Baby chinchillas are one of the most adorable pets of all and very delicate creatures. They can be sick if you don’t care for chinchilla kits properly. So it is important to be careful what you feed them. You keep the responsibility over your pets. First of all, it is required to know how to feed baby chinchillas.
Baby chinchillas should only be given a small amount of food at a time. Chinchillas diet should consist mostly of hay, fresh vegetables, and a small amount of pellets.
What Do You Feed Baby Chinchillas?
Chinchillas are omnivores. They eat both plants and meat. They also eat insects and bird eggs when they get the chance.
You can manually feed them formula milk for kittens or goat’s milk by hand with a plastic syringe without a needle. The accessories should be good enough with handling for long periods.
Hold the kit in your hand and have it sit upright to easily feed and prevent choking.
Do Baby Chinchillas Need Milk?
Yes, baby chinchillas need milk to survive. Feed the kitten milk for 6 to 8 weeks. Kits that are orphaned need a nutritional replacement for their mother’s milk.
Warm the milk first before serving over the stove or in the microwave and pour it into an eyedropper or syringe. They should be given nothing but milk in their early days.
What Milk Do You Give Baby Chinchillas?
Warmed kitten milk would be the best choice after their birth mother’s milk. They can be purchased at veterinary clinics, pet stores or online.
It is good to buy milk of your own. Take the kit and sit upright in the palm of your hand. Gently feed them the milk.
How Much Do You Feed a Baby Chinchilla?
Baby chinchillas should be fed every two hours for the first two weeks of their lives. After that every three to four weeks until weaning. Observe carefully about their feeding needs and how they react to their food.
Make sure to hold baby chinchillas face up to prevent choking. Chinchillas can live up to 10 or more years with proper care.
Here are some additional tips for feeding your baby chinchilla:
- Start feeding your baby chinchilla chinchilla milk replacement as soon as they are weaned from their mother.
- Feed your baby chinchilla chinchilla milk replacement 3-4 times a day.
- Make sure that the chinchilla milk replacement is at room temperature before feeding it to your baby chinchilla.
- Do not give your baby chinchilla any other milk, including cow’s milk, goat’s milk, or almond milk.
- Take your baby chinchilla to the vet for regular checkups. The vet can check your chinchilla’s weight and make sure that they are getting the nutrients they need.
How Do You Take Care of Baby Chinchillas?
Chinchillas are good pets for pet parents who are looking for a pet to socialize and cuddle with, but who are also able to handle them gently to prevent injury to their delicate ribs and limbs.
In between ten weeks observe them by weighing, handling and feeding. Make sure they get food from their mother. Hand feed those that lag behind.
In between ten to twelve weeks, give them hay and pellets for the mother and kits to encourage to wean after the kits stop drinking mother’s milk. Separate the kits from the mother. Pair up with others of the same sex after 12th week.
How Fast Do Baby Chinchillas Grow?
Observe how much weight baby chinchillas gain during their first few weeks. After that weigh them every few days. Make sure they are putting on weight as they grow.
Increase their feedings to every hour until they get bigger. A kit’s weight should be doubled 3 weeks after birth. Monitor the kits’ weight regularly to ensure that this milk is enough to keep them healthy. Milk supplements may be required if kits are not getting heavier.
They are very social and live in colonies that consist of hundreds of chinchillas. Chinchillas can grow up to 12 inches long.
Also Read : What Kind of Oats Can Chinchillas Eat?
FAQs
Do Baby Chinchillas Like to Be Held?
Yes, baby chinchillas like to be held. Start doing so earlier. They will be less defensive when fully grown. If you try to take the kits away, the mother will initially be nervous.
Move at their pace, not yours. Chinchillas are thought to be smarter than rabbits and can be taught to play with humans. Chinchillas don’t like handling all the time. Your pets may be frightened initially, they will be cool after that.
Can You Touch Newborn Chinchillas?
Newborn chinchillas are smaller and more active. This should be handled with care, not like grownup ones. Do not pick them up by squeezing their middles.
Expand your hands to form a platform for new chinchillas to sit on. Let it move without overly restricting it. Different chinchillas have different personalities. Try to entertain them in various ways. Have all the kits used for you handling them.
When Can Chinchilla Babies Leave Mom?
Chinchilla babies should not be separated from their mother until they are old enough and that would be a minimum of 10 to12 weeks.
The young may have both developmental and behavioral problems if you separate them too early. Weaning time begins after eight weeks.
What to Do When a Chinchilla Gives Birth?
The processes of reproduction and birth are similar to mammals. The problem is, they are small enough to handle like other pets like cats and dogs. Mother chinchilla gives birth after mating with male.
When females are ready to mate, they can also be aggressive toward males, and are the dominant of the two genders. Females are mostly monogamous; they have only one mate throughout their lives.The baby gets bigger in the womb.
At the time of birth, give the mother a cool comfortable place. Clean the babies up with soft cloth or tissues. Give them rest for a while. The mother will take care of the babies of its own.
Do chinchillas eat their babies?
Yes, sometimes it could happen. If it is starving and about to die, it can do such unpleasant activity. On the other side, the mother eats one of its kits if it is very ill.
When a chinchilla mother is starving, its milk production slows down. The mother can continue to feed the rest by killing and eating the weakest kit for lack of food. Prevent it by good and attentive care.
Conclusion
Chinchillas are very cute pets. They are relatively easy to care for. Many people are interested in baby chinchillas. But they need special care.
It will be an excellent experience and you will form a lasting bond by taking care of them at their early age.