My usual routine first thing in the morning is to pop into the chin room when I get up to check on all the chinchillas, make sure they are all ok, have water, and have not misbehaved too much during the night.

This morning when I wandered into the room I stopped dead and chuckled ………. Barney lived with Harry for 8 years and when I sadly had to have Harry put to sleep with tooth problems I thought Barney would really miss his little pal. I gave Barney a new cage (for a change of scenery) and a square of fleece to snuggle up to. He loves his fleece and can often be found snuggled under it in the bottom of the cage. Last night though, he had a dustbath in his cage and he had obviously been a busy boy. He’d decided to be very clever and creative…………

This is what I saw when I went into the chin room this morning

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Bear in mind that the “duvet” piece of fleece is quite large in comparison to Barney and it is completely tucked into the dust bath - clever little furry

The twins are now almost weaned. Thistle is now living on his own and still using a bottle of formula but he’s basically weaned himself off it for the most part. He was separated from both of his mothers when he decided to start play mounting them - a bit of dominance is not usually too much of a problem but he was quite insistent and both of this mothers were getting annoyed by him. Play mounting is a sign of increasing maturity and in Thistle’s case, stupidity! I lost count of the number of times he got paw swiped and kacked at by his mother when I was feeding them the other evening so he was separated there and then; much to his disgust and his mother’s relief I think.
He is a real live wire character and is growing up fast. He does not want to be handled much at the moment but that’s more his independent streak than anything else I think. Once he’s caught he sits quite happily and lets me stroke and chat to him - then he gets bored and pings off back into his cage. Trying to take his photo is nigh-on impossible and I have loads of pictures of empty space where he had been, blurred tail shots, and the occasional grey smudge as he hurtled past the camera lense.

Teazel remains with her mother and is happily snuggled up with her as I type this. It is much easier to keep females with their mothers and these two will stay together as long as possible. For now they are content with each other’s company and it is lovely to see them sharing a cage. Teazel is the more gentle and calm of the twins and has a sweet nature too. She is a little coy as opposed to her manically “pinging” brother and is a delight to hold and stroke.

If I decide to show the twins it will be interesting grooming them both - such different personalities often are manifest on the show bench and in grooming. Some chins sit still and let you groom them easily but others are little monsters, bouncing about and being stroppy (kacking) when attempting to use the needle sharp comb on their fur. Most of the work for showing takes place beforehand and it is only the finishing touch through the very tips of the fur which is needed at the show hall. Chins which refuse to sit still can be a challenge all through the preparation grooming sessions so it is worth starting when kits are young, just getting them used to being held and having their fur touched all over with the back of the comb, building up to full grooming over a period of time.
On the show bench some chins simply snooze the time away (some crash out on their sides, much to the amusement of those watching them and the horror of the owner who has spent time grooming their fur to perfection!) and some show off, never sitting still so they “ruin” their outline and still others just have that “I’m perfect and I know it” pose which makes them stand out from the crowd.
What’s the betting Thistle is a pure show off?

Life here continues apace. Thug and his siblings are growing rapidly, are nibbling pellets and hay and are developing their individual characters. They are spending some time in the cage next to their mother drinking formula from the bottle and then they are rotated again. Thug loves spending time with his Mum - I think he’s a bit of a whimp really.
Here is Thug looking angelic.

The triplets are doing quite well. Putting on weight and starting to ping about their cage. Gris is doing a great job with them and is coping with the me swapping them around several times a day - not bad for a first time mum.

Thug has been at work with me all week - he has successfully made the transition from taking formula from a pipette to drinking it out of a mouse bottle. I took the bottle with me on Tuesday and by lunch time (second feed using the bottle) he’d managed to grasp the concept of using his lower jaw to “bite” the ball bearing to release the milk. It’s amazing really how quickly these little kits adapt to changes in their environment and in their “food delivery” systems - survival and adaptability are two of the chinchillas most basic instincts but they are incredibly well developed, even from birth. It’s truly fascinating to watch and provides a real learning opportunity.

