| Giget & Kits Page 2 |
In the chin-strip above, you can see just how rough kits will often
get with each other. Most of the time there is no real damage
done, but, there are always exceptions to the rule. These kits are
just over 24 hours old. If you watch closely, you will see the
center kit bite the kit to his right on the butt, to try to get him to
move. They have very sharp teeth, almost like needles, when
they are this small. They can inflict major damage on each other
and even on the momma and not realize what they are doing. At
this stage in their lives, they are fighting to survive.
I had a chin momma that had one teat pulled off leaving a gaping
hole/wound by two fighting kits less than a day old. One kit
'locked on' to the mom's teat while the other pulled the first kit
away. She lost the use of the mammary glands on that side of her
body. Lucky, chins have two complete sets of mammary glands,
one on each side. Her two kits had to go to a foster mom while
we treated the momma for an infection and to allow the wound
time to heal. It was to dangerous to let her nurse the kits with
the strong antibiotics we had to give her and the open wound she
had.
It is rare that a momma chin has 5 kits. Their normal litters are 1
to 2 kits, once or twice a year. Going by the previous records will
usually give you an idea what to expect. Notice I said usually. In
this pair's case, they had 3 other litters, each litter had only one
kit in each litter ... this time, they had 5 in one litter.
It is very important to weigh the kits and keep an eye on their
weight daily, to make sure they are getting fed properly and
getting enough milk to grow. A kit's weight can vary as much as 5
grams one way or the other in an hour's time. More, if they have
just nursed and less if they recently urinated or pooped. It is best
to try to weigh them about the same time each day. If they have
lost weight two days in a row, it may very well be in trouble.
If you see a kit is loosing weight, you may have to plan on some
bottle feeding and/or put a kit with a foster mom. Note I did
NOT say put the smaller kit with a foster mom or bottle feed the
smaller kit. If the momma chin will not feed it, it must be fed by
a foster mom or by you. New born kits sometimes weigh barely
an ounce ... you will need a scale that weighs in one or two gram
increments. If a kit has lost enough weight to be seen/noticed
with the normal eye, it has lost way to much already.
If the momma is still taking care of the smaller kit, cleaning it,
tucking it under her and nursing it, it needs to stay with it's
momma ... her milk is the best thing for the needy kit, as a rule.
The largest and/or most rambunctious kit needs to be bottle fed
(to make sure it keeps a full belly and leaves the natural milk for
those who need it most). If there is a sibling that is beating up on
the kit, that is the one that needs to go to a nursing foster mom.
If a nursing foster mom is not available, you will need to bottle
feed it, but let it stay with a foster mom in-between feedings, they
still need the warmth and love of another chin. A healthy active
kit can handle the new foster mom and moving situation much
better than a kit that is already in trouble. The nursing foster
mom needs to have a kit/kits about the same size/age as the kit it
receiving to foster. When I have to put a strange kit with an
established litter, I always remove the kits from the momma and
place them and the new kit together for at least 15 to 30 minutes
.... to see if they will get along and to put the scent of her own kits
on the new kit, so that she will accept the new one as her own. If
this situation is not available, you might consider weaning a
nursing kit/kits of another litter a week early to have a foster mom
for the kit that is in the litter with the troubled kit. Even moving
her litter to another cage and letting them back with her every so
often to nurse a little, is better than putting a kit in with other kits
that may kill it.
IF the original momma chin is ignoring the kit and not taking care
of it, more than likely, it will not survive. Most likely, a foster
mom will not accept it either. But, you need to try. If this does
not work, then, it is up to you to take care of it and try to help it
survive. Here we are talking about bottle feeding every hour
around the clock for the first two days, then every two hours for
the next 4 days, then every 6 to 8 hours for the next 2 or 3 weeks
or as long as it takes until the kit can stay on solid food, about 4 to
5 weeks of age.
Placing the other siblings elsewhere and letting the weaker kit
have one-on-one time with it's momma to nurse is good, also ... if
she will nurse it and not reject it.
Allowing chinchillas to breed is a very big responsibility. You
never know the size of the litter or the complications that may
arise, but you must be willing to take care of the situation
promptly and properly. If you can not take care of new kits when
needed, you need to have the money to pay a vet to take care of
them and the momma chin for you. Chinchillas need exotic pet
vets that are familiar with chinchillas. These are not as readily
available as you might think. Chinchillas are some what new to
the pet world. Exotic pet vets are not cheap. One of my chins
stayed at the vet's office for 4 days for a bill of a little over $800
(no surgery was required and the chin died). As a rule it is $45+
just to walk in the door, before they do anything.
Put money aside for vet bills before you get your chin.
Chinchillas do not get sick very often, but when they do, they
need a vet a.s.a.p., as in yesterday. They can not wait for an
appointment later in the week or next week. In the wild,
chinchillas could not show any signs of illness or injury or
weakness of any kind, if they did, they quickly became easy prey.
They have retained this instinct even today. By the time you
realize a chin needs a doctor, it is often already to late. Learn all
of your chin's habits, if something is not normal in his/her routine,
that is the first sign of trouble ... do not ignore it.
In the background of this page you see a kit from this litter. I do
not quite know what to call it. Generally, mosaics have fur that is
white with gray or black spots or are mostly gray and have white
spots. Mosaics also usually have dark (gray/black) ears and black
pads on their feet. This kit comes from a pink white mother and
a pure violet father. It has the pink ears and pink pads of a beige
or pink white, but has a white tail and a few white markings on it's
body and is carrying the violet gene. Anyone care to guess or tell
me what this little kit should be called? (besides confused) This
kit is a female and has a pink white/vc sister and two beige/vc
brothers. The Kit that did not survive was a standard gray/vc.
Previous litters (single kits in each) produced a pink white violet
carrier male, pink white violet carrier female and a beige violet
carrier, male.
Most of the time a momma chin does not have enough milk to
feed 4 kits, but if you have had her on supplements, keep her on
supplements and give her cranberry juice (mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with
water) she can usually make it without any detrimental effects on
her or the kits. I use the Kline Supplement for chinchillas.
Keep checking back!
| 6 Day-Old Kits |
| As Of June 16th You are Visitor # |
| New Born Nursery |
| Female Youth |
| Male Youth |
| Giget & Kits Day 1 |
| Giget & Kits Page 3 |