Newborn Baby Girl Chinchilla Advice D: HELP :( !!!

[ArielzHazelEyez]

My Female Chinchilla Who I didn't know was pregnant gave birth yesterday October 15 During the morning hours and I did not discover the baby till noon. Its a healthy baby girl. The mother has always been a bit lazy so she just lays out at times and sleeps which allows the baby to drink milk all day. I've reinforced the bars on ferret nation with fleece temporarily until I can go pick up the critter nation because the baby can fit through the holes and she escaped once last night. I've been giving the mommy 80% Pure Unsweetened apple juice mixed with %20 Water in a little syringe because I can see she wouldn't drink it from the bottle. I also purchased some organic goat's milk and gave her about 3mls of it to give her some extra nutrition and help her produce milk. I was watching her literally all night I got no sleep. I noticed that she was trying to pull the fleece from the door she was scratching at it and pulling at it with her teeth instead of feeding the baby. I was very worried so just now at like 7:45am I put her in her carrier with fleece and now she is sleeping and staying still allowing the baby to feed. I know for a fact she is not feeding the baby in the cage because now removing the fleece is the only thing on her mind. I also know that when she is in the carrier the baby gets fed. So I know the baby chins need to drink milk every 2 hours and 2ml of milk every serving because last year I helped my cousin hand feed her orphan twins goat milk every 2 hours drop by drop until they consumed 2mls/2ccs. How many times/ How often should I put her in the carrier to breast feed and for how long until the baby had her serving ? I want to guarantee the baby is getting milk i am willing to watch very closely 24'7.

 

[ReneeM]

I don't have alot of experience with kits, but I did have a female that had three. I actually put her in a small guinea pig cage for two weeks with three kits because I didn't have a proper cage. I didn't know she was pregnant when she came home.

I supplemented the smallest with goat's milk as well. His siblings bullied him and wouldn't let him nurse.

I would suggest weighing the kit so you can see if she is gaining weight and eating.

 

[Riven]

I think you're making this way too hard. If they babies belly is full she's eating. Mom's milk is not even in yet, so there isn't a lot for her to feed the baby. It takes 2-4 days usually for true milk to come in. Supplementing the baby during this time will reduce her milk production.

Let her rearrange and help her get comfy by not changing things around. Every time you move her she gets stressed, again reducing milk production...

I would not give apple juice, it's more apt to upset her digestive system then help much unless she's absolutely not drinking. Mark her bottle and see if she's drinking, let her go at least 24 hours before checking it. I also wouldn't give goat's milk to mom, they don't digest it well, as animals mature they reduce the ability to digest lactose. The best supplement you could do right now would be a mom and kit supplement of 1/3 POWDERED lamb/goat milk, 1/3 baby food oatmeal or rice flakes, and 1/3 feed/alfalfa fines (coffee grinder works great). Feed in a dish, they'll eat it if they want it.

Kits don't nurse 24 hours a day and they are born with enough fat stores for a couple days before mom's milk comes in. Right now mom is producing colostrum, which is very needed for the baby to be healthy.

 

[tunes]

I agree on the apple juice, especially an 80/20 mixture. At the very most it should be 50/50, and I don't ever use it at all. Relax and weigh the kit once a day at the same time each day - see if it's gaining. If it isn't after a few days (as mentioned above it can take a few days for the milk to come in), then you can worry about whether or not you need to help out. If the kit is active, has a round warm tummy, and it's tail is curled up over it's back - it's eating.