after a LONG trip home?

[partygirlha]

I'm picking up my baby twins (and another young baby for another owner) on Tuesday night. They will have had a very long trip to get home (3 flights, one 10 hour layover and a car ride home). I'm unsure if extra food is coming with them and I don't know what they have been eating. Originally there were only my boys being shipped and extra food etc would have been coming but now there's a third chin in the 3 hole carrier.

Anyway I've got the cage all set up, I'm going to pick up some simethicone and acidophilus and just ordered some life line (all things I should have on hand anyway).

My current plan is to have the play pen set up with their cage inside of it. When I get them home I figured I'd just put the carrier in the playpen and open the doors. I'll let them do as they please - they may want to run around after the long flight or they may head for shelter and hide - or some combination, who knows.

Is there anything that I'm missing about making them feel at home and being prepared for any issues related to such a long trip, new food etc. Maybe I should add that the baby I'm picking up for another owner will be with me almost a week and is newly weaned.

[mistywaterwoman]

I've done 3.5 hour car trips to get my chins before, but never such a LONG journey, so I can only tell you what worked for me. I put the new chin straight into the cage when I got home, made sure everything was in place and secure, and left the room for a while. I always had the cage to where I could peek around the corner and check on them, without being too close and scaring them. I did this for both Tami and Evie. I think they need time to adjust. All they really wanted to do was hide at first, but with a quiet environment, they start coming out to have a look around, explore the cage, find the food & hay and stuff like that.
After 3-4 hours I usually go closer to see what reaction I get, and it's been good both time. Curiosity is their biggest weakness.

The open playpen sounds fine for after they have been there for a while, but I don't think I would try it right away.

What are you going to do with the other baby? Is he just going to stay in the cage with your guys for a few days?

[dawn]

Being these chins are going on a very long trip to many locations I would strongly advise strict quarantine, meaning put them at the complete oposite side of the house from your exisiting chins, if you handle the new ones change the clothes in the room you have them in and put new ones on when you are out of the room. Wash those hands with a antimicrobial soap and try to limit back and forth visits. Also watch the new ones very close for any health issues, this is a long and stressfull trip and its going to be hard on them so be extra diligent and any signs of trouble send them to the vet. Warn the new owner of the new chin also.

[partygirlha]

Thanks Dawn. Mouse is in our living room downstairs and the babies will be upstairs in our bedroom, for a full 30 days. The little baby is already sold to another owner. She lives upstate so I agreed to pick up her baby and hold onto her for a week or two.

The reason I was going to do the playpen was so they can either stay in the carrier or try a good run after 1 2/3 days of transit – or go and hide in the cage right away. When I’ve brought cats home I’ve always just opened the carrier door and let them come out in their own good time. Some run around right away and others stay really close to the carrier for hours. I know chins are very different but I just thought they might do better letting themselves out of the carrier when they feel ready.

Should I give any supplements right away or should I just see how they are eating and pooing? I don’t have an extensive first aid kit so if there’s anything that I might need please let me know.


BTW – the little baby is weaned but very young. Is there anything extra I should have for her? Serena, maybe you can answer that since you know her?

[Lauren]

I would definitely put them in their cages. I think they are going to be 3 very stressed out babies. I traveled with Jinx for 10 hours in the car and he was horribly frightened and upset when we got home.

[mistywaterwoman]

I know next to nothing about breeding, but I would definitely put the little girl in a seperate cage from your two boys for the duration of her stay, just to be safe. I hope you have an extra cage handy.

[partygirlha]

Kara - I've got an extra cage but it's not fully baby proof. She's young and my boys are still only about 3 months. Serena thought as long as I keep an eye on everyone they should be fine together. If I see any signs of problems I'll pull someone out and re-cage. But the 3rd cage is not 1/2 wiring and I don't want loose baby chins.

I think given her young age we’re not worried about breeding. But if my boys try anything then I'll have to re-cage, more for safety than to prevent breeding.

Mostly I'm worried about any health issues that might arise from such a long trip and change of home and food all at once.

I’m probably just being a worried expectant mother.

