Roxie - Diary |
The first three months in my baby chinchilla's life |
Roxie at one week old |
In February 2000 I bought two chinchillas after my last one, Jason, died two years previously. I wanted two females, but due to colours available I ended up with a brown velvet female (Cara) and a white male (Merlin). This meant that Merlin had to be neutered. However, if was not practical until about six weeks later. In the meantime they were housed together. We accepted the risk of a pregnancy. I decided to keep any babies anyway if it did happen, as I could never get myself to give them away. I was never quite sure whether Cara was pregnant or not. She showed some signs, but always acted quite normally and did not seem to get particularly big either. I thought, that if she was pregnant, she would have had to give birth around beginning of July. So when we came toward the middle of July, and still nothing happened, we dismissed the possibility of a pregnancy. That was until ... See below what happened! |
21st July 2000 |
I had a day off and I did not have to rush. My mother-in-law called and I told her that I might come and see her that day. I got myself ready and was just about to go out when I heard these noises coming from the chinchilla cage. I had never heard this before and went to investigate. I could not believe what I saw: Cara had just given birth to one baby. It was still wet and so was Cara. It was such a surprise. I called my husband to tell him the good news. He was pleased, but not overjoyed as we already have seven other pets... I then called my mother-in-law to inform her that I could not be coming over. I also called friends, I felt like telling everyone. I have never had baby animals before and probably won't have for a long while now as they are all neutered. It is so exciting and I am still nervous. Cara and the baby seem both fine. merlin is helping with everything too. I haven't actually seen the baby yet, apart from the feet and the tail (through a gap between nestbox and shelf). So I don't know the colour yet, but I know that it is not white. The genetic make-up of the parents could produce about ten different colour varieties. We'll hopefully soon see. At the moment, all three are having a well earned rest. |
22nd July 2000 |
It's our fifth wedding anniversary today - Littley, as I am calling our baby for now, was therefore kind of an early anniversary present. I checked the baby out quickly last night. I am pretty sure it is a female (sigh of relief... a male would mean another one to neuter). She is a very dark grey, her back nearly black, might even develop into a black velvet (like her grand-mother), who knows. In any case, she seems fit and healthy indeed. The books tell me, that babies start walking and climbing about on the second day. Obviously Littley has not read the books yet, she has been walking outside the nestbox, climbing and jumping from the base to the shelves and on top of the nestbox within 12 hours of her birth... She follows her mummy whenever possible. Sometimes she just squeaks softly and mummy comes running, or dady for that matter! Cara seems to enjoy motherhood even more so as she gets a daily ration of dandelion now. This is supposed to help the milk production. And it's one of her favourite treats too. It is great to see the three of them all cuddled up together. What a happy little family! |
23rd July 2000 |
After a brain storming session with my husband and looking through pet names on the Internet, I have decided to call our baby "Roxie". It suits her and it would not be too hard to change it to "Roxy" should I have got the gender wrong... Roxie is doing really well. She follows her parents everywhere in the cage without any problems. She now knows how to get to places. She is however still a little shy, just like a toddler. I think she got used to myself and my voice now, but when my husband had a look, she disappeared in the nestbox. She is very alert and lively, and she already seems to know exactely what she wants. And I watched her nibbling on a bit of hay - at 2 1/2 days old! I was very surprised. It is so sweet to watch her cuddle under mummy's tummy to drink. |
24th July 2000 |
I have held Roxie in my hand for the second time since she was born. She did not particularly like it, but the sooner she gets to know us humans, the more sociable she will be when grown up. I am totally amazed how independent and strong willed little Roxie already is. She follows her parents around in the cage, but she also does her very own exploration tours or just disappears in the nestbox for a while. I have also watched her actually eat hay...! Often I can hear them talk to one another. Soft noises from the kit let mummy know that she is hungry, louder noises (which are getting less and less) are calling from mummy or dady and soft noises from mummy accompany the baby into the right position to drink. |
26th July 2000 |
Roxie is doing absolutely fine. I am now handling her for a couple of minutes every day and she seems to get used to it very quickly. I also put my hand on the hay in the cage and she walked over it. Cara however has given me a fright today: she had a fit. It is generally believed that it is a lack of calcium that causes this and many chinchillas suffer from it. I am doing everything to make sure that Cara has all the nutrients (including calcium) she needs, particularly now that she has to feed the baby as well, but it just does not seem to do the trick. Cara has had two fits before in the last about five months, but this time she seemed to take a little longer to recover than ever before (it is usually a matter of a couple of minutes). And this worries me. I will call my vet tomorrow morning first thing. He is a specialist for exotics and may be able to help and give me useful advice and if necessary and possibe medication. Other than that, Cara is absolutely fine and takes brilliant care of Roxie. I have another piece of news regarding Cara: I have entered a picture of her in a photo competition in aid of the British Houserabbit Association. Cara did not just win the first place in the "Rodent, Birds and other Animals", but she actually won the Reserve Best of Show title out of over a thousand entries. I am very proud of her indeed, for being a great parent and for being such a beautiful and lovely chinchilla. |
