Uhoh some babies are here

[Gumby and Elmo]

Wow, i must say, you're doing a fantastic job and handfeeding and monitoring the kits, honestly i would have gone into panic mode if i woke up with 3 kits.
So happy for them that they are all gaining weight.
When you're rdy, some pics would be lovely too

 

[AlexEarl]

What are you using to hand feed? If you are using canned goat milk I would switch to fresh. Kits seem to like it muuuuuch better.

yer im using fresh goats milk with baby rice mixed in but only Runty gobbles it down, the 2nd biggest one licks it for a bit and the largest doesnt do anything. i have seen them nibble on a tiny amount of pellets although i know this wont be enough for them at this age but i guess it helps

 

[Cuddlebug]

If they are gaining 2 - 3 grams a day, they are doing great and no not need your help. Just keep up with what you are doing. Good work!

 

[AlexEarl]

ok sounds good, but guess i might have to rename Runty to Fatty at the rate she is gaining weight

 

[AlexEarl]

how old do the kits have to be before i can accurately tell their genders? also when can the mum run around my room with the dad again as the dad has been moping around lately as he is lonely

 

[Cuddlebug]

You can tell the sexes the day they are born. If you post pictures, we will be glad to tell you what you've got. Unless you are intending to breed, I would not put the male back in with the female at all. He is not moping, he just wants to make more babies. That is natural. If you are intentionally breeding, you should wait until after the kits are weaned to put him back. If you don't the mother can be nursing a litter while carrying another inside her. That is not a good situation. It's really hard on the mom.

 

[AlexEarl]

well im not planning on having any more kits as im sick of doing the majority of the feeding but if the girlfriend wants more im not going to even try win that argument

i guess ill wait till they have started eating proper food before the mum goes back in with the dad, but for the mean time the dad is going to have to deal with some human attention (which im sure hes not so pleased about )

 

[AlexEarl]

also iv just checked them and it looks like we have 2 females and 1 male, but i am no expert at sexing them so i will post pictures of them soon (of them as well as their private parts)

 

[Encantadora]

Well try to head off that early then. Babies are fun, but lots of time and energy.

 

[AlexEarl]

Runty has now reached the same weight as the other two which is over 90g and it is getting very hard to recognise which one she is as on many occasions I have grabbed the wrong one when it is feeding time and only realise I have made this mistake when they start feeding.

Now Runty has caught up with her weight I am also going to focus on making sure that they are all getting enough milk (because Runty can probably stand up for herself now and push the other two off a nipple she wants to use) also it will help take a lot of strain off the mum who has had to live with the little energetic balls of fur the past 3 weeks.

 

[AlexEarl]

Hi, i havent posted for a while now because i went on holiday so did not have internet access. I left my whole pet collection with my mum including all of my chinchillas so she could look after them and feed them, I have weighed the babies since i came back and they all weigh between 120-130g with Runty being the heaviest (although not the puffiest) my mum said they are eating alot of dried food and from what i have seen they seem to be enjoying it. At what age should i start weaning them off milk or what weight?

Thanks

 

[ChinnyMom]

weaning generally happens at 8 weeks and 200 grams, from what i've read. i haven't ever bred chins, but i'm sure others that have will chime in soon.

the female babies can just stay with mom after weaning, and the male can be introduced to dad, if he gets along with the baby.

if these are not pedigreed chins, and you have no history on their genetics, i would strongly advise against breeding them any more. without knowing the bloodlines, you don't know if genetic diseases will pop up in either the parents or the babies. malocclusion is a terrible thing.

 

[AlexEarl]

the babies have had a run around with mum and dad and they all seemed to get along fine. I know we have 2 females and 1 male and I know for a fact that these babies are definitely not pedigree (the pet shop said we had 2 females that were sisters but that was obviously wrong) so I am making sure we do not have any more babies (more for the fact I can't be bothered feeding the runt every 2 hours any more )

If the male kit is not weaned from the mother after 8 weeks or is not 200g+ should I still separate him from the others and put him with the father and start hand feeding him so he doesn't get a bit horny with his mum?

 

[AlexEarl]

Tomorrow the chinchillas are 8 weeks old, they are all healthy and roughly the same size including runty (cant even tell which one she is now). They are fully weaned off mum so will be moving into their own cage tomorrow and the mum can finally go back into the large cage.

What is the best way to upload photos onto this site?

 

[javachin]

You can use the "Go Advanced" route and go to "Manage Attachments" to attach photos that way. You can also attach them if you use a site like Photobucket or Flikr.

 

[AlexEarl]

iv put the parents back together and they have started fighting, i keep hissing at them so they stop and they have stopped by themselves now but are keeping separate. is this normal behaviour when they are being introduced back to each other to reclaim dominance?

 

[kerri101]

iv put the parents back together and they have started fighting, i keep hissing at them so they stop and they have stopped by themselves now but are keeping separate. is this normal behaviour when they are being introduced back to each other to reclaim dominance?

You may want to separate the parents because if you dont they will breed again if they have not already...glad the babies are doing well and growing !!!

 

[AlexEarl]

well my girlfriend is adamant she wants them to breed again and because they are her chinchillas I cant say no, she says she will look after the babies 24/7 which i know is a load of bull but i cant change her mind.

i just want to know whether this aggression will pass? its the female that is being aggressive towards the male, they are staying on separate levels of the cage at the minute and have not chased each other in a while but i dont want to wake up in the morning with a dead chinchilla so should i separate them when i am not awake?

 

[Cuddlebug]

Separate them for now. Then, so a slow introduction starting over as if they had never been together before. right now, the female does not want to be bred and that is what the male wants. Besides, she needs a break between litters. It's not good for her to be forced to pop out litter after litter just because your girl friend wants more kits.

 

[AlexEarl]

I would love to separate them but i do not have enough cages and i would much rather her be with the dad and get pregnant then be with her son and get pregnant. they have been getting along fine for the past 2 hours and have not played kiss chase once.

the kits are 8 weeks old, i could put the mum back in with them but isnt there a risk that the male kit we have could impregnate the mum?