[chinaddiction]

placing a young female with 2 males is sorry to say playing with fire, as chins can breed at as early as 8 weeks old, so i would suggest placing some screen messh around the females cage as a temp nursery, those young males may still try breeding with her even if she is young, (actually had a dad that was really good with his first 2 litters then the 3rd litter he tried breeding with a month old kit,) so it is a big risk,
also there is a great product out there called rescue remedy that greatly reduces stress in animals as in your case of a very long journey
heres there link www.bachflower.com/Pets.htm also i would place the chins in there cages, and just let them be for at least a day or 2 just checking on them every now and then, i would also leave the room fairly dark so as to help them calm down and relieve the stressfulness they just went through, believe it or not jet lag does get to animals as it does us, other than that i would agree with dawn in what she said,,

[dawn]

I would separate, its not worth risking the females life with unwanted breeding or aggressive behavior. You can't watch them 24/7.

[Mrs. Peeperz]

can you keep the little girl in the carrier?

[lilchinchilla]

She is too young to breed. I'm not some mentally challenged breeder who just started breeding yesterday and don't know anything about raising chinchillas. A kit her age cannot breed. If they could, then there would be alot of little girl baby chins her age getting pregnant by their brothers before being weaned at alot of breeders. Once any of my chins are 8 weeks of age, I wean and separate, because of course they can get pregnant by the age of 8 weeks old.

I weaned her a little early since Hafina is wanting her boys asap, and she is doing fine, being that she was an only kit in the litter. She was already eating and drinking from the water bottle before she was even 6 weeks old(and no she wasn't weaned too early either. I normally do not wean till 8 weeks of age, but this girl is weaned one week early - which I have done fine with other kits before who had been problem kits for their mom or sybling(s) or whichever, and had to be weaned.)

As for the stress, I'd have to say 90% of chins the age of these babies, seem to do just fine with shipping and no stress at all(Only time I saw a baby stress out this young, was one who had been soaked with water by an airline attendant and left soaking wet in the carrier.).

It is the older chinchillas and the adults who I have had experience shipping that do not fair well with shipping which is why I prefer to not ship adults. I have shipped since 2001, several times to Czech Republic, France, Germany, Austria, US, etc..etc... and I have done it enough to say I have experience with shipping... and the kits were always the ones who took it easiest. Even the kits who I had shipped to France and were returned back - they acted like nothing new had happened. I do not ship overseas anymore, but that is for other reasons.

I would say to expect a possibility of them being stressed out, but they might not be also. Each chin reacts differently to shipping.

Some react like nothing has gone on, some are the exact opposite and are freaked out. Considering these guys have already travelled well to the vets and in a car ride for 3 hours each time and done so twice - with no ill effects or stressed out actions, I would think they should be okay for flying. I've had other chins who don't handle even a car ride as smoothly as these three without freaking out.

I will see if I can't put a small container of food in, but they do not allow me to have it on top of the carrier or attached - just how the airlines are, in case the bag breaks or something en route. I could try putting a margarine tub of food or a ziploc one with some food in.
They are on feed I get milled here in Duncan. If I missed anything else, let me know.

[partygirlha]

Thanks Serena. The cage here is all set up and baby proof. I do have a third cage but it's 1" bar spacing and I'm thinking she's better off with the boys than risking the boys escaping the 1" wire cage. It's only for a few days anyway. If I so spot any signs of trouble of course I’ll figure something out (probably lining the other cage walls with fleece on one side and cardboard on the other – she they have to work really really hard to get out). I already tried wrapping the cage in ½ spacing hardware cloth and it was next to impossible to do – that’s why I ordered a new cage for the boys.

I'm going to have them on Oxbow (and told Dee I would give her some to take home so her girl doesn't have to change foods twice in a week). I've got lifeline on order and figured giving them a bit of it can't hurt I’m also going to pick up some acidophilus tomorrow just in case.

Can they have hay cubes or are those off limits until 6 months? I have a nice toy from heather that I want to put in their cage but it’s got a hay cube. What do you think?

[dawn]

So just curious, where does Hafina say the girl kit is 6 weeks old, do you possibly think those of us assumed the kit was 8 weeks like most breeders wean?

[lilchinchilla]

Not all breeders wean at 8 weeks. I weaned her a tad earlier since Hafina has been pressing for to get her boys as quick as possible. The grl in question is doing fantastic and is a big girl for her age. As big as Hafina's boys and as independant.

I don't know if Hafina mentioned the age or not, but regardless, I would hope most on here that know me would know I wouldn't do anything to harm my own babies. It's just like I would not question you Dawn, on what you do with your chins, because I know how long you have owned chins and I know you're very knowledgable...

I wouldn't purposely tell someone to put them together for a short period of time, if there was a chance of them breeding or causing any harm to one another.
And I do believe most knew Hafina was getting her boys from me, since she did post a thread on here about that and where they were coming from, etc...