27th July 2000 |
Cara looks perfectly well today. I called the vet's surgery and he was meant to call me back, but he did not get round to it. I will chase him up tomorrow. As I don't want to move Cara out of their cage or separate her from Roxie and/or Merlin as this would only distress her and Roxie, I can't take her in for an appointment. If I am advised tomorrow that a vet really needs to see her, then I will get a vet to make a house call and see her here where she feels comfortable. Knowing the real problem (calcium deficiency aggrevated by the production of milk) I went to get a calcium/Vitamin D supplement and gave Cara half a tablet. I need to know from the vet though whether this is the best thing to do and what dosage I should use. Roxie is as energetic and bouncy as always. I have definitely seen her munchin a little hay today. And when Cara and Merlin were eating the string away that attached the mineral block to the cage, Roxie joined in very enthusiastically as well... She is one little darling and she is so funny to watch. |
I talked to my vet first thing this morning. He advised me to use a calcium supplement called "Zolcal-D". So we drove to the vet quickly (well, it takes nearly an hour to get there by car.. but anything for our pets!) and picked the little bottle up. I have added the suggested dosage to the water and Cara has already been drinking it without problems. I really hope now that this takes care of Cara's fits. So far, so good...! Roxie is getting braver and braver, she is terribly curious too and has to stick her nose into everything - just like a proper chinchilla :-) I will soon have to let the chins run about outside their cage again. Cara and Merlin do not like the confinement to their cage and I can see that they are getting quite worked up about it (they are used to one or two hours playtime in their bedroom a day). I have chosen the week-end to do that again. By then, Roxie will be old enough and well prepared for a new round of excitement! |
28th July 2000 |
I could not watch Cara and Merlin suffer any longer and I let them go for a run outside their cage for a little while today. I put the cage on the floor with Roxie in it, so the parents could pop back in at any time. Roxie however did not seem to be worried at all and was just patiently waiting. Tonight, I gave Merlin and Cara two alfalfa cobs, which they absolutely loved. Of course Roxie had to try it as well and had a go. It was quite a funny sight to see this mini chinchilla eat from that - for her - life size hay cube. Although she is still mainly fed by mummy, she has definitely started eating solid food as well. I am so amazed how very advanced Roxie already is in the development at just one week old! And yes, Cara is doing really well. I have not observed any other fits. She will get her calcum in the water until she finishes producing milk and if necessary for the rest of her life. We will see how it goes. But I am just so very happy that she is doing fine. Cara and Merlin also managed to pinch two treats today (they usually get one treat a day!). I gave them their treat and did something else. Then a few minutes later they were sitting there again as if still waiting. I went downstairs, cut a dried apricot in half and gave it to them. Only then did I realise that they already had their dessert. Never mind... they deserve it really! |
29th July 2000 |
My brother came to see us from Switzerland today. It was great to see him again after quite a while. He had to have a look at Roxie of course and I let him handle her for a little while. She did not seem to mind at all and was really good. I want her to be very sociable as a grown chin, and I think she will be just fine in that respect. May be it is just my imagination, but I seem to get a response already when I call her by her name. She seems to know that I am talking to her and she often comes out to see what it is all about. Cara seems to be doing fine as well. It looks as if the calcium is doing the trick. I have not observed any more fits. |
31st July 2000 |
Yes, I had to skip one entry yesterday as my computer did not quite comply with my requests... Anyway, my little chinchilla family is absolutely fine. Roxie is growing and I can now feel some weight when I hold her in my hand. She is also very much used to me an does not mind being handled anymore. On Sunday, we actually had quite a good time together: she kept jumping on the nest box and waited for me to give her a lift down to the base with my hand. She really seemed to enjoy it. I think she is developping into a great character of a chinchilla. Cara and Merlin are also fine, and so far no more fits for Cara. I am really happy about that. |
1st August 2000 |
25th July 2000 |
It was a very hot day today, not just for the chinchillas (which certainly did not like it), but also for my rabbits (which liked it even less). Thank god it is cooling down nicely now over night. Roxie has had another ession with me tonight while her parents were playing in the room. She knows the routine now and does patiently her own thing in the cage. However she now also tries to jump out of the cage to follow mum and dad. But she is too small yet and will have to wait another couple of weeks before joining them in their daily exercise hour. Roxie is growing fast, and so is her confidence. She takes it now for granted that my hand is there in the cage to give her a lift around - much more fun that jumping and running on her own four legs... |
