URGENT - unexpected birth of 3 kits

URGENT please advise me!

My rescue chinchilla has just given birth to 3 kits. I wasn't expecting this and so have not prepared. I have out her in an indoor gp cage with her kits to separate her from my male (who has been mounting her). She is going mental in this cage and wants to be with Freddie, but their cage is too big and tall so not safe for her kits to be in. Should I leave her in the gp cage and hope she is going to settle??

I am totally freaked out by this.

Should I take her and the kits to the vets for a check or just leave them for now? I think she only had them in the 24 hours as their tails are totally straight.

i'm assuming a) that Freddie may well have impregnated her again already and b) the runt may well not survive. Is there anything I can be giving her to help keep her strength up? Thanks for any advice.

A big cage shouldn't hurt kits unless there are shelves 3 feet off the ground so mom can get away, and stay away, from them. I know of people who breed in ferret nation cages that are wrapped with a covering so the kits can't escape. They remove all shelves and wheels, etc., so mom has to stay on the bottom. It's more important to worry about bar spacing. It needs to be no wider than a 1/2 an inch or the babies can squeeze through.

She is most likely freaking out because you moved her to a cage that smells nothing like she's used to, on top of just having 3 kits, which may or may not be her first litter.

If you cannot put her back in the other cage, then take the stuff out of it that smells normal to her and put it in the cage she is in now. Here is a link on kit care that you can read and should probe helpful:

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

Thanks for your help. So should I put her back in with the male? I know she may well already be pregnant again, but should I keep them apart in case she's not?

When I let them out this evening he kept jumping her. So I put him back in the cage.

My cage is a tall 3 level one that's about 6/7 feet high. Are you saying it is good for her to be able to get away from the kits if she wants? A chin site I looked at said to put mum and kits in a single level cage.

I only knew she had kits cos I found one on the bottom level. Goodness knows how he made his way down there without hurting himself. I say 'he' but don't know the gender yet.

I have put their nest and other bits from the other cage in with her in the hopes that would help her.

I think it's her 1st litter as she is a rescue that had lived on her own.

Hi. Thanks. Sent a reply last night that doesn't seem to have gone through. Just wanted to say thanks. Will come back here later tonight as have some questions you may be able to help me with!

Thanks.
I've tried to reply to you 3 times but they aren't showing up.
They have all settled down, fortunately. At the moment mum is wandering around the room and the kits are sleeping. Am concerned about the runt as it doesn't seem to be doing much. Have tried to give it some goats milk and I think it has lapped up a bit. Currently got it wrapped up to keep it warm.