Theresa pregnant again?

[smux]

I know this sorta should go in the breeding/baby care section but it is sorta also a health issue and gets a wider exposure in this section :-)

As many people here know, she gave birth a little over 2 months ago and the babies are all growed up and fine in their cages, but Theresa has been getting gradually fatter and fatter recently. I put it down to the fact that she had been treated a lot during the time she had to look after the babies and so did her brothers (two of which are showing a little plumpness too, and they're off the peanut treats for now, only treat they get is sunflower seeds although they do get a few daily...anyway...) and I also put it down to the fact that none of them have a wheel STILL (I never have the money to buy one, letalone the 4 or 5 I would have to buy for all the cages :-)), but she is REALLY starting to balloon now and it's got me and the flatmate thinking she's gonna be dropping more bundles soon. This time we have a good cage for them, it is a nice small one and it should be easy to babyproof it and make it nice and comfortable, but I don't want to move her into that cage until I am 100% sure she is pregnant, and I also have to consider whether I SHOULD move her or not, perhaps she would be better in the cage she is in with the girlies who could help her out, or are they too young (they'd be 3-4 months old when she gives birth again) to be any use? I can safely babyproof the current cage she's in (it'll be a lot more work as it is one BIG cage, and I would prefer if she was in the smaller cage with them as it is easier to get in there and help her out) but the room it is in can get a bit cold and I would prefer her and the babies to be in a warm cage (although if the babies are in here, I will keep them and the room warm with a heater on all day).

Well, there's a load of thoughts all mashed together about this, hopefully some of it makes sense and someone has views on options...one last thing though, I noticed nipples on her sides again today, surely the nipples aren't as noticable after the weaning stage and if so how LONG from birth before they go away? The previous pregnancy being so close (blame degutopia and the guide here as well, both gave bad info about when to reintroduce the father :-P) makes it a much more difficult issue as I am not even sure if I should be preparing for a pregnancy or not, although rest assured she doesn't get fatty treats anywhere near as much as she used to :-)

[nickymills30]

degutopia has a lot to answer for!

I;m a member on their 'forum' and a lady had a pregnant goo;s, and she did the same as you, stuck to what degutopia had said, like the bible, and her goo is pregnant again, and she thinks the babies are too!

Its a shame, because other than here, i can't find any other web site, that has info on goo;s xxx

[Bexi87]

I think that the previous litter would help mum with the new babies, isn't it in their nature?

[puzzle29]

I think she is, if shes really big, check if you can feel anything moving in her tummy (it sounds stupid but it will probably work unless the babies aren't big enough yeT) xx good luck xx

[malteser60]

There is a german website that NightWishRaven uses that seems to have good info as well. Can't remember what it is but doing a quick search on this forum should find it.

[smux]

Nov 12, 2010 7:36:16 GMT Bexi87 said:

I think that the previous litter would help mum with the new babies, isn't it in their nature?

That is what I am hoping, seeing as they do a lot of stuff naturally without even thinking about it then this might be one...but they're barely beyond weaning themselves and they'll have to look after babies...I don't know if they'll be more help or hindrance, and I don't want to have to move Theresa from the big cage to the small one after the birth as it's hard to get into most of the big cage (although I might split it up a bit so the babies can only get around the side I can access easily) :-)

Nov 12, 2010 9:19:07 GMT puzzle29 said:

I think she is, if shes really big, check if you can feel anything moving in her tummy (it sounds stupid but it will probably work unless the babies aren't big enough yeT) xx good luck xx

I did have a feel of her, carefully of course, to see if she was lumpy rather than round...she felt more round than lumpy so either it is just she's fat or she's not pregnant enough for the babies to show through the body

[smux]

I just had a look through the old Theresa post and found deguworld.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=gotopost&board=breeding&thread=6459&post=43548 was posted on 21st August...that would have been most likely the time when she was impregnated so she will probably give birth any time soon...I guess I'd better prepare the mini-cage for her and get her in there on her own for a bit after the weekend on the off-chance she is pregnant :-P

I'm sure she'll welcome the break from the babies, and they might go in with her once the babies are born as she is going to need help looking after them

[jutchy]

When I bought my 2 females 3 years ago, one of the two was already pregnant, only I did'nt know about it then. She was getting fatter and fatter... and then I remembered the hamsters we had in our class in 6th grade and when one got pregnant, our teacher had explained that most rodents have the baby pouches on the sides, so when they get pregnant, they get "fat" but from the side.

So what I did is that I ran my index and my thumb on each of her sides at the same time, pressing VERRYY gently as to feel her but also not hurt her or the possible babies. Indeed, I could feel the two pouches very well. Then when she began nesting and looking a bit tired (contractions) I rested my fingers on one of the sides and I felt a baby kick. The next day, she had her babies.

