 8 week mark hits I don't need to do anything to the female kits?

As for moving pregnant Vienna, I plan to move her as soon as I confirm she is pregnant.

 

[RDZCRanch]

I would have them in the cage the female will litter in and when you confirm she is pregnant, move the MALE into another cage. When a female is confirmed pregnant, you want to disturb them and introduce big changes to their environment as little as possible. My females may get moved around when pregnant, but they go from one run hole into another. It's not a shocking new environment for them to get used to since the only thing different is their orientation in the room and the smell of the cage.

The females kits do not need to be removed. The mother will wean them.

 

[Shahna]

I agree with Tabitha, however, if the cage they are currently sharing is large with multiple levels, I would remove her as soon as you have confirmed she is pregnant. I have left some of my girls in their original "larger" cages that are 18 - 24" tall with shelves, and the kits normally do o.k. But I see better growth from the moms I have put in smaller cages with no shelves.

And as others have mentioned, I typically live the female kits with mom until I am ready to mate her up again.

 

[Sunnyastounded]

With all this new info I plan to not buy a new cage. I'll use the two cages I have and if there is a problem of any sort with the boys and their dad, I'll just make that quick trip to the pet store.

Tabitha: the reason I planned to move Vienna rather than Snickers is because of the fact that one cage has shelves and ledges, and the other doesn't (as for now, Vienna is using the removable, metal shelves that came with the cage while Snickers' cage has the pine shelves and ledges). I would prefer them to live together in the cage with the shelves, ledges, and wheel because who knows how long it will take for her to get pregnant. Note that once these shelves and ledges are removed, they cannot be re-installed. For that reason, I can not have Snickers and Vienna in this cage, then remove Snickers once she gets pregnant, and leave her in this cage because there is the danger of the shelves for the kits.

How much of a risk is it to move her from one cage to the next? My bond with Vienna is especially high, so would stress still affect her as much?

 

[RDZCRanch]

The stress of a new environment would still affect her. It is not 100% that she will, but she could litter too early if introduced to too much stress. Especially for first time mothers, I move them as little as possible. The chins having access to shelves before you can confirm pregnancy should be the least of your worries. The safety of mom and potential kits should always come first.

Shelves do not pose a huge problem, you can add in a couple of small wooden shelves into the cage she will litter in, just place them closer to the ground than you normally would and remove them if you see Vienna spending more time up there than with her babies. My females have a hammock in their cage at all times and they are low enough that one day old kits can climb in with mom.

 

[Sunnyastounded]

I have taken what you said into account and plan to alter my housing plan accordingly. Thanks!