Step 1: Banana Swing

Hold the kit in the palm of your hand, close your fingers around its body for support, ensuring that the head cannot whip lash or swing about..

Let your arm hang to your side with the kits head pointed towards the ground, and slowly swing your arm forward, then back down and behind you.  Increase the length of each swing each time - keeping the movement slow and rhythmic so as not to jerk or shock the kit.

Move your arm fairly rapidly as you increase the swings but in a smooth and flowing motion.

You are attempting to cause any mucous or fluid from the lungs or nasal passages to be cleared so that the airway is free and unhindered.

Repeat this long and rapid swinging for a minute or so before slowing to allow your arm to rest by your side again.

Then check the kit to see if it is breathing.  If at any point you do feel it breathe or hear it squeak or splutter during the swing stop and move to the rubbing stage.

Wipe away any fluid from the nose or mouth with a tissue if it appears.

 

Step 2:  Vigorous Rubbing

The purpose of this is to try to stimulate blood flow, muscle action and respiration.

Place the kit in a rough towel and cup it into your hand so that it is enclosed except for its head.   Then vigorously massage it with your finger tips quite hard, you are aiming to move the muscles beneath the skin.

Work from the neck down the body the body rubbing very firmly along the sides of the spine and down the sides - do not press into the abdomen as this could damage the internal organs.

Keep rubbing for a good 5 minutes or so - not giving up straight away.  you can try squeezing/pinching a bit of fur at the back of the neck to stimulate a response - a squeak of pain at this time is something positive to achieve.

After 5 minutes try another banana swing before repeating the rubbing.

Hopefully the rubbing will stimulate enough circulation for the kit to try moving or squeaking - if it does then rub it vigorously some more, trying to keep it warm.  Please the kit back with mum over a heat lamp to warm it and keep it warm - if no heat lamp is present then wrap a hot water bottle in a towel and place that in the cage with the youngster on top of it (keep a CLOSE eye on both kit and mum at this time to ensure the kit keeps active and mum does not unwrap the bottle to chew at it).  When placing any heat source in or under a cage ensure that it only covers half the cage this ensures that the chinchillas can escape from it if they do need to be cooler - you do not want to over heat them.

 

Step 3:  Warm Water Dunk

The am of this exercise is to raise the kits body temperature, stimulate circulation and increase muscle movement.

Fill a sink or pot with hand warm water, and immerse the kit in it up to the neck, supporting it with one hand.  Ensure that the face, with mouth and nostrils stay clear of the water.

With the free hand vigorously massage the kits body. Try taking hold of the front paws and moving up and down to create a pumping action on the lungs.  Continue to keep rubbing and massaging the body as much as you can.

As rubbing pinch and squeeze the back on the neck and loose tissue along the spine, it may sound cruel, but it is the same way the mother naturally tries to stimulate a response from  new born kit - if you see the video of the mum cleaning her kit you can see how vigorously she throws it around as clearing away the foetal sack it if born in.

You should keep up this activity for about 15-20 minute before giving up hope.

In this way I have managed to revive over 75% of the kits that at first sight appeared to be dead.

I can always remember the first time I had to go through this routine, I had not come across it all written down before - i was panicking!  I was texting Debbie Cave an NCS breeder, and phoned Heather Green of Albatross Chinchillas at the same time! Trying to get all the help I could! And thankfully both were very helpful in getting me to calm down and deal with the situation at hand - the time for panic is AFTER you have given up - not before trying.

Thankfully, due to their advice the kit was revived successfully - and here is hoping that if you should ever need this advice that you can do the same