Possible mastitis?

[mychinsrcute]

Pics of mom and babies. I've sexed plenty of mice in my job and I've looked at pics of baby chinnies and I'm pretty sure I have 3 girls. I want to wait on naming though until I figure out their personalities. Anyone know when these might make an appearance? They are all pretty rambunctious right now! haha. Oh and I removed mom's hidey house in the picture, so now she has a low slung hammock (that the babies LOVE to climb onto and jump into the fleece bed below) and a fleece bed.

 

[Olallie]

WOW those are such cute babies.

 

[mychinsrcute]

thanks! Just wanted to update ppl...please let me know if this is the wrong thread to do it under. Anyway, mom and kits are doing well. Babies are 52g, 70g, 74g. The little one has been slowly gaining/staying the same/gaining since birth. I have been rotating her in with mom and taking the 2 bigger kits out whenever I am home and get a chance. Mom had her first dust bath since the birth (3/8) and was absolutely ecstatic! I tried the JAGS supplement, and mom more or less used it to roll in, like a dust bath, lol. However she is eating her pellets again with Life Line sprinkled on top. She has also been drinking more 15% cranberry/85% water and has slowly been putting weight back on. She seems happy again and that was really my 2nd big concern....weight #1 and then her being happy again. I continue to put Lanolin (is that how you spell it?) on her teats since they are somewhat dry. I have bag balm but I wasn't sure which one was preferred over the other and since my bag balm has quite a distinct minty odor to it I didn't know if that would be good to put on her.

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who offered me advice! I did as much as I could and purchased most all of the recommended items (and I think she's happy I did!). Her swelling is basically gone, she's getting spunky again and everything seems to be going well Thank you thank you thank you!! Now all I have to worry about is what to do with the little ones post weaning and whether or not I can afford to keep them all since their parents were not an intended pairing. 2 males is what I asked for, but I guess I sort of deserved what happened. I wish I would have found this forum before I purchased my chins...I love them dearly but listening to all the advice you give would have really been handy...esp when it came to finding a good trustworthy breeder. I'm not sure if I can quite trust her when she says she's a breeder and that she couldn't give me any help on my 'is this mastitis' question b/c she has never had that happen....I just find that hard to believe and as a breeder, shouldn't she know these things anyway? Or am I now just being too harsh on her? I also met her in the back of a Walmart (partly bc it was easier for me not to have to drive 5 hours to get to her house and so I met her 1/2way, but still, our meeting was only like 25 min long and I don't think I got a lot of information. Stupid me ) Anyway, thanks again!! I will try to post a few more pics..want to know what you all think of my babies and what I should do next, lol. Don't worry, I WONT be breeding!!!! They are cute and all but I just wanted pets

 

[Olallie]

Well I'm glad your chin girl got through that alright and in good health! Regarding your question of what to do with them... well if you wanted two chins, perhaps keep the mother and a daughter and try to rehome the others. Or you'll just have two or three cages to deal with. I know its not terribly expensive to own a chinchilla unless it has to go to the vet. So, Its really up to you.

 

[mishellyshel]

they are adorable!!!
i would make sure you sex them properly first. than if you do have a male in there, maybe you could keep him with the dad and the girls with the mom.

having 5 chins doesnt cost much more than having 2 in regards to food, litter, hay, treats......as Olallie stated, it is when you get into veternarian care that the costs would increase.

also if there is fighting and the need to separate you would need more cages.

you have time to make those decisions. enjoy the babies right now. glad momma is feeling better.

 

[mychinsrcute]

Thank you all for the words of encouragement and the advice! I think I'm going to sit on this question for a bit longer, since I have the time. Just wanted to have a decision soon bc nobody likes big decisions looming over there heads for long...just not fun! Thanks again everyone !

 

[mychinsrcute]

Well Bella is back to losing weight again I'm at a loss right now. She was gaining a bit back and drinking the cranberry/water mixture and 2 of the 3 babies were gaining about 3g a day! But the little runt hasn't gained any in 3 days! I try to rotate the 2 bigger ones out but the runt didn't really try to drink much of mom's milk when I did. I've tried handfeeding her and/or the biggest one to give her a chance but she really doesn't like the goats milk or me mummy wrapping her. And mom has sort of stopped eating her pellets again. I am offering Jags but she doesn't do anything with it, and Life Line she eats maybe 50ul of and then wants to get out of the mummy wrap. I try to take her out when I can to get some exercise bc I thought she just might be depressed. Her fur around the top 2 nipples is starting to recede and they are really dry. I've been using bagbalm 1-2 times a day but it doesn't seem to do much. They are warm to the touch but not hot and are rosy colored but not flaming red. I am trying another vet tomorrow and hopefully I can get some Sulfatrim if that is what she needs. They are a little swollen at the very base of the teat, is that normal? And I still can't express any milk from 3 of the 4 visible teats, should I be worried? The pups are 2 weeks old as of tomorrow and weigh 52g, 77g and 81g. I'm really worried about the little one but she is always running around and not lethargic at all! Any suggestions? Oh and for a warm compress, can I use the sock with rice inside or is a wet, warm tea bag better? Thanks :/