2nd August 2000 |
The chinchilla family is just having a rest with Roxie safely tucked into mummy's tummy fur. She will soon be too big to fit under Cara as she is growing fast indeed. I am also very curious to see the fully developped character of Roxie. I am sure she is going to be a very confident and sociable chinchilla! She certainly looks and behaves very promising! |
3rd August 2000 |
Roxie knows me really well now and comes out when she hears my voice. I put my hands in the cage and she climbs around on them. She is such a sweety. I have also arranged the health insurance now for Roxie. All my other animals are insured, inclusive Cara and Merlin. It just gives me this extra peace of mind - and it is not terribly expensive either. At least I know that I can afford any kind of veterinary treatment necessary without worrying about the cost. |
4th August 2000 |
The Queen Mum has her 100st Birthday today, and Roxie is exactly two weeks old! She (I mean Roxie, not the Queen Mum) is turning into a very cuddly chinchilla indeed. She loves jumping about on my hand and using it as a flying carpet. She is a very active girl and enjoys a good game. Cara and Merlin are in great shape too. The calcium supplement really seems to do the trick with Cara as she is absolutely fine, without any fits! I am very pleased about that. I have decided that I will now update the diary one or twice a week only as the development of Roxie will not be so speedy anymore as it was withing these two first weeks of her life. I will of course mention anything straight away that is of particular interest. |
7th August 2000 |
Time is flying. Roxie has had her first taste of a sand bath yesterday. |
She followed her parents, but she was not quite sure how to do things. She enjoyed digging in it, but she never even tried to roll... well, she is only just over two weeks old and has still plenty of time to practise I guess! Roxie start showing all the habits of chinchillas: pushing things out of her way with the front paws, climbing on the branch in the cage (not to worry, it is padded well underneath with a thick layer of bedding and hay - just in case she looses her balance), moving very fast, climbing on everything and trying to escape from the cage. She loves climbing around on my hand and will sit on it for minutes to watch the surroundings. However, she is too small yet to join Cara and Merlin on their daily run in the bedroom. But at the rate she is growing, it won't be too long until she is ready too! |
9th August 2000 |
Roxie had her first run outside the cage last night - and she enjoyed every minute of it. She investigated that corner of the room very thoroughly and was not very happy when she had to go back into the cage... Unfortunately I cannot let them have a run today. I have a sick baby bunny downstairs and until he is up and running again, I avoid handling the other pets as much as possible to minimise any risk of transfering the bug. Roxie, being so young, is of course most at risk. So they will have to wait until everything is back to normal again. In the meantime, I am sure, she will improve her skills of being a proper chinchilla (her parents are the best teachers...). This includes things like poking her nose through the bars, jumping around making as much noise as possible and empty out the food bowl and kick the pellets on ` the floor and out of the cage with as much force as possible...! |
12th August 2000 |
Cara has her first birthday today. Happy Birthday, my baby. And Roxie was three weeks old yesterday. Unfortunately we were not really able to celebrate much. My baby bunny is still sick and I still avoid handling all the other pets as much as possible. However I have watched Roxie having her first drink from the water bottle and she has also found out now how to roll in the sandbath. It looks so cute. She looks and behaves like a proper chinchilla now - just still in miniature form. Nevertheless she must have at least doubled her size since birth. She is quite big now. If her mum is anything to go by, she will grow into a very big chin indeed. |
16th August 2000 |
Life is back to normal. My bunny has made a full recovery from a very serious and potentially fatal condition and I am very happy about it. This also means that I can handle all the other pets again. Yesterday I caught up with cleaning out cages and giving cuddles. My chin family was allowed to come outagain for a while. They loved it. They really missed their daily run. Roxie is growing. She is nearly four weeks old now and she is a real character. She is very fit and loves balancing on the branch in their cage. Once Roxie is a little older (at least 12 weeks), I will have a cage made to order for them. It will be about four times the size they have now. I am sure they will love it. But as long as Roxie is still small, we have to make do with the present cage - which is a pretty good size too. |
21st August 2000 |
Roxie is exactely one month old today. Time seems to be flying. She had her first run today being able to use the whole room - and did she enjoy it. She is growing a lot and she is now running around and behaving just like an adult chinchilla. She also eats a lot of solid food now. It's only approximately two weeks now until she is fully weaned. |
Wow, this is what I call fun! |
30th August 2000 |