The two other kits (as yet nameless) are doing very well too. Like their brother, they have adapted well to the schedule of rotation and are also drinking formula from a mouse bottle when they are not in with their mother. The bottle is hung from the cage at a height they can easily reach and the formula is warmed a couple of times and then completely changed with a sterilised bottle and freshly made formula. This prevents any bacterial build up in the bottle and protects the kits from gastro-intestinal upset which can be fatal in young chinchillas.

I need to take some more pictures of both sets of kits this weekend (the triplets and the twins) so I might do it when I clean out the chins later. It is interesting watching how kits change in body shape over time; going from the gangly, big-headed first born to the “mini-chin” body shape at a few weeks old. It is also interesting to see the colouring change in some of the mutation chinchilla kits are they develop too - the velvets are fascinating as their veiling and face “mask” develops.

I’ve written an article about The Charcoal Mutation and its Derivatives on Chinchillas Unlimited because there seems to be a lot of confusion around the difference between a charcoal and an ebony - pure recessive charcoals are rare and the mutation is often (frustratingly!) confused with ebony.

It is amazing that chinchilla kits can look so sweet and innocent but can inflict such damage on each other in their fight for survival. I was discussing the number of kits born with a good friend of mine the other day - when triplets are born one of them is usually a runt and in the wild would almost undoubtedly not survive. Chinchilla kits are quite merciless when it comes to their survival and will not hesitate to viciously fight with their siblings for access to the mother’s teats. In some cases this can lead to death of the weaker sibling. The strongest will survive but if for some reason it dies (predators or accident) then there are other kits waiting to take its place - almost certainly when triplets or quads are born the 3rd/4th are just an “insurance policy” so that one or more kits survive in each litter. It is doubtful that all of them would reach maturity.
In captivity we intervene when necessary and the “insurance policy” (I know that sounds heartless but I can’t think of a better way to describe it - and I think it’s accurate even if we don’t particularly like the term) often survives because of that intervention. To be honest, I could never stand back and watch kits fight or die simply because they were being bullied or lacking milk: I’m far too soft to do that which is why I need matchsticks for my eyes right now! I do know that some people can leave nature to take its course but it is just not in me to do that.

My friend always prays her chinchillas do not have triplets - I’m beginning to understand why! My only other experience of triplets (previous litters born here have been single or twins) were born to my beloved Stumpy who tragically died despite my best efforts to save her. Consequently the triplets never got to the point of bickering and fighting because they were hand reared almost from day 1. They were hard work but I would have done anything in my power to help them survive - today they are a testament to Stumpy’s memory and her daughter, Ilori, is just like her in character.

Little Thug (yes, his nickname seems to be sticking) came to work with me today. He was in the little pet carrier under my desk, snoozing the day away while I worked (or rather, while I tried to keep my eyes open so I could work). He is doing rather well and is taking fairly substantial amounts of formula at each feed which is excellent news. His siblings are also doing well and they are all putting on weight. Over night I am rotating them 2 hourly and during the day the male and female stay with Griselda. The female kit has picked up really well after being bullied by Thug - she did have a small cut on her lower lip but it is healing nicely now. Griselda is being very good with them all and I do not think she would have any trouble feeding all three if it was not for Thug’s behaviour and intolerance of his siblings.

The monster twins are just over five weeks old now and are well on their way to becoming independent. Thistle was play mounting his mother the other day which did not go down very well. He may think he’s turning into a mini adult but his mother is not going to be dominated by a little squirt - one swipe with her nose and a swift “kacking” rebuke and he was put firmly back in his place - tucking him underneath her chest to keep him still was the final punishment. Teazel is too busy climbing the sides of the cage and flinging herself off backwards to worry about trying to be dominant - she’s been having far too much fun.

I love watching chinchilla kits grow up, change appearance, gain in confidence and develop those wonderful individual characters which makes them such delightful companions - it makes all of the sleep deprivation and worry worthwhile.

Here are a couple of Griselda’s kits sharing a bottle: