Quints born sunday!!!

[jacd061506]

I just aquired three already pregnant females in feb. one being a hetero beige female who on her last litter (last summer) had 5 kits, but only three survived (though there was no intervention on the "breeders" part. Well yesterday I checked on my chins as usual and found mom sitting with three kits (two beige one standard). so I opened her cage to check on her and everyone and then I noticed two teeny tiny kits (both standard)still wet and huddled in a corner of the cage! There are 4 females (two beige, two standard) and 1 standard male.

I pulled them both out and started drying them off with a warm towel. And was trying to figure out if I was going to try hand feeding them (I have supplies ready just in case) or if I had any other options.......

I also have a female with two 5 day old kits and one with a 7 week old kit who is eating/ drinking on his own already and is huge, so I decided to see if his mom would take and foster these kits. I pulled the 7 week old male and offered a kit to his mom....she literaly pulled him from my hand and shoved him under herself!!! so I offered her the second kit and she started cleaning her off (she was the wetest of the two)

I wanted some opinions on if I did everything ok, or if I should have left the 7 week old kit with his mom for another couple weeks and tried handfeeding these two kits? both weighed only 29g...the bigger kits were 35, 36, 34 g each ( i believe as my scale hasn't been working properly lately...I'm getting a new one this week!).

 

[Ash]

As long as the 7 week old is eating fine, there is no reason to leave him with mom. He would have had to come out next week anyway. Good luck with your babies and make sure they thrive and gain weight with the foster, being prepared to handfeed still if needed.

 

[Vyxxin]

You did just fine, good job. While most breeders wean at 8wks+ SOME do wean earlier (from 6wks and up) and as long as the older kit is doing well on its own there is no problem in this. Also, having natural milk, social interaction, and care is ALWAYS better for a kit than what we humans can offer IF the mother is taking good care of it.

So, congrats on the big litter, hope all continue to thrive, and keep a close eye on EVERYONE!

 

[KissThis]

You did great! I have a few females like this that will take any babies they can. They also tend to have babies that grow fast and have no problem being weaned a few days early. Having girls that are willing to foster is wonderful. I wish I had even more.

 

[Godins Chinchillas]

I would of done the same exact thing. Great job!!

 

[jags]

Good job Jackie! I am glad you had the option and it is working for you. It has worked for us before. Just watch that the female keeps milking as the new ones will not take as much milk as the one older one was and she may dry up on you. Weaning the male at 7 weeks should be no problem at all.

 

[jacd061506]

well so far so good, everyone seems to be eating well, all eyes are finally open (took a couple of them an extra day to open) and all are activly moving around the cage with the mom.
I thought since everyone loves baby pictures I'd get a couple today while weighing in. I have one standard male and one standard female with a foster mom. Here she is with the two kits. I have the two beige females and the other standard female with their birth mom. I had to give one beige girl a spot on her ear so I could keep track of the two since they look identical!

ps. don't mind the dates my camera messes it up all the time

 

[Stellaluna]

Very cute What a loving foster mama!

 

[Siany]

Awwww they are very cute ....is that the date 2062 ??? lol

 

[jacd061506]

Awwww they are very cute ....is that the date 2062 ??? lol

Sure is, there is something up with my camera...eveytime I turn it on it has a random month and day and the next year (so next time I take pictures it will be the year 2063) LOL.

I'm so glad my standard was willing to take these babies, my beige seems to be overwelmed with the three she has!

Here is a picture of each one with their weights as of today.....
Pic 1: Beige female 36g
Pic 2: Standard Female 37g
Pic 3:Beige female 35g
Pic 4: Standard Male 30g
Pic 5: Standard Female 29g

 

[jacd061506]

I woke up this morning to a very bad situation....the two of the three babies with mom were not near her, and one was very cold. I pulled them out and weighed them, both were under 30g! So I tried hand feeding, the bigger of the two took to it and ate some. But I just lost the other, she passed a few minutes ago. She wouldn't eat and did nothing up lay there no matter how warm she was.

Not sure if mom doesn't have milk or what, but the remaining standard baby with her is 37g, while the others lost some last night and today. The other two standards are doing fine both are 37g and 38g!

 

[jacd061506]

I've got the remaining beige female having seizers.....any suggestions on what I can do?

 

[RDZCRanch]

I'm sorry you lost the first kit. Unfortunately, once a kit starts seizing there is not much that can be done. A vet office could try to give her fluids, but she's too young and small for almost any medications and usually once they have started seizing there is irreparable brain damage. Fingers crossed the other standard pulls through for you.

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

Put corn syrup or dyne on her lips and keep her warm. It doesn't sound good.

 

[jacd061506]

welll we lost both beige girls. The three standards are still with us and are diong well, at last weigh in (this morning) they were at 38g, 37g, and 37g. Mom seems to be caring for the one, and foster mom has enough milk so far for the rest.

I figured there wasn't much for the seizures, thought I'd ask anyway. if she was older I would have tried a vet visit, but at 5 days old I knew she was too small for most/all meds.....Thanks for the advice and help everyone. Glad there is a place to go for questions and help.

 

[jacd061506]

The final kit with birth mom passed on me this weekend. She too went into seizures before she passed.

Is there anything I should be concerned with about mom? Could she have had something wrong that was causing seizures in the kits?

Both kits with the foster mom are up to 41g and 44g this morning and are the only two remaining of the quintuplets.

 

[Godins Chinchillas]

had they been gaining weight? Were you weighing them everyday to ensure they were getting enough milk?

I wouldn't breed mom again. If she couldn't produce enough milk that certainly can cause her kits not to thrive.

 

[mishellyshel]

I have no advice but I just wanted to say sorry the babies passed and hopefully the remaining ones will thrive.

 

[Sycamore Chins]

I'm of the sort that will give a new mom a second chance. We had a female that didn't produce enough milk for her trips. We bottle raised them so it wasn't too much of a problem. If it happens again though, she will be retired.
Best of luck with your other 2!

 

[arf2184]

Sorry about the babies. Just throwing out some ideas here.

Since all three with birth mom had seizures, the likely cause of the seizures is electrolyte or blood sugar imbalance, though there's no way to tell for sure. This would suggest that there was something wrong with mom's milk (not enough, or perhaps an imbalance of nutrients, or ???). It could also be some sort of brain defect, though its strange that the three that stayed with mom would all have it, and not the two that were fostered out. Possible though.

There's not really anything you could have done. Hand feeding from the beginning *may* have helped, but if their weight was holding steady you had no indication that hand feeding was necessary.

I'm not sure that I would breed this mom again. Certainly not if it happens twice, but this one time may just be a fluke and changing homes while pregnant *may* have stressed her out and caused some issues with development of the unborn kits, especially if she went off her feed for a while...just speculating.