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.