Fretful of my First-Time Mommy, Help please!

[TandAChins]

I've had a very stressful morning. At around six a.m. I noticed our currently pregnant chinchilla (Deci, hetero beige) was acting pecular. Our only other birth in our herd was Emily's about a month ago (she was apparently pregnant when we rescued her from parents who turned out to be allergic to their new pet) - but her pregnancy and birth was a total surprise, especially since she had at one time been a breeding chinchilla - so her birth was very sudden and easy. When I saw Deci laying down in an odd manner, I instantly felt a gut-pull telling me it was labor. I hadn't expected to witness her labor, as I know a lot of Chins do it while you aren't paying attention, so I went online to gather information about the signs of labor. She was following them all to the book: laying flat, shallow breaths (occasionally), stretching, pushing up her rear-end, bearing down on bars, grinding her teeth, etc. The problem is, that was five hours ago. I'm beginning to worry - well, that's a lie, I've been worrying since hour one. She'll spend some time performing these labor routines as if she were ready to pop right that second - and then, the next minute, she's just relaxing and chewing on toys or taking a nap. I know that's not too unusual, but it's been quite a few hours and this is her first birth. I've read a few sites that said a chinchilla will likely need emergency medical attention if her labor passes five hours. I hesitate, because I hold out hope that she's fine - she doesn't seem urgently distressed (and she's a whiner... if her water bottle leaked a drop onto her foot, she'd tell you about it for days! lol) and she even comes to greet me at the door when she catches me checking on her. We've been leaving her alone and cool for the most part. She is very young but, fortunately, in the 'safer' zone when she conceived (which was an unfortunate, escape-artist accident) and she is also quite HUGE now - we knew three weeks ago that she must be pregnant, if only for her size. She's chunkier than my eldest chinchilla was when she was pregnant, and she's usually a smaller girl. Am I worrying too much about how long this is taking? She doesn't seem distressed, but I know animals can hide that sometimes... is there something I can do to help her induce? Are her toys distracting her? Please help me if you can. I'm worried sick.

 

[tunes]

A chin giving birth isn't always a fast process. Sometimes it can take all day to get things going. You can try throwing in a clean dust bath with clean dust in it. Sometimes the motion of the rolling helps move things along. I had a girl here who was actually whimpering in pain and I called a rancher who told me to use the dust bath. Within a very short time the delivery started (quints, blech).

If she doesn't seem in distress right now, crying, lethargic, etc., then I would just let her go for a while. I would also try to walk away for just a bit and leave her be. Especially since she's a first time mom, she may not be comfortable with you checking on her constantly.

 

[TandAChins]

Thank you so much! Websites can be a little misleading sometimes - you'll go to one where every single thing you see you know is a true fact and they still have one big untruth. I was really beginning to fret. Could you also tell me if I should worry about her ears reddening? It sends up a red flag to me, what with the over-heating worries, but it's 64 degrees in her cage and we have the humidity down low and the AC on. It only happens when she's in her labor mode.

 

[addictedtochins]

As long as it is nice and cool in there don't worry about her ears getting red. Her blood pressure is certainly going to rise when she is in her labor mode. Keep us updated

 

[TandAChins]

Well, it's been 12 hours since she started behaving as if she were in labor. Most of these hours, however, she's darn-near been acting like she's not pregnant at all - just going about her normal chewing, eating and pooping business in her pregnancy cage. She does rest frequently and appears lethatgic during these times, but her energy snaps right back up when approached. I have been regularly checking her genitals and tummy for any worrisome signs. It's really hard to feel for movement since she's our chin that LEAST likes to be held (She was sort-of our spoiled youngest pre-pre-maritial sex). Still no blood, no signs of water bursting, no small body parts and no signs of distress. Her ears also have not gotten red. I feel so nervous from the things I've read, but it's really not easy to find a vet on this holiday weekend and I don't want to take her to an ER too soon (or too late!) and especially not at the risk of exposing her to the humid and ultra hot weather if I'm not sure she needs extra care. I did run across one reference to a false labor on a board... because her labor behavior was so short and in infrequent spurts, do you think that may be likely? Perhaps her body is just having a hard first time?

 

[starleomach]

She may just be getting ready. I have seen females do that a day or more before. where they hang out at the bottom looking uncomfortable and miserable but if she isn't straining and is just resting I would not worry too much. Also if you keep checking on her she may stop. Sometimes you need to walk away for a while

 

[tunes]

I agree with Kristy - she may just be getting ready to go. As I suggested before, try to just go away and check back infrequently. They really, really pick up on your nerves and you want her to be nice and calm, particularly if she's a first time mom.

As long as she's not in distress, and if you check her once a day or so and there's no blood, no bloody discharge, foul smelling discharge, etc. - just sit back a bit longer and wait.

 

[Riven]

She was following them all to the book: laying flat, shallow breaths (occasionally), stretching, pushing up her rear-end, bearing down on bars, grinding her teeth, etc.

I have never seen any of my girls laying flat or bearing down on bars in labor... Usually they "squat" and walk around and stretch, occasional tooth grind.

When you checked her is she open? If not you still have a while. I had a girl here who finally littered last night... I thought she would litter every night starting two weeks ago. She was just miserable in her first litter.