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[mahas chin]

Hi Guy's , I am a new chin owner , and a newbie here. With deep sorrow I have to announce that my 28 day old female kit Hopper passed away yesterday. Earlier I was terribly devastated but now I feel frustrated and confused.

Hopper was my bouncy baby girl, she was gaining weight steadily and her last weight was 137g day before yesterday, she was playing, feeding and hopping around as usual. yesterday afternoon she was snuggling with her brother big head and momma Freckles, but in the  evening I noticed she was hiding in a corner I took her out and cuddled with her for few minutes and she was responsive than within a matter of minutes she started getting lethargic and I tried putting her under her momma, it was very cold in NY yesterday and even though the heat is on in my apartment and her cage was covered with a blanket, I thought maybe she was cold since its been snowing and the apartment is still a bit cool regardless of the heat. Before I could do anything else she just laid on her side I tried moving her close to momma, and she coughed up a drop of clear liquid, and just laid on her side , I sat by her constantly rubbing her, and her mother tried nudging her and then she just stopped moving and passed on. I was devastated,she had shown no signs of distress earlier in the day and everything was business and play as usual, I cannot seem to grasp what happened to my little hopper , their cage was clean, covered and stocked, she was playing last night, and today she's gone!

I am a new Chin owner, and I am devastated, I want to know what happened and why her decline was so rapid. Her brother and mother seem fine and and are feeding and hopping around.

[GrayRodent]

I'm very sorry for your loss. Since chinchillas thrive in cold climates I don't think the room temperature was an issue especially if the other chins are thriving.

It was possible it was an internal birth defect that caused these symptoms. Chinchillas usually do not show outward symptoms until they are in trouble. These kinds of fatalities are not particularly uncommon in baby animals of any species and it is a normal part of rearing animals so please don't feel too bad.

[Squirrel_Butt]

I feel your pain. When a chin passes...it hurts real bad.  Its been almost 11 years since I lost Puff and almost 2 years since I lost Frisbee.  The pain has dulled considerably but will stick with me forever.  I just do the best I possibly can to take the best of care of my current chins and devote a lot of time to them

[chinclub]

I am so sorry.  Was it a one story cage? Baby chinchillas can have fatal falls from ledges you may not think are very high.  That is why breeders use only one story cages with no shelves or ledges.  It could have also been a birth defect.  Usually they will pass by their 10 day birthday if there is an internal defect, but occasionally they can last a little longer.  Unfortunately, you will never know for sure what happened.
I am so sorry for your loss.  I have been breeding for over 14 years and it never gets any easier when I lose a baby.   

[lilchinchilla]

Sorry you lost your baby. It is possible like GrayRodent mentioned, about birth defects. I had a very cute baby born about seven years ago, who made it to two months of age. Everything outwardly looked fine... but he suddenly went down and was gasping for air out of the blue, during playtime with his brother. He passed away, and I had a necropsy done to find out what was the cause. He had a leaky heart valve, which in turn the fluid built up in his lungs and caused secondary pneumonia.

Outwardly he looked fine, but inside he wasn't. The vet said it was a common birth defect, but was surprised the boy made it to two months of age. He said most babies with a defect with their heart, usually pass on within the first month.

Either way, the best way to find out what happened, is through a necropsy. It is also possible, she could have hurt herself, if she fell or injured herself in the cage too. Babies like to do silly things and don't grasp that they could hurt themselves if they fall or land just the wrong way. It definitely never gets easier when you lose a baby, no matter how long you've raised chinchillas.