Surprise baby kit!!!

[Justin5609]

I bought my 6 month old female Daisy at the end of August from a breeder, everything has been perfect but i come home from work today to the shock that she has given birth!! (She was in the cage alone, I'm assuming the breeder didn't know as he didn't tell me.

We're perfectly fine about caring for them but is there anything I should know?? Kind of in shock right now i'm not sure what to do.

 

[seachin]

First, is your cage kit proof? There should be no opening larger than 1" x 1/2"
Second, once the kit is dry and fluffy, weigh it. Track the weight and make sure it is gaining weight within 3 days. Provide some alfalfa hay. If it does not gain weight, search about hand feeding formulas and methods on here. Sex the kit. Assuming it survives, if it is a male kit, it will need to be separated at 10 weeks. You may want to let the breeder know this happened, though I suspect if the breeder sold you a female in a single cage and "didn't know" the mom could possibly be pregnant, that breeder won't care (aka careless) and is probably a back yard breeder. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Tagna]

Not sure where in Canada you are but I cat my baby proof cages from Sunny Meadow Cages in Barrie. They ship across the country.

 

[Justin5609]

The breeder left work and came over ASAP I don't believe he knew.

We kit proof'd the cages by taping cardboard around the sides and removing the upper floors (until we can find something better) and got alfalfa hay.
One is believed to be a female sapphire and the other a male ebony.
Since we didn't know she was pregnant she wasn't on any supplements, should we put her on any sort of calcium or vitamins while shes nursing?

Also the babies aren't on her 24/7, sometimes they'll be running around and the mother will be on top of her house, is this normal?

 

[Shenanigans]

I'm not a breeder, but I've read on here gestation is 111 days in chins... if you got her at six months old in Aug, she'd be seven months now? (or she's six months now and you got her at 5 months,? I cant really tell from how that was written) So she was born in Feb/March. Either way, she had to get pregnant on roughly June 8th, right when she'd have been about 3-4 months. Weaning is typically 8-12 weeks... so maybe it was a male sibling that wasn't separated soon enough? Or dad if he hadn't been separated? I dont know who the breeder is, but if they were less knowledgeable or caring and didnt know how young a chin could get pregnant, it may've been a mistake (Which anyone who does breed should know and act better- I'm not trying to justify anything).

Basically, I'm wondering about the chances of inbreeding and how/if that'd effect the baby. Personally, I'd want to be aware of any possibly issues this could cause, as well as any health issues that may come up with Daisy being a mother that young. Again, I'm not a breeder and I don't know, but I'd look up those aspect more along with everything about raising the kit. Hopefully more experienced members can chime in.

 

[Justin5609]

In my panic I didn't realize I didn't mention there is TWO kits.
The breeder came over asap and checked on them all, I have a boy and a girl! I will separate the male at around 7-8 weeks.

I kit proofed the cage and bought alfafa hay and am going to do some other things i read on the FAQ.
I'm also worried about that but so far shes seems fine, she was out being active as ever last night, and the kits seem perfectly healthy as well, very active with eyes open and all that.
Since we didn't know she was pregnant we didn't have her on anything special like calcium or vitamin supplements that I read pregnant chins should have, should we give her anything now? Especially since shes so young? Like calcium supplement to help with milk?

 

[Godofgods]

We kit proof'd the cages by taping cardboard around the sides and removing the upper floors (until we can find something better) and got alfalfa hay.
One is believed to be a female sapphire and the other a male ebony.
Since we didn't know she was pregnant she wasn't on any supplements, should we put her on any sort of calcium or vitamins while shes nursing?

Also the babies aren't on her 24/7, sometimes they'll be running around and the mother will be on top of her house, is this normal?

I had to use cardboard on mine as well, as i had no available options at the time. I will give you a few things to consider. First i had a momma chin that likes to eat cardboard, which is a problem. Cant rly let them do that as it can cause internal problems. Second, baby and young chins become expert climbers. Ive watched mine several times, climb the bars of the FN cage up and over the top of the cardboard to get out. Which is even more dangerous. Yet at the same time, you cant cover every inch because the light and the air flow.

A cage with 1/2" spaces or less is ideal for a while. I can tell you they get out of 1" bars like they are not even there. And they can continue to do so for a few months. Even when you think theirs no chance any more, they can surprise you. Once they learn they can do it, they keep trying. Even when they get to big for it. Which leads to things like a chin getting there head through but cant get there body through. Leaving there neck stuck in the bars.

Some ppl use a small chicken wire to line the INSIDE of the cage. It has to be the inside, because if put on the outside the chin can still get themselves stuck on the bars.

