The lady I got Tid Bit and Penny from wasn't a breeder. She had 2 chins originally from her daughter that ended up moving out.
I feel sorry for the lady ... but those poor chins ... apparently her daughter is not what a mother could take much pride in.
From what she told me, Right before the kits were born, she had taken their cage outside so they could play and eat some grass while she cleaned.
Apparently, the daughter told the mother nothing about how to care for a chinchilla ... you never take them outside!
Doing some wondering here ... if the chin was turned loose, by accident,
before the kits were born ... then Penny would have to be the mom ... unless ... there was a 3rd adult chinchilla that was lost, killed, sold or eaten after the kits were born and it was the kits' momma.
Apparently their new coon hound puppy knocked over the cage and the "dad" (in actuallity the mother of the kits I'm assuming) got out and the dog got it and killed it. So I can say all the bad things in the world about this lady but I am honestly glad I could get Penny and my poor late Tid Bit out of that situation. I think she was honestly clueless.
Sounds like she was clueless. I just feel sorry for those poor chinchillas ... but, at least some of them had a guardian angel ... you.
Anabelle is 6 months. I know she is too young to breed so I wish I would have discovered Penny's little secret earlier so I could have kept them separated. Now that it may be too late...
The female chinchilla has the ability (physically) to get pregnant at 3 1/2 to 4 months of age, so she is probably pregnant. This is a whole new Pandora's box to have to deal with, but I think you can handle it. These chins seem to be in the hands of someone who really cares ... you will be good for them.
In the picture Anabelle looks like an ebony and if her father was an ebony, then she is definitely an ebony. I never put my ebonies into breeding until they are 18 months old (due to the size of the ebonies). Her being only 6 months old, it may be impossible for her to deliver the kits naturally ... start saving money encase the vet has to help her deliver. If this is the case, you may have to hand feed the kits yourself. Check out this article:
" First Signs of Trouble" at:
http://www.geocities.com/jobernstein1949/ Watch each video carefully.
Now that it may be too late, I'm wondering if I should give her some kind of extra supplement to keep her strong and healthy?
She needs a good quality chinchilla pellet, plenty of hay (under the circumstances, I would give her Alfalfa hay) be sure to keep hay in the cage at all times and remove any after 24 hours and replace it with fresh hay, pine chew sticks, a lava stone, oats and/or cracked oats (check at a farm store or co-op), dried papaya and/or dried rose hips as a treat and for added vitamins.
I feel like the worst chin mom ever!!!
You are not a bad chin mom, just an inexperienced one and you are trying to make the best of a horrible situation. Stick with it ... you are there for them for a reason.
Oh and get this....the baby kit from the first lady, she puts the kit(s) in with a male rat. I guess the rat helps raise the kits. ... she was only left with the one baby and had already made arangements with a pet store to purchase the baby when it was of age.
A male rat??
From what you have said here, it will be a miracle if that kit survives long enough to get to the pet store.
She told me when Tid Bit was a baby the male rat had raised him as well ...
Poor little Tid Bit never had a chance, but he must have been one good little fighter to have survived being raised by a male rat.
Is she positive the rat is a male? Maybe it's a female. In some species, some females will produce milk when there is a baby in need, even if it is not their baby and they have not had a recent litter.
with a more solid looking white substance half the size of a pencil eraser then on her female parts. It was only there for a day. I checked the next day and it was gone and I haven't seen anything since resembling that in the cage.
That was probably what was left of the mating plug.
...she wanted another $200 for the babies...
Well, she didn't get that extra $200 and by now, they are probably both dead ... greed can come back on you when you do something like that. Now I really don't feel very sorry for her either.
She was feeding my chins the Fiesta brand gerbil food because she said it was pretty much the exact same thing but it was cheaper. Is this true?
Nope. Chinchillas need chinchilla food. Check with your local Wall-Mart and at some of the pet stores ... Mazuri Chinchilla Pellets Diet is about the best you will find in a pet store (it's the only brand found in the pet departments of Wall-Mart/pet stores, that I would recommend). Exotic Pet Vets sometimes carry the Oxbow Chinchilla Pellets, this would be better than the Mazuri. Then there is Shoots Chinchilla Pellets and Traditions Chinchilla Pellets ... Both of these are the top of the line for your chins ... those you would probably have to order on line, unless you could find a breeder near you that you could buy them from. If you will let us know what part of the country you are in, maybe we could help you find a breeder that might have the Shoots or the Traditions chinchilla food available for you to get your new babies.
I'm assuming Penny is a standard grey, but was guessing on Anabelle and Petunia that Anabelle is a form of ebony (dad was ebony and mom was standard grey) ...
What relations are Anabelle and Petunia? Or are they related at all?
We know Anabelle's dad was an ebony and mom was a standard gray ... that makes Anabelle a hetero ebony chinchilla.
...Petunia is a homo beige? She's so light tan she's almost white and her eyes are red.
We would have to know what colors the parents of Petunia were to be able to answer that one. What colors were Petunia's parents?
Petunia could be a hetero beige or a homo beige from the looks in the picture ... the colors of the parents and the eyes will be the best way to determine which one.
How old is Petunia?
Jo Ann
