Mother's Death

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mattyb584

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Joined
May 18, 2013
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21
My Chinchilla Precious had babies earlier today. I went to bed after they were born "because I work night shift" and everything was fine. She was eating the afterbirth and everything. Everything was fine. I dont know what happened but I woke up and she was dead. Now I have two chinchilla babies I need to take care of and I... really could use some advice on how to feed them and other tips. Thank you
 
Canned condensed milk and baby rice cereal mixed. Goats milk can be used as well. I feed with an eye dropper. They will need fed every 2 hrs around the clock and kept in a warm, dry place. If the male is nice, you may be able to let the male clean and cuddle with them. But keep a close eye on how he reacts. You may have to stimulate them to poop if the male won't do it.
 
You are in for a long road. They will need to be fed every 2 hours, around the clock, 24/7 for at least the first couple weeks. After that, if they are gaining well, you can back that off by an hour or so. You will also need to make sure that they pee and poop by gently wiping them from front to back over their genitalia and rectum until they do their business. You can use a cotton ball with lukewarm (not hot) water to stimulate them. You will need to do this after every feeding as well. If dad is still with them, he "might" take over the bathroom duties. It just depends on the dad.

Do NOT give your kits condensed milk - it is pure sugar and it will kill them. She means evaporated milk. I always recommend fresh goats milk over anything else because it more closely resembles mom's milk, according to rehabbers. Please read the FAQ for further information.

http://www.chins-n-hedgies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21
 
Definitely follow the FAQ and like Tunes said, you'll have to feed frequently and make sure they are urinating, defecating, etc. You can find goats milk at Walmart, both the fresh version (along with the other dairy products) or in canned form where you find the condensed milk/baking goods. You can also try Whole Foods or Raley's if you have them near you. I've found goats milk at those stores in CA. You can also look for a goat milk replacer if you live near a feed store.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Im going to keep them at my sisters for now because she is a stay at home mom and I work full time. She is more than willing to help out with this. I had gotten Kitten milk replacement but would goat be better? Or does it not make a big difference?
 
i am definitely not experienced in this area, but i know a lot of the people here are. So I'm guessing if they said goat's milk, I'd get goat's milk!!!
 
Yes, goats milk is the best to use. It is closer to chinchilla milk in composition and will give your babies the best chance for survival.
 
Make sure your heating for the kits has an area they can crawl away from if they get too warm. I like using fleece as a nest. They love to snuggle up in it. In a week or so they will nibble a bit of soft hay. Oxbow has a great orchard grass or Timothy.

Keep hand feeding them until they reach 200 grams or don't want to be hand fed anymore. Also......
In a couple weeks take powder goats milk, feed pellets and infant stage one baby rice cereal and grind them in a cheap coffee grinder. Pour the powder in a low bowl along with pellets on one side. It's a great formula to help keep those bellies full later. Offer hay as well.http://www.walmart.com/ip/Meyenberg...bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&findingMethod=p13n

Link for goat milk at Walmart:

About 1/2 cup pellets, tablespoon of powder goats milk and tablespoon of the stage one infant rice cereal. Pour the left over in a zip lock bag to use later. Make sure they are not peeing in your low bowl. Check couple times a day.

I can buy both powder and canned goats milk at Walmart in the baking section. The recipe is in the forum for storage. I freeze the cubes and put them in a zip lock freezer bag in the freezer. Pull them out and use when needed.

Note: If you should get a kit that suddenly hates eating. They get fussy about milk temperature. Some like body temp and some a touch warmer. And use the whole milk product. Seem's Meyenberg sells a non fat.

Good luck. Your going to be a zombie.
And come back to ask questions. None are NEVER too stupid to ask when it comes to keeping little ones alive.
 
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The correct recipe (developed by JAGS) is in the FAQ above. It's equal parts of ground pellets, mixed with milk replacer, and half baby rice/half baby oatmeal cereals. You only grind the pellets, not the milk replacer or the cereal. You also need to be sure the milk replacer isn't loaded with antibiotics, as some are.

I've been using it for years, especially with larger litters, and they really eat it up.
 
Yes Tunes, that's what I meant. Evaporated milk. Kitten milk replacer is no good. Make sure to watch weights. I weigh new kits every night to makes sure they are holding or gaining. You have got a lot of good advice. Hope your kits do well.
 
So right now they both are eating, and theyre eating more so hopefully thats a good sign. The only problem is the gray baby doesnt seem to be pooping. The beige one is quite a bit it seems though. The gray one gained almost 3 grams since yesterday morning but has stayed the same weight overnight. The beige one has gained almost 7 grams though!
 
Would it be acceptable to keep another female I have in with the babies? She hasn't had babies in a while but she still was a good mother and can take care of everything besides food
 
I would not try and put the mom with the dad and the babies. You could try introducing mom to the babies though. Not all moms are great foster moms. Some will turn on and hurt kits. You can try to intro them by rubbing the kits with the foster moms dirty shavings and monitor them carefully. If all seems to be going well, and she's an experienced mom, she should at least help with them going to the bathroom.
 
One of the babies poops are almost completely white and runny. It sort of makes sense since most of what they're eating is white but is this normal?
 
Poor thing. He has gas and he isn't passing any feces. The only thing that could help with such a young animal would be simethicone, phazyme or the infant gas drops (Mylicon) contain this. You need to get it right away and get it into the chin. It can help to break up the gas....but with young little chins digestive issues often do not make it.
 
i got the simethicone and half a dropper is .3ml. is that too much for such a little guy. Should i keep feeding his as much as he wants? I feel like i am just adding to the bloat. I am matty's sister taking care of them if anyone is confused as to why I am asking...
 
Just get a little of it down into him. Maybe every three to four hours. It's so hard to treat tiny babies...you could give him .1 ml. (This is why I prefer the phazyme...it requires so much less to be used.) At this point if he is bloated, there's not much else you can do for him besides gentle belly massage.

Handfeeding babies is tremendously difficult, they are so sensitive.
 
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