Uhoh some babies are here

[AlexEarl]

My girlfriend bought 2 chinchillas from a pet store a while back and they told us that they were 2 females, but funnily enough 1 was a male and now we have babies. So this came as a shock to me when I walked in this morning to find 3 baby chinchillas flopping about.

Iv researched the internet on what I should do but I just want some clarification so that they all have an easy time with this situation.

I have moved them into a separate cage away from the father although this cage is not massive (about the size of 10 shoe boxes), I have put some bedding in there as well as some food for the mum and the water dispenser. I have read you need to check that they are feeding every 2 hours and weigh them every day to make sure they are gaining weight.

Other then reading this I am completely stumped on what to do so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Alex Earl

 

[greychins]

If everything goes well, the mom chin will take care of everything. However, with three, you will definitely want to be sure you weigh the babies to ensure that they're all eating and all gaining weight. Sometimes with three, there can be fighting and the babies will have to be rotated out so that all of them gain weight and do well.

The cage you moved the babies to - does it have baby-safe spacing? The bar spacing should be no more than 1/2", to make sure the babies stay in the cage. They can get out of 1" bar spacing easily, so it's important you have the smaller spacing so that the babies don't get out and have something happen to them.

 

[tunes]

You don't need to check and see that they are nursing every 2 hours. You will make yourself nuts. Instead, get a scale that weighs in grams and check them once a day at the same time. They should be gaining roughly 2 gm a day if they are getting sufficient milk. If you have one that isn't gaining, or is losing, then you will have to rotate, hand feed, or both. It is normal for kits to lose 1 or 2 gm in the first day of life, so don't panic if they do. After that though, they should start gaining.

http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21

 

[AlexEarl]

the cage is just over 1/2 inch spacing although they cannot reach the cage part yet so it should be ok.

I have weighed them and they come in at

1 - 54g
2 - 44.8g
3- 41.2g

ill weigh them again tomorrow.

Iv taken the 2 heaviest out for about 30 minutes today as they always seems to be pushing the little one out of the way and I wanted him to have his fair share of the milk.

 

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

The cage you moved the babies to - does it have baby-safe spacing? The bar spacing should be no more than 1/2", to make sure the babies stay in the cage. They can get out of 1" bar spacing easily, so it's important you have the smaller spacing so that the babies don't get out and have something happen to them.

Bar spacing should be no larger than 1" x 1/2" for kits. 1" x 1/2" is safe for kits.

 

[Claire D]

How are they doing this morning?

 

[AlexEarl]

They are a lot more active then yesterday but they have all lost weight

1 - 50.4g
2 - 42.3g
3 - 38.3g

could this mean that the mum is not producing milk for them too drink? and if so what shall I do to help plump the balls of fur up?

Thanks

 

[tunes]

I would start supplementing the two smallest at this point. That 40 gm mark is a biggie for me. Anything below or near that and I start supplementing. That doesn't mean you have to feed them every 2 hours at this point. I would rotate and hand feed and see how that works first. I gave you a link on how and what to hand feed. Take a read through that and it should contain the information you need.

 

[AlexEarl]

My girlfriend is in town at the minute but I live in the UK and I am not sure if we will be able to find exactly what we need, would a pipette work just as well as a syringe?

 

[Tanya]

You can also give the mom some alfalfa hay and organic dry nettle. They encourage a good milk supply.

 

[AlexEarl]

we found a syringe that has a nib on the end that imitates a nipple and I made the formula, I took the smallest one out first and he starting suckling on it for about 5 minutes and then wasn't interested any more, but when I tried the next two they were not interested in it at all. My girlfriend is going to attempt to feed them again in about 3 1/2 hours to see if they eat then.

Is there a chance that the mother is not producing milk or is only producing enough milk for the heaviest two and the little one is not getting any which is why he drank the milk?

 

[tunes]

Be careful with letting a little one suck on the syringe. They aspirate very easily. At this point you should only be letting a drop of formula on the lip at a time. After she licks it off, put another drop on.

