Caring for a Pregnant Chinchilla
If your female chinchilla has ever been in any contact with an unneutered male then you must put her on pregnancy watch.
If she’s housed with a male then remove him immediately. There is always a small chance she might not already be pregnant.
In addition this this, chinchillas can actually get pregnant again whilst they are already pregnant, as well as straight after the kits are born. The second litter will be born smaller and weaker and with too many kits to care for, the chinchilla will only save the ones she’s able to and the rest may be left to die. This is why the male chinchilla should always be removed straight away.
If she’s housed with a male then remove him immediately. There is always a small chance she might not already be pregnant.
In addition this this, chinchillas can actually get pregnant again whilst they are already pregnant, as well as straight after the kits are born. The second litter will be born smaller and weaker and with too many kits to care for, the chinchilla will only save the ones she’s able to and the rest may be left to die. This is why the male chinchilla should always be removed straight away.
Preparations before chinchilla kits are born
Shopping List
Baby safe cage - 1 level with less than 1/2 inch bar spacing
Alfalfa hay as well as usual timothy hay and regular pellets
Kitchen scales
Goats milk
Glass eye dropper or similar to feed kits
|
|
Baby Safe Cage
You must move the female into a baby safe cage and count 111 days from the last time she had contact with the male to see if she does have kits. 111 days is the average pregnancy but it can be as long as 128 days, a helpful due-date calculation tool can be found here. Vets are largely unable to tell if a chinchilla is pregnant so this is why you need to count down the gestation period to be sure. It’s a good idea to regularly weigh the chinchilla to see if she’s putting on weight, however chinchillas can still be expecting even without weight gain.
The baby safe cage must be all one level with no ledges or shelves, bar spacing 1/2inch or less and no houses, hide outs or wheel. The expectant chinchilla should not have any playtime either. Whilst this may sound extreme, it is unfortunately necessary for both the Mother’s and kits’ safety. Baby chinchillas must not have any levels in the cage, as being so small they could easily fall and injure themselves. In addition to this, the mother chinchilla may jump to a higher shelf where the kits are unable to reach her when they need feeding or attention. The mother chinchilla could also jump from a higher shelf and accidentally land on one of the kits, injuring them.
Bar spacing should be 1/2inch or less as kits will easily escape otherwise. Any houses, huts or hideouts must not be provided as kits can crawl under these and get fatally crushed. Wheels are prohibited as the female can accidentally catapult babies into the air when she’s running on it, and inadvertently seriously injure or even kill them.
The baby safe cage must be all one level with no ledges or shelves, bar spacing 1/2inch or less and no houses, hide outs or wheel. The expectant chinchilla should not have any playtime either. Whilst this may sound extreme, it is unfortunately necessary for both the Mother’s and kits’ safety. Baby chinchillas must not have any levels in the cage, as being so small they could easily fall and injure themselves. In addition to this, the mother chinchilla may jump to a higher shelf where the kits are unable to reach her when they need feeding or attention. The mother chinchilla could also jump from a higher shelf and accidentally land on one of the kits, injuring them.
Bar spacing should be 1/2inch or less as kits will easily escape otherwise. Any houses, huts or hideouts must not be provided as kits can crawl under these and get fatally crushed. Wheels are prohibited as the female can accidentally catapult babies into the air when she’s running on it, and inadvertently seriously injure or even kill them.
Caring for pregnant chinchilla and kits
Food
During pregnancy and once the kits are born you should feed alfalfa hay, timothy hay and regular high quality pellets. Feeding alfalfa hay to expectant chinchillas and kits is very important as it’s high in calcium and vital for growth.
The kits also need their mother’s milk, if they are not gaining 1 - 3 g weight daily then you must hand feed goats milk as detailed below. Chinchillas under 6 months should have no treats whatsoever, only then can they have limited items off the safe treat list if you choose to.
The kits also need their mother’s milk, if they are not gaining 1 - 3 g weight daily then you must hand feed goats milk as detailed below. Chinchillas under 6 months should have no treats whatsoever, only then can they have limited items off the safe treat list if you choose to.
Weigh Kits Daily
You must have a set of sensitive scales to weigh the kits daily from birth. Kitchen scales work well for this, chinchilla kits are very light so the scales must be accurate enough to detect any level of weight loss or gain. Chinchilla kits are usually around 30-60grams when they’re born, then must put on a minimum of 1-3grams daily. Weigh each chinchilla kit on the day they are born, then again each day at the same time.
