CHINCHILLA PROBLEM DELIVERIES
ABORTION, MISCARRIAGE OR DEAD YOUNG
Written by - Anjela Ross
Co-director of the Chinchilla Club
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I know that this is not a pleasant subject to cover, but unfortunately
these problems can occur in Chinchillas can happen, although not that often.
I had the misfortune of one of my Chinchillas aborting several years
ago and the baby that she miscarried was malformed pretty badly and obviously
had died in the womb. Due to it being too big for her to reabsorb or for
it to mummify in the womb, she aborted the dead baby.
Several reasons can be the cause of a Chinchilla aborting or
miscarriage, once she has started there is little that you can do, except
watch and wait and hope that she has the strength to get everything out,
as usually if the baby is dead inside her and not pushing to
be born, then it is a lot more work for the mother Chinchilla to get the
dead baby or babies out.
The most common sign of an oncoming miscarriage is that you
may notice blood in the cage, around the females mouth and also around her
vagina. Sometimes, this can go unnoticed and it is not until you find dead
babies, that are obviously not full term in the bottom of the cage that you
realise something terrible has happened. It may also be the case that you
find only parts of the aborted kit, as sometimes the mother does eat part
of them, or they get damaged in her desperation to get the dead kits out
of her and she pulls them out in pieces. The common reason for her trying
to eat the dead young, as she normally would eat the afterbirth in any pregnancy
is to replace the nourishment into her body that she has lost during the
pregnancy and also after a tiring labour. It is also possible if the
mother completely eats the foetus from inside her and cleans herself well,
that you may not even detect what has happened in the cage, other than she
will appear swollen around the vagina area from the labour and will feel
empty in her stomach area and no longer feel pregnant.
If you do believe that your Chinchilla has aborted, then one
of the most important things is to check that she has definately got everything
out, including the afterbirth. When babies are dead inside her and she is
working hard to deliver them all on her own, sometimes a mother can become
extremely tired and give up and try to rest. If her contractions then stop,
she is left with a dead kit inside her, which within days will be rotting
inside her and this can obviously cause a massive infection, which if not
caught in time can kill the mother. If you are in doubt as to whether she
has managed to get everything out but has definately stopped contracting
and it has been several hours since you saw the last contraction, then the
best thing to do is to take her to a vet, to be sure that she is empty inside.
This is if you are not confident enough to feel for yourself as to whether
everything has come out.
If you were around from the beginning of the labour and your
female has been working hard and contracting for more than six hours, then
it is vital that you take her to the vet. The vet can then decide, if the
female is becoming tired, whether it is necessary to perform a caesarian
section on the female.
Another possibility that you may need the interaction from a
vet, is if the case arises where you do not think that the female has got
everything out, yet the female appears to have stopped contracting. If this
is the case, it is possible for the vet to inject a small amount of hormone
into your Chinchilla to get the contractions started again and enable your
female to finish passing the dead foetus and afterbirth. This usually works
very well and the rest of what needs to come out, is passed in minutes from
the injection being given.
Reasons that could result in your Chinchilla aborting / miscarrying
or delivering dead kits....
1. POOR HEALTH
Such as a Chinchilla that has been ill and got pregnant whilst
she was ill and it is too much for her to cope with. Or a Chinchilla that
perhaps is not strong enough to carry babies, for example if she has been
bred back several times, once again she would not be strong enough to continue
the pregnancy.
2. INCORRECT HANDLING
Please be sure that your pregnant female is always handled with
utmost care!
3. AN AWKWARD FALL
Falling within the cage, if you have a particularly large one,
or during exercise time, an awkward fall or landing and sometimes cause a
miscarriage in a fairly pregnant female.
4. MOVING THE CAGE / FRIGHT
If your Chinchilla does not feel safe, becomes agitated, such
as the cage being moved to a new location or sometimes even a severe fright
or shock can cause problems within a pregnancy in a particularly nervous
Chinchilla.
5. DEFORMED YOUNG / DEAD YOUNG
If the kits are deformed and they die in the womb, or they just
die for another reason, the female may not then continue the pregnancy, if
all are dead and then she may abort the pregnancy.
6. FITS
If the mother has a severe fit during pregnancy, often caused
by calcium deficiency, then she can kill her babies whilst fitting
and this can then trigger her to miscarry them.
If you are unlucky enough to experience this problem with
your pregnant female, then after she has been checked out and everything
is over, give her a couple of months to rest and recover. Especially if she
has had a very tiring delivery or is looking a little worse for wear after
such an experience. Just give her some tender loving care and top her up
with vitamins and calcium. Just because this has happened to her once, it
does not necessarily mean that it will happen again to her.
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