TOTAL SHOCK, BIG Relief

[chinkeep]

Hi Everyone,

You may remember a few weeks ago I posted about my violet female having a mass, and then an xray showed a mummfied fetus. Well, as a total shock, she delivered the fetus this morning. The baby was a standard grey v.c., and it was huge. It measured 4 inches long, from head to hind legs, and the remains were 28 gr (sorry if this is all gross, but it is info worth knowing), basically all that is left is the skeleton and some fur. I am still sure that this happened last May, the baby was just to big for her to deliver and it died. I feel so bad for her, she knows that there should be a baby in there with her right now and she is running around her cage whimpering looking for the baby. What can I do to comfort her?????

Well, this is a relief as well. Now I can get her on some antibiotics and get her on the road to recovery. I hope she can have babies in the future, but I'm just more relieved that she is ok, I have been so worried about her and more worried that I might lose her.

[DirtySouthChins]

Aweeee Chinkeep you have surely had your share of trying times, I am so sorry to see you go through yet another saddness, but I am glad to hear that you can now concentrate on getting her well, as for comforting her, that is something left to the experts in this forum, as I am just starting out myself on breeding, ect... so I am still learning the ins/outs, I wish you the best of luck in the future here's an to look over you

she's had a baby inside her since last may?

Maybe a stuffed animal the size of a newborn kit will put her at ease?

[chinkeep]

Kim, yes, the last month or so has been trying...but I'm not letting it get me down. I don't want to sound cruel, but when you breed animals, you have to face these things, they are just part of mother nature, so I take these experiences, learn from them and know that next time I am faced with a similar situation, I will be prepared.

Erin, Yes since last May. It does happen and sometimes they can expell the fetus, or if she is able to get pregnant again, will expell the fetus when she delivers the next litter of kits. I feel very forunate because she very easily could have developed a bad infection and died. I thought last April/May that she was pregnant, she had weight gain, all the signs were there, and she even opened up about 2 weeks before the time I thought she was due. But her time came and went and there was no baby, so with the trip to the vet, we just concluded that she had an infection and she was put on Sulfatrim for a couple of weeks to get rid of the infection. After that she closed back up and seemed normal. Then in January I started noticing her weight jumping way up again and I thought she was pregnant, but then Dr Wayne disproved that with the xray.

All in all, I am very thankful for the outcome of this. I know that my details were rather graphic, but I hope that my experience will help someone else if they run up against a similar situation. Anytime you have a female that develops a unterine/vaginal infection, it is something that you should be very concerned about and follow up on closely to ensure that it does not become a life threatening case.

[Denise]

John, I am sure this has been a day of mixed feelings for you. Sad that Isabel expelled a fetus that has been inside of her since last May and is now mourning the loss of her kit and relieved because your precious chinnie is alive and well. Don't you wish animals could talk at a time like this? The only thing I can suggest is that you spend ALOT of time with Isabel and perhaps the idea of getting a stuffed animal may keep her company. Does she get along with any of your females? Of course you would want to watch carefully to see how they interact with one another but at least she would have someone to cuddle with.

[Becki]

WOW! I'm glad to hear she finally expelled it and is ok! How lucky for you both, she must be a strong girl. May I ask why it was left for so long? I'm not trying to second guess you or anything, just wondering...I had thought that was a death sentence. Thank you for sharing your story!

[PokeyPokey]

I would suggest a stuffed animal that is near the color of her baby. My chin was acting homesick like she missed her mom so I gave her a grey wolf and she loved it!

[chinkeep]

Hi Denise, Yes, it is a little sad, but it has not been terrible like it would have been if I had not even known she was pregnant and then found what I found. Even knowing about it, it was still a little shocking because I didn't expect it until she had babies again. Isabel has settled down and is resting now. I wish I could put her with another female, but she doesn't get along with any of my other females. I think I will try the stuffed animal and see if that helps.

Becki, it wasn't intentional I just didn't know that the fetus was there. We didn't do an xray last May cuz the vet didn't feel anything that felt like a fetus, so we just assumed that it was just an infection. It could well have been a death sentence if I hadn't taken her in then and got her on antibiotics, that helped to suppress any infection that would have been life threatening.

wow, I'm glad she's Ok! The infection that could have caused would have been terrible. I've been learning that guinea pigs and chin's are quite similar in many ways, I know a retained fetus for a pig wouldn't take long for heavy infection to develop.


I know when LP had her three pups, she was still bleeding pretty heavily the next morning so I took her in for xrays just in case, I'm surprised your vet didn't go with an xray since it could have been much worse outcome for her.


Do chins often have only 1 kit? GP's usually have 1-4(3 is norm, imo), but have the capacity for 10 *yikes*.

[chinkeep]

Erin...so far my chin's litters have been 1 or 2, but my chins are also not big, most are in the 550 to 600 gr range. As for the xray, I totally trusted my vet in IL, she is VERY good with exotics. I thought about doing an xray, but she was confident in her findings, and at the time, I had already been out of work for several months, and already having had over $600.00 in vet bills in 5 months, I just didn't have the money, $130.00, to do an xray if the vet didn't think there was a need for it. Don't get me wrong, if she would have thought there was a need, I would have done it in a heartbeat. I trusted her then, and I still do and would take any of my chins to her before I would consider anyone else in that area.

[DirtySouthChins]

Wow John, I am just glad to hear that she is doing well, and your right we all learn as we go, that is what a chin breeder is about, you learn from you experiences bad or good (sorry if that sounded wrong) I myself, have learned quite alot from the loss of my 4 chinnies, I wish you the best!! and am just glad she is okay

[Becki]

Thanks for explaining it IS definetly a learning process!