This must be your first litter. The best and funniest times will be over the next month. Your kit will jump around in a rather odd manner we call "pop-corning" You'll know as soon as you see it. I have a video on my site where you can see one ... they are soooo cute when they do that.
http://www.luvnchins.com/VideoChinchillaAntics.html Mom and dad must be kept separated for 10 days ... this is the time when she can easily (but dangerously get pregnant again) ... on day 10 (this is also when mom and kit/kits get their
first dust bath since birth) Daddy can rejoin mom, if she will let him. Some will and some will not. I have one chin-mom that will welcome dad back if she has only female kits ... if she has any male kits in the litter she will not allow him back until the kits are weaned and in another cage. This is the only one that does it that way. Other chin moms welcome dad and some flat refuse to let him back as long as she is nursing the kits and they are in the cage with her. I have found (over many years) if you will let mom out for some R&R (rest and relaxation) from the kits on a daily basis, she seems to be much better with the kits. Also, during mom's 'free play time' I let dad in with the kits. This keeps his scent in the cage and on the kits and will usually assure mom's willingness to let dad return after the 10 day separation time. It is a must to keep a close eye on daddy and the kits while daddy is in the cage and momma is out playing. It is very, very rare, but has been known to happen, that the dad will kill the kits, especially the male ones. Usually daddy becomes a great helping hand to momma. He will snuggle with and help clean the kits. I have one pair that the kits will run to momma to be fed, but as soon as they finish eating, dad takes over and cleans, plays with and snuggles with the kits while momma then enjoys her quiet time on another shelf. Remember, it can go many different ways ... every chin and every chin couple are unique! Even the same pair may be different with each different litter.
There is a huge difference in "ability to do" and a "healthy idea to do" something ... with chins as well as it is with humans. A male chinchilla has the 'ability to' impregnate a female chinchilla at the tender age of 10 weeks old. Of course, the female may kill him for even attempting it. A female chinchilla has the 'ability to' get pregnant at 3 months of age, but she is not developed enough or large enough to safely deliver the kits and usually, both little momma and all kits perish. Chinchillas have no boundaries when it comes to reproducing ... within or out side the immediately family. Inbreeding is not a good or healthy practice ... soooooo ... make sure if you have a male kit, that he is in his own cage before 10 weeks of age and that the female kits are in their own cage before they turn 3 months old.
Now, lets get to the cages and housing different chins together. Two females alone usually work out, but not always. Two males alone usually work out, but not always. One of the 'not always' is when two females are housed together and one has a litter. Sometimes they help with the litter, other times they may kill the litter. You never know for sure. The main 'not always' can turn into 'an almost never' when it comes to housing two males together when there is a female in the same room or even the same level in the house. Why? Mother Nature calls it 'survival of the fittest'. Two males may get along for a long time, but, usually there will come a day when there is a female in season within sniffing distance ... she may be all the way across the room or even in another room ... but, males have been know to fight to the death for the
possibility of breeding that female. They may never get the chance ... she's in another cage ... but they will fight for the right to be the one that will have that chance. I found this out in a very hard way ... a father and son were housed together for almost a year, then one of the females went into season ... the males fought, both were in bad shape, but I came very close to losing the son. I can not get to the picture of the son, due to computer problems right not, but believe me, I sat and cried when I saw him. There may be a picture on one of the older threads with a story about them.
42 grams is not a bad weight for a newborn kit ... it is in the upper part of normal range. I have had several kits live that weighed 21 grams at birth. Then there was the brother and sister born at the same time in a superfoetation situation. A female born weighing 18 grams lived ... her brother was 52 grams. Quite a site side by side. Both conceived at different times, but born on the same day. It was a struggle for the little female, but she had a good mom and a loving brother that allowed mom to give her the most attention.
As bad as this may sound, a momma chin usually knows when there is something wrong with a kit and that he will probably not survive. Again, Mother Nature takes over. Momma chin will often abandon a kit and move her other kits to the far side of the cage to care for them if there is something wrong with the kit or if she does not have enough milk for all of the kits (such as in a large litter of 4 to 6 kits). This leaves the kit to die from getting chilled or from lack of nourishment. There are also times a momma will kill one before she will allow it to suffer very long. This is an instinct chinchillas are born with, it is not being mean or cruel, but the only way she can keep the remaining kit/kits alive and healthy. It is nature's way of allowing the healthy to survive and those that would suffer, not to suffer any more than necessary.
Chinchillas are shall we say 'well endowed' and have been known to mate when cages are less than 3" apart, so keep them close enough to keep their scents of each other and far enough away to play it safe.
This is for the cage you have any male chins in that is close to a female's cage.
If daddy is not eating good, make him special treats made of fresh hay (Alfalfa if it's available) ground almost to a powder in your blender (let the dust settle before opening the top of the blender), mixed with a little bit of water and a drop or two of apple juice ... just enough to make it hold together and shape them in little football shapes ... about the size of a raisin. Keep in an air tight container in the refrigerate and give him one or two at a time. During this time give him your attention 100% ... he may be feeling a bit left out with all the attention going to mom and her new kit. Be sure he gets his needed attention also.
Hope this has helped.
Jo Ann
