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[chillie]

A friend of mine gave me a female chin and she just told me that she may be pregnant, and due in the middle of november. i have NO idea what to do. is it going to be like my rabbits will she pull hair for bedding what can i expect? what do i do?

[Jo Ann]

     Welcome to the Wonderful World of Chinchillas!  And to the Chinchilla Club Forum.   

You have allot to learn and a very short time to learn it.   
(1) What kind of cage do you have her in at this time?  Can you post a picture of it, please?  The proper cage can often mean the difference in life or death to the kits.
(2)  What you will soon discover about chinchillas, that is different with rabbits, is that chinchilla kits are born fully furred, eyes open and playing within an hour or so after birth ... (kinda like a 2 or 3 week old baby bunny).
(3)  Barring any complications, everything should go like clock work ... but ... for safety's sake ... be sure your exotic pet vet knows you have a chinchilla that could deliver in about 2 weeks.  This will give her/him time to brush-up on chinchillas if they do not have them as regular patients.
(4)  Most litters consist of one or two kits ... if this is all she has, she should be able to handle them pretty good ... if she has 3, 4, 5, or 6, which is rare ... you may have your hands full and will have much more to learn quickly.
(5)  If you can get some scales that weigh in one or two gram increments, this will help you know way ahead of time if there is a hidden problem.

How old is this 'soon-to-be-momma chin'?
How much does she weigh?
Do you know if this is her first litter or if she has had other litters in the past?  If she did have litters before this one ... how many kits in each litter?  Did they all live?  and Was she a good momma?

   Jo Ann

You may want to check out these three pages to see  a little of the "future" ... http://luvnchins.com/GigetKitsDay1.html  http://luvnchins.com/GigetKitsDay2.html and  http://luvnchins.com/GigetKitsPage3.html
There are videos showing Giget and her quads the 1 st, 2nd and 3rd day of their lives.

[chillie]

question one her cage is a 3ft tall wire cage with half inch between each wire. she has shelves in her cage so she has multipule levels with ladders she also has a plastic hut and a bath house. and a wheel that she loves. she is about two years old no she has never had a litter before. i am noticing that she is not as active as she first was when we got her. about a month ago. weight i don't know.

[chillie]

i got the top pic for a pet store site. it is almost like the one i have on the bottom pic. i know its a little dark but that's the best my web cam can do. the bottom of her cage is wire above a pan that i put wood chips in. do i need to put something over the bottom the wires like i posted earlier are half inch a part. when she gets close to having her kits do i take everything out of her cage or can i leave her house in there.

[Jo Ann]

   You have a beautiful white mosaic!  She's a doll!  How old is she?

When it comes to chinchillas "plastic is a big no-no" ... chinchillas will chew plastic and even ingest the pieces ... plastic does not digest and can cause cuts throughout the digestive system that can become infected.

The shelves could easily be replaced with pine wood shelves, attached with fender washers and wood screws.  Shelves should have a very slight tilt to the inside of the cage so that the poop and/or urine can fall to the bottom of the cage instead of pooling on the shelf.  Ramps can be made of wood or wire mesh that is no more than 1/2" x 1/2 or smaller.

A hut is easily made with wood also.  (Check out the instructions on how to make one on the link to my chinchilla booklet below). 

Kits are born fully furred, eyes open and playing within the first hour or so after birth.  Within the first 24 to 36 hours they will try to climb the walls of the cage.  Kits climb up, but not down, so .... when a kit reaches the top, it turns loose and falls to the bottom ... sometimes to it's death, if the cage is to tall ... this is why a whelping cage is necessary for mom and the kits for the first 4 weeks of the kit's lives.  A whelping cage is no taller than 14 or 15 inches and is made of wire that has spaces of no larger than 1/2" by 1" or smaller ... 1/2" x 1/2" is best.

http://luvnchins.com/GestationChart.html  (About 1/2 the way down the page start reading "Be Prepaired")

http://luvnchins.com/LuvNChinsChinchillaBookletPrintable.html  You may want to print this out and keep it handy ... my numbers are at the end of it.

    Jo Ann

[chillie]

wow thanks for all the information. looks like i have a few changes to make to Chillies living quarters. and i think i have a whelping cage i use to transport my rabbits in so i should be able to clean it up and use it 

[chillie]

question can kitty litter be used in a litter pan or does it have to be wood chips?
the cage she is in has a pull out pan so nothing touches her paws.

[Jo Ann]

   Most kitty litters contain odor controllers ... odor controllers are chemicals that can cause a chinchilla to develop respiratory infections.  Cedar wood will also cause a respiratory infection in chinchillas.

Pine wood chips or recycled paper are good to use as bedding.  If it will not be touching the chin, you can use regular news paper to place on the bottom of the pan to absorb any liquids.

If there is a wire floor on the bottom of the cage, be sure to purchase a piece or two of pine wood to place on the bottom of the cage ... walking on wire floors constantly can cause bumblefoot.

   Jo Ann