Sometimes the kits will initially lose a bit of weight until the mother’s milk comes in, however by day 3 they should start gaining weight. Keep records to ensure they are gaining the minimum of at least 1 - 3 g per day. If they are not, then you must step in and hand feed them goats milk every 2 hours throughout the day and night.
Sometimes the kits will initially lose a bit of weight until the mother’s milk comes in, however by day 3 they should start gaining weight. Keep records to ensure they are gaining the minimum of at least 1 - 3 g per day. If they are not, then you must step in and hand feed them goats milk every 2 hours throughout the day and night.
Hand Feeding
Glass eye droppers or 1ml syringes are good for doing this. Ensure you do not feed the kit too much or too quickly, about 0.2ml is typical per feed. Go at the kit’s pace, do not try and force it down as quickly as possible or the kit can choke. You can continue to feed each session until the kit doesn’t want any more. Once they have had enough, they usually indicate this by pushing it way with their paw.
As long as the kit has had some milk, you do not want to force feed them more or you could overfill them which can kill. Smaller, regular sessions are the way to go. You must feed goats milk not cows milk as the protein in goats milk is far easier for the kits to break down and digest. As well as being unable to digest cows milk, some chinchillas are intolerant to this.
If you see any of the kits fighting or the mum attacking them, you must remove the kit(s) that are being targeted straight away. Otherwise there’s a high risk they’ll be killed by the other babies or mum.
Glass eye droppers or 1ml syringes are good for doing this. Ensure you do not feed the kit too much or too quickly, about 0.2ml is typical per feed. Go at the kit’s pace, do not try and force it down as quickly as possible or the kit can choke. You can continue to feed each session until the kit doesn’t want any more. Once they have had enough, they usually indicate this by pushing it way with their paw.
As long as the kit has had some milk, you do not want to force feed them more or you could overfill them which can kill. Smaller, regular sessions are the way to go. You must feed goats milk not cows milk as the protein in goats milk is far easier for the kits to break down and digest. As well as being unable to digest cows milk, some chinchillas are intolerant to this.
If you see any of the kits fighting or the mum attacking them, you must remove the kit(s) that are being targeted straight away. Otherwise there’s a high risk they’ll be killed by the other babies or mum.
If you see any of the kits fighting or the mum attacking them, you must remove the kit(s) that are being targeted straight away. Otherwise there’s a high risk they’ll be killed by the other kits or mother chinchilla.
Weaning, sexing and re-homing
Once the kits are 200g and 8 weeks old, you must remove the males from the mum and female siblings. If the kits are not 200g then you can wait until they are, however male kits must be separated from the mother and sisters by 12 weeks at the very latest to prevent pregnancy.
Ensure you sex the kits correctly - male chinchillas have a gap between the anus and the penile cone, whereas in females, the anus and uterine cone are noticeably close together. To sex a chinchilla correctly, you need to lift the base of the tail up to properly expose the genitals and check for that gap, otherwise males can be easily mistaken for females. Without lifting the base of the tail up, the male's gap is often not apparent - leading to mis-sexing.
Chinchillas, particularly kits can be notoriously difficult to sex, so if in any doubt please take the chinchillas to an experienced vet to confirm. Please remember that gender is definite and not open to interpretation or guessing - the implications of sexing incorrectly can be disastrous!
Ensure you sex the kits correctly - male chinchillas have a gap between the anus and the penile cone, whereas in females, the anus and uterine cone are noticeably close together. To sex a chinchilla correctly, you need to lift the base of the tail up to properly expose the genitals and check for that gap, otherwise males can be easily mistaken for females. Without lifting the base of the tail up, the male's gap is often not apparent - leading to mis-sexing.
Chinchillas, particularly kits can be notoriously difficult to sex, so if in any doubt please take the chinchillas to an experienced vet to confirm. Please remember that gender is definite and not open to interpretation or guessing - the implications of sexing incorrectly can be disastrous!
Should you choose to keep the babies, the females can live with the mother and the males together or with the father, providing they get along.
If you are planning on re-homing the kits then please take a look at the re-homing a chinchilla guide to help find the best possible homes for them.
If you are planning on re-homing the kits then please take a look at the re-homing a chinchilla guide to help find the best possible homes for them.
Vector Graphics with thanks to Freepik