I wouldn't supplement the 50 gm kit at this point, unless it loses further weight. I would focus on the smaller two. You will have to work at it. Some kits take some serious effort before they figure out the formula is food. If the little one drops any more weight at all, then I would start rotating out one of the bigger ones and leave the little one with mom all the time and still supplement.

She's more than likely a first time mom and sometimes their milk supply isn't super high. It can also take a week for it to come in fully. Triplets can be a pain in the butt because they will often push one off so that it can't get milk. I have no idea why, there are plenty of nipples, but they become possessive over certain ones and will fight to the death to keep it.

 

[Brittany]

One of our forum members made a video on handfeeding kits. It may help you get a visual on what Tunes is talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FInwea3WzQ&feature=relmfu

You can see that the kit isn't latching on, and suckling, the nipple. The person is very carefully dispensing one drop at a time for the kit to lick.

Good Luck!

 

[AlexEarl]

how many times a day should i hand feed them?

 

[AlexEarl]

This is there weights since they were born yesterday

Day 1

Chin 1 - 54g
Chin 2 - 44.8g
Chin 3 (RUNTY) - 41.2g

Day 2 - Morning

Chin 1 - 50.4g
Chin 2 - 42.3g
Chin 3 (RUNTY) - 38.3g

Day 2 - Night

Chin 1 - 50.7g
Chin 2 - 43.7g
Chin 3 (RUNTY) - 39.8g

the 2 that I hand fed 3 times today have gained more weight then the largest one which I have not hand fed at all although he has gained a tiny bit of weight. does this mean that the mother may not be producing enough milk and i should help her out with all 3?

 

[VolunteerChin22]

If the big one looses any weight today I would hand feed it also. 4gs is a big drop but it did stabilize a bit so it doesn't seem like she doesn't have any milk...If he gains a gram or two then I think he's fine. Just keep an eye on him today.

 

[AlexEarl]

Runty went down to 37.4g over the night but iv hand fed him every 2 hours today and hes gone up to 41g. Im going to stay up till 4 tonight so i can hand feed them every 2 hours (isnt too much of a problem for me as im pretty much nocturnal anyway)

 

[AlexEarl]

the 2 heaviest babies are gaining weight slowly but steadily but Runty keeps slipping down to 37.5 during the night when I'm asleep and I don't know what to do. I am going to take the other 2 out of the cage for an hourish to let Runty feed without a disturbance, how many times a day should I do this on top of hand feeding?

 

[tunes]

If you have a baby that you need to hand feed, you need to get up every 2 hours, around the clock, to hand feed until he starts gaining weight again. The first few weeks is critical with a little one like that, and even if it makes you a zombie, that's about the only thing you can do. I've walked into many a wall getting up to do the every 2 hour thing. It sucks, but it's necessary.

BTW, it sounds like mom doesn't have much milk in if none of them are gaining while on her. If it was me when I pulled the kit from mom to put in the carrier, I would hand feed. When it's his turn to go back in and you pull someone else out, hand feed that one (or 2, however you are rotating) before they have their turn in the carrier. That way they will be full when they go in the carrier and when you rotate them back in with mom, they will be hungry and ready to eat again.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

If you have a baby that you need to hand feed, you need to get up every 2 hours, around the clock, to hand feed until he starts gaining weight again. The first few weeks is critical with a little one like that, and even if it makes you a zombie, that's about the only thing you can do. I've walked into many a wall getting up to do the every 2 hour thing. It sucks, but it's necessary.

BTW, it sounds like mom doesn't have much milk in if none of them are gaining while on her. If it was me when I pulled the kit from mom to put in the carrier, I would hand feed. When it's his turn to go back in and you pull someone else out, hand feed that one (or 2, however you are rotating) before they have their turn in the carrier. That way they will be full when they go in the carrier and when you rotate them back in with mom, they will be hungry and ready to eat again.

Agreed.