Bear is a pastel female chinchilla who I paired with a very nice, blue, award-winning male I had been lent, called Tomsk. When I knew her due date I decided to take a week off work so that I could keep an eye on her - just as well I did really. This is her first (and possibly last!) litter.

She went into labour and everything was going fine - except there was no kit appearing. Finally, after a good couple of hours, a nose appeared and then everything stopped. Bear was beginning to struggle a little and although I could see she was pushing quite well, the kit’s nose was not budging. 4 hours is the maximum time any female chinchilla should be allowed to strain without a kit being born. Time to go and visit the vets……..

My regular vet was not on duty today so I rang ahead and warned the receptionists that I was coming with a possible emergency. It was lunch time but they would get the on-call vet to pop out of surgery when I got there. Three quarters of the way to the vets I heard small, distressed squeaks coming from the carry cage - the motion of being picked up, gently examined, and popped into a carrier and driven in the car must have helped Bear give birth. Unfortunately, the kit must have been stuck because when I pulled the car over to check, it has blood on what was left of it’s front paw. I decided to keep going to the vets to get both mother and kit checked out, especially since I was not sure if Bear still had another kit inside her or had passed the placenta. I also wanted the kit assessed.

When we arrived I asked for a towel to dry the kit and asked to see the vet as well. The kit had considerable damage to his (I checked!) left front paw and Bear had bitten his back right toes and nipped his ear - poor lad, what a welcome into the world.

The vet came out and we checked Bear out - no more kits left - and she had some oxytocin to ensure she passed the placenta. The kit had an antibiotic injection to prevent any infection but he could not have any pain relief because of his size/age (nothing is really suitable for such a teeny, young kit). I took the kit and his mother home, set up a “hospital” cage in my bedroom and have been sitting quietly watching them.

Bear is being remarkably good with the little chap and is not attempting to over clean is front foot which is good. I have seen him attempting to feed but he is struggling to part the fur around Bear’s nipples because he cannot use his left paw or balance on it to use his right. He’s one determined little furry though because he is managing, despite everything. It is touch and go whether he lives or dies and whether he loses that front leg or gets septicaemia but so far, so good.

Poor Bear. She is clearly not overly impressed with pregnancy………….

…………………… or with the newspaper lining her cage - this is what she does to her cage within 20 minutes of having clean newspaper

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:

Griselda’s triplets are three of days old now and the harmony did not last long. I arrived home on Friday afternoon (yesterday) to find the little female kit asleep on her own on the heat box and the two boys, one on either side of Gris, suckling contentedly. I very gently woke the female and placed her near her mother who groomed her and cleaned her all over - so it was not a rejection problem. When a female ignores a kit it is often a sign that the kit has some form of weakness or disability which may not be apparent to us - the kit, once rejected, does not normally survive without intervention and even then, if there is an underlying condition it may well slip away despite our best efforts - some kits are just not meant to survive (that is natures’ way).

I took the biggest male kit out for a little while and watched the other two, while he slept in my cupped hand. After half and hour I popped him back in and he immediately started causing havoc - it was clear he was the dominant male and wanted his mother all to himself. The other two were more than happy to suckle from their mother with no squabbling; one on each side of a sleepy Griselda.

So I began rotating the kits 2 hourly and topping them all up 4 times a day when they were not in with their mother. I did try putting Thug (poor kit, I have a horrible feeling his nickname might stick!) in with the twins’ mother but, despite him smelling of her kits, she was not having any of it. She is more than happy to accept her kits but she would not have anything to do with Thug at all.

Sleep deprivation here I come!

As I left for work this morning I popped in to the chin room to change a couple of dust baths over and check on all the chins. I noticed that Griselda was soaking down her front - her waters had broken!
I watched her for a little while but had to leave for work - she was only in the early stages of labour and her contractions were widely spaced so despite my wanting to stay and watch her give birth, I had to go and earn money to keep His Furriness Lord Montague in the manner to which he is accustomed. She must have known I was impatient and was expecting her to produce last week when I got the weeks mixed up - maybe she gave me an early present to stop me constantly checking on her and asking her when she was going to have her kits.

I have fidgeted all day at work and I came home to find a tired and somewhat dishevelled looking Gris who was sitting gingerly in her cage. She shifted when I called her name and from out under her body scrambled 3 little chinchilla kits. All of the kits are a decent size for triplets (2x 48g and 1x 56g) which explains why Gris is sitting a bit gingerly!

In complete contrast to the twins born a few weeks ago under such difficult circumstances, these triplets are already settled with their mother and have established who gets which milky bar position. There has been no bickering or squabbling so far and it is lovely to see them contentedly attached to their mother. She, in turn, is being an excellent mother and is quietly attending to each kit. She seems very settled with her new brood which is great since this is her first litter.

Here they are: