Chinchilla Community Forums
Chinchillas => Health => Topic started by: marchevie123 on April 27, 2012, 07:58:15 AM
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My chinchilla had babies 4 days ago the rnt is not doing well shes just laying in the cage im pretty sure shes dying,my vet said theres not much he can do that this just happens,does any one have any ideas,is there nothing I can do.
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I'm so sorry :'(, I know the feeling very well ::cry222:::. From personal experience there is nothing you can do. Once they start going down hill that's it. But just think of the healthy ones you now and enjoy them.
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Thank you,My vet said it looks like the baby might of been concieved at a different time then her brother who is the only one out of 4 who is doing good.But its very hard for me to just sit here and hold her while she dies I wish there was just something I could do.
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I know what your going through, I have had many baby bunnies die and all I could do was hold them and keep them warm. It is very sad. But as I was told mother nature is very cruel.
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:'( Ones that are conceived at a different time rarely have a chance to make it and/or if the mom does not have enough milk to support all the kits, she will abandon the smallest/weakest one, so that the others may survive on what she has. Also, those conceived at a different time are usually not fully developed yet. It is called superfoetation, below is a picture of a male and female kit, born in the same litter. (Just click on the picture to enlarge it.) The female kit only weighed 18 grams, the male weighed 54 grams. I have helped a few through the rough part ... some survived, some did not. This is the down side of breeding. ::cry222:::
If you can find some raspberry leaves, this will help her milk come in better ... if that is the problem. A vitamin C tablet will help with extra vitamins and Alfalfa hay is richer in nutrients than the Timothy hay. I usually keep my females on it when in breeding and while they nurse. Also Nutri-Cal is good to boost her needs for extra calories and nutrients at this time.
Goat's milk is the best if you want to attempt to feed the little kit. Goat's milk mixed 1/2 and1/2 with warm water and fed with a glass eye dropper works best for me and my little ones. Wrap the kit in a clean wash cloth like a papoose and hold at a 45 to 50 degree angle. Have a damp cloth ready to clean it's face and chin constantly ... if the formula dries, it will take fur and all off to clean it. Q-Tips are great to help control the drips. Only put one drop on the kit's lips at a time ... do not put the dropper inside the mouth, event rhough they are tiny, their suckling ability will astound you. They can suck the dropper straight through to the throat in a split second. He will need to be feed about every 2 hours for the first two days. (I've napped in a chair for days in my chin room many a time. This is all part of being a breeder.)
Please keep us posted on the new chin family's progress.
::wave:: Jo Ann
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I lost the baby kit out of 4 only the big one has survived,the picture is exactly what they looked like theres heads were very large and there butts stuck out and three were so much smaller then the one thats doing good,the mom was giving to me pregnant so I have no background on her and im so worried the one I have is also going to die,losing three has been devastating I cant lose the one I still have.
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I hate to speculate on this but it could be the mother is not doing well either and there could be something going on that has affected her kits during pregnancy. Sometimes pregnancy does go awry with mother being healthy but because you don't know her history I am suspecting malnutrition could be a factor. I strongly recommend following JoAnn's advice and give her supplements and alfalfa to keep them both healthy and keep a close eye on the mother's health.