The kit is absolutely adorable!
The parents look nice, too.
Do you have plans to get them larger cages?
You got me there.. I really never believed that they would be going at it anytime soon because every time I saw the male, Benny get behind her, it would be the matter of a second before Shy would turn around and bark at him ..almost like a disciplined yet still-teasing slap in the face straight out of an old film. Every single time... she runs away then everything would be okay.
Females have the
ability to get pregnant at the very young age of 3 1/2 to 4 months of age ... but this is not advisable because the birth canal is usually not large enough to deliver the kit/kits safely.
Males, at the tender age of 10 weeks old, have the
ability to get a female pregnant!
The female will refuse the advances of the male until she is in full season, then, if he begs enough and properly (doing the mating Swish-Swish Tail Dance) ... she will allow him to mate with her at the proper time.
Oh ... and it only takes 10 to 15 seconds to do the deed, so if they run behind or under a couch or chair when she is in season ... start counting the days!
I haven't gotten a scale yet but the baby seems to be more active, and independent as time passes. Though every time I look other than that the baby is under its mother, making noises and being fed. The mother and kit get along very well and are usually together and warm.
This is good ... sounds like she is being a good momma. The scale is very important ... one that weighs in 1 or 2 gram increments. Because the kit is so small, if it looses enough weight to be noticeable with your eyes alone, it has already lost to much weight and is very much in danger of not making it. I use scales made to weigh letters that go to the post office ... they are usually no more expensive than the regular scales and being able to weigh in grams is very important when it comes to the kits and their survival.
I have tried putting the kit in the father's cage, but he keeps getting in his/her face and I can't tell wether he's being affectionate/curious or is going to hurt the kit so that didn't last too long.
I normally put the father in the kit's cage while momma chin is having her daily play time. Watching them constantly is very important, for the kit's sake. By placing the daddy in the kit's cage, the kit is in it's own territory, not the father's territory. This also allows the daddy to leave his scents inside the cage, keeping momma and daddy familiar with each other's scents. This will make it easier to reintroduce them after day 10.
I also wonder what easy formula, if there is one, I could use to supplement the baby?
I've tried kitten and puppy formulas (both powder and liquid) and have found goat's milk to be the best when a supplement feeding is necessary. Only when it seems momma does not have enough milk or has rejected the kit, or when it is a large litter, do I supplement feed.
Momma chinchilla's natural milk is the best for her kits. If you find it necessary to supplement feed the kit, the goat's milk can be frozen in a plastic container and just enough scrapped out and warmed for each feeding will make it economical. Warm the formula by placing it in a small glass or shot glass and place the container in a cup of very hot water. It is best to feed with a glass eye dropper.
Never heat formula in the microwave ... microwaves kill all the good things in the milk/formula the kits need ... it would be like feeding them water.
The mesh wire you are using looks good and should be safe
as long as you cut off and smooth the pieces of wire that are protruding where the wire was cut. These sharp pieces could cause some real damage to one of the adults or the kit, if they try to check them out.
I noticed you have a plastic hut and a plastic dustbath container in the cage. Plastic is dangerous for chinchillas. The chinchilla will usually try to chew on anything they can get their little teeth into. Chinchillas eat/consume what they can bite off ... plastic does not dislove in the digestive tract. This can cause mini cuts in their digestive tract which usually set up an infection and can kill.
Dust baths should only be left in the cage for 10 to 15 minutes each day. If you leave it in longer, they will urinate in it, which will set up a great environment for bacteria to grow ... not good for your chins.
Momma chin should not have a dust bath until the tenth day after delivery ... any sooner and the dust bath dust can get inside of her and cause a very bad infection.
Jo Ann