I have not been able to write an entry for a while as my baby rabbit has fallen ill again and it has taken up all my time to nurse him back to health. But he has once more made a full recovery about which we are of course very happy. Roxie is making brilliant progress. She is a fully fledged chinchilla now with all the "bad manners" that brings with it... She loves her daily run in the room with Cara and Merlin. She is nearly six weeks old, which means that she should by now be basically weaned off mummy's milk. In fact I have not seen her drink milk for quite a few weeks, but she s certainly eating her fair share of pellets and hay - and the occasional treat of course... |
8th September 2000 |
Roxie is already seven weeks old. I am so glad that I am able to keep her for myself. I could not face giving her away. She is such a sweetheart. I can now say for sure that Roxie is a dark standard grey colour. So I have three different colours of chinchillas now: pink white, brown velvet and standard grey. They look great together, especialy when they are all cuddled up together on top of their nestbox. |
15th September 2000 |
Roxie is exactely eight weeks old today and I feel a little proud. She is growing into a lovely chinchilla, full of life and mischief - just how it should be. The other day, she kept jumping into the bin, and she also loves my husband's multy-gym. Nothing is too high for her - often to my horror... She is very friendly and having handled her a lot from day one is paying off now. he has a funny relationship with one of our cockatiels though. Shiba, my cockatiel girl, was walking around on the floor. Roxie kept chasing her until she flew off. The Roxie jumped up in the air as if she was really pleased with what she had achieved. It was so funny to watch. |
21st September 2000 |
Roxie is indeed already two months old today. It seems like yesterday to me that I was totally surprised by her birth. I still remembervery clearly when I held this little newborn baby - and yet fully developped - in my hand... She is beautiful now and I am very proud of her, as well as of course of her parents that have done such a brilliant job in bringing her up. |
This week they are getting the most enormous cage. It will be 1.50m long, 70cm deep and 95cm high. This should be well big enough for three chins - and I am positive they are going to love it once it is fully furnished as an adventure play ground! |
25th September 2000 |
Roxie and I had the most awful and distressing experience yesterday - an accident. We were lucky however, and Roxie got away with (probably quite literally) a black eye... Yesterday, I took the chinchilla cage down from the top of the rabbit cage to clean it out as usual. I checked and made sure that all the chins were at the other end of the room. I started placing the cage very gently on the floor. Part of the base touched the floor when I heard this terrible squeak - immediately I lifted the cage off the floor again and Roxie short out from underneath. The poor thing was trapped under the cage. I checked her immediately over and the right eye was closed and looked a little like squashed. I feared the worst and was already prepared for an emergency trip to the |
vet. Then she started opening her eye again. I gave her homeopathic remedies at once to counteract shock. I watched her very carefully. Of course she was hiding and did not feel like running about. I picked her up again to see whether anything was badly bruised or even broken around her face. But - athough it must have felt uncomfortable for her - Roxie did not show any signs of actual pain. After about 15 minutes she ate a hard treat. This showed me that there were no broken or damaged parts around the jaws. Eventually I put her back in the cage. She was eating straight away. She also drank some water. She looked shaken, but the remedies seemed to prevent shock kicking in. Roxie seemed fine and a vet was not needed after all. And |
today she is indeed as right as rain, as if nothing had happened. I am so glad, that she is ok. I would not have forgiven myself - not least becauseit is and always will be Cara's and Merlin's only baby as Merlin has been neutered four months ago. This just shows me again how vigilant one has to be around chinchillas, even if they seem at a safe distance... |
Roxie four days after the accident on 28th September. She is absolutely fine! |
17th October 2000 |
Roxie is doing great! She recovered quickly from the shock when I nearly placed the cage on top of her. She has grown a lot. She is a beautiful chinchilla now, just under three months old, full of mischief - in fact, she just pinched some old greens out of the rubbish bin and I had to chase her to get it off her again... Last weekend, the chins could finally move into their new big cag. They love it. They can now run and jumb in it. They love the toys, bark, wooden bridge, chewing block and all the shelves and their big wooden house. It is a little chinchilla paradise and they deserve it! |
Now, that's what I call fun |
This is the last entry in my diary about Roxie. It has been so exciting and interesting to watch her from day one, seeing her grow and develop from a little bundle of fur into a lovely chinchilla. It was a joy watching her first steps and now her leaps and jumps full of energy and enthusiasm. I know how fragile chinchilla babies can be, I have heard many a sad story. I have prayed that nothing would happen to Roxie - and thank god she has not given me one day of concern. She is such a healthy and happy girl. She is a pleasure to own. And since she is the only pet in our house that was actually born here, she has and alway swill have that special little place in my heart! |
Cara, Roxie and Merlin - does this need any more words to describe? |
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