Mommas can be protective, but she can also give them some space. (Or just wants her own space for a little while) Its not unusual. Just make sure shes not neglecting them. Make sure she is still nursing and what not.

As for supplements, you'll want to wait for a breeder to respond to that, but from what i remember, the only one i recall was is the mother was not producing enough milk to feed the kits with. If that were the case you could mix a no sugar added apple juice to the water. 50/50 iir. But again, wait for a breeder or someone that knows better on here to respond to that one.

 

[Justin5609]

Thanks for the replies guys, sorry for the double post I didn't realize posts need mod approval first. She is nursing and all that, I picked up a scale today and will weigh the kits to keep track, is this the only way to tell if she's producing enough milk? I worry about that since she is pretty much a baby herself !!

 

[Godofgods]

In my panic I didn't realize I didn't mention there is TWO kits.
The breeder came over asap and checked on them all, I have a boy and a girl! I will separate the male at around 7-8 weeks.

Kits are generally started to be weened of mommas milk at 8 weeks. But often you will need to separate both kits from momma. Some times even when they are of age, if the option of milk is there, they can continue nursing when they shouldn't. When you separate them, you need to watch and make sure they are eating and drinking on there own.

After a little bit of time, assuming they are doing fine on there own, you can put the daughter back with momma if you so desire. The male will have to stay separate tho.

One thing i would recommend is that you do some research on here to learn the difference between sexing a male and a female, and doing it yourself. Then maybe even posting pics of it if you want to check again. There are a lot of times that ppl sex the chins wrong. Owners, care takers, even some 'breeders'. So you rly want to be sure. You don't want to find out alter that you were wrong and put a son in with mamma..

 

[Godofgods]

and congrats on your babies!

I found mine unexpectedly as well... under the fridge when i didn't even no existed... SURPRISE!!!

 

[Pikaia]

How are mom and kits doing? They should be almost 4 weeks old now I actually had a very similar situation to yours when I first got my Chichi from Craigslist. She also gave birth to a male and female kit! I only separated the male (Tribble) at 10 weeks. I didn't have the problem Godofgods mentioned about the daughter continuing to nurse. Then again, I never knew anything about it. I suppose it could happen. Chichi and Tia are best of buds and there's never been a problem between them. I remember a breeder saying on here (I think it was Tunes) that she never had a mom and daughter pair start to fight and never heard of it happening. I would be interested to know if this was true...

But anywho.. I hope everything is going good and we would love to see pictures!!!

 

[Justin5609]

They are good!! Both over 100g now and doing well! Soon going to pick up a second Ferret Nation and get it ready for when it's time to separate the boy, we're going to get him neutered in May (Atleast 6 months old according to the vet) and connect the two ferret nation's for one mega cage.

I will take some new pictures and upload soon

 

[Godofgods]

that can be quite dangerous to a chin. I hope you think it though...

 

[Justin5609]

How so? I've done some research and I've seen that spaying is a big no-no but castration seems okay, but if anyone wants to put in their opinion feel free I'd like to hear!

I'd feel bad having two of them in the one cage and the other on his own, and I'd rather not have to sell the male.

 

[Vyxxin]

Neutering is much safer than spaying but there ARE still risks. Chinchillas in general do not tolerate surgery very well and MOST on here find a VERY experienced chinchilla vet to do neuters. That all said, even at weaning a FN will be very large for a 2month old kit. Some will still be able to get their head through the bars and even if that's not an issue, falling could be. FN's, even single level's, are very large to such a small kit. They can miss jumps, they can climb and fall...etc...

 

[Godofgods]

That all said, even at weaning a FN will be very large for a 2month old kit. Some will still be able to get their head through the bars and even if that's not an issue, falling could be.

oh i can vouch for that 10 times over. For many months my girls were able to fit through those bars on there FN. Once they finally got to big, they still kept trying. Got her head stuck between the bars one time.

 

[Justin5609]

How would I go about knowing how experienced a vet is? I live in Newfoundland Canada so my options aren't great, so far I've called several vets and only found one who does exotics at all. He said it can't be done till he's 6 months old if that speaks for his experience at all.

I have cardboard around my FN now, i'll probably pick up some hardware cloth I've seen recommended and wrap both cages in it and ditch the cardboard

 

[Cuddlebug]

Even if you do get him neutered, you will need to separate him from the females at 8 weeks old and keep him separated until 6 weeks after the surgery. After all that time apart, there is no guarantee that the girls will get along with him again, and so separate cages may still be the result. And I agree, Ferret Nation cages are not safe for kits. You will need to kit proof it and remove the ledges.

 

[tcraighenry]

Even with an experienced vet, you're still taking a huge risk. Our boy went into stasis for whatever reason after his surgery and died.