If your goo was just getting fat, I think she would just get rounder, you wouldnt feel the side pouches.

[smux]

I'm now pretty sure she is, just from the fact that the nipples are clearly visible again...using the 87-94 days degutopia says females are pregnant for, they should be born 17th-24th November so next week or the week after. Also, the whole brood (theres 7 in my bedroom, the 4 originals and the 3 babies) are getting very vocal at the moment which suggests something's in the air (changing) so I would take that as a sign that she's in her final week or so too.

The cage won't take long to prepare so I'll do that tonight and I am preparing for a larger brood of babies this time as she does look a bit bigger than last time, I'll do everything I did last time as it seemed to work fine for me then...all except the introducing of the father to the cage, of course, which has given me this second chance at looking after babies even though I didn't even want the first chance :-)

[deguconvert]

The females from her first litter will help her out with the babies. Some even get pretty . . . hmmm . . . possessive? I have read accounts of a young pup less than 5 months old, trying to take the pups into a nest that she had tried to build herself. Mom kept coming to the rescue of the newborn, and then must have had words with her older daughter as the "thievery" suddenly stopped and the daughter would just nestle in with all the pups keeping them warm.

[puzzle29]

Good luck!!! Are you going to give some of them away? if not good luck anyway with the babies!! xxxxxx it must be exciting xxx

[smux]

I don't know what I will do with the babies yet, it all depends what genders they are and how they get on with others. I am hoping for two boys who get on well with Dante/Elsevier then they can both have a new friend for their cage, and a few more girls for Theresa to share with, but I probably will end up giving them away.

However, I am now 100% sure she was pregnant because she gave birth this morning just before 4am and I was woken up by noises (I assume) and checked on her and saw two little babies in the house. I haven't seen her since they were born except in the house and I haven't intruded into the house yet to take a look at them or her (or to see how many there actually are, but it's at least two) but I probably will do tonight just to make sure she's okay and give her a cuddle and probably also clean out the house a little and remove any dirty tissue.

The girls HAVE been well behaved as far as I can see, they were outside of the house when I found her with the babies and they didn't venture in too often except when it was time to go to sleep. Gizmo has been making a weird squeak ever since the babies were born (not all the time, but regularly), I am assuming he wants to go see mum but I'm obviously not letting that happen as this is how she got pregnant last time...if he sees her it's in a supervised area where I can control him if he tries to hump her or anything :-)

The cage is almost completely covered to keep it dark and warm inside. The actual cage bars aren't secure against degu escape, but they are inside the house and I cut the door in a specific way so there was a step to get out that they'd have to get over before they could escape the house...I may or may not put something around the cage to make it secure, it's a small cage so if I did it'd mean covering most of the outside and I don't know if the residents would like that, as it is the cage is mostly covered with stuff to keep it warm so they can't escape through that.

[nickymills30]

glad she's ok smux, let us know how many xx

[Kins]

Aww, more babies! Congrats!

[nuttz]

what "MORE" babies..............lol looks like you have your hands full mate ;D
glad everything went ok, and yer...we want a head count..lol

[smux]

By the sounds of things it isn't a huge brood, 2 is probably right although I wouldn't be surprised if there's 3 or 4 in there as they're so quiet. I put the dustbath in and Theresa popped her head out to have a bath (she obviously needed it, and I didn't do it last night as she'd probably have been too tired) with the girlies, and they all had a treat (tiny bit of a hob nob...not good as it has lots of sugar, but they love them more than flapjacks at least until I find the perfect flapjack recipe for them) and Theresa sat outside on top of the house (it's a big box, fills up most of the cage but it has a flat roof and is easy to get onto) eating hers while the babies squeaked for her inside, although she did eventually go in and tend to them. The girls are now demolishing the dustbath (it's a thin microwaveable tray I bought in the pound shop in a 10-pack...very useful as a dustbath :-)) at least until I go and rescue it from them.

When I take a look at the babies tonight (sometime between 4ish and 7, as I'm off out at 7), I might also switch their house to a smaller one that fits better into the cage and gives them some free space outside...I might leave them alone in this house for now though, I don't know, they'd probably prefer to be left alone for a few days.

[nuttz]

youre probably right smux, theyve all had a pretty eventful night and im sure they can do with the rest, i dont think i would bother with changing their house just yet, let them settle down before you make any changes.

[Bexi87]

Congrats Smux and well done Theresa for getting through it again so soon!

[smux]

Well done Theresa for surviving, definitely...she isn't in the best of health with her congenital cataracts and she's been through 2 pregnancies (and definitely no third going to happen) in 3 months...I think if she wasn't as young and fit as she is then it could have been worse.

One thing I might do is keep her and the babies in another room (with the flatmate like before) because Gizmo is getting a bit wound up that the cage is so close but he can't get to it...he's calmed down a bit since last night though, it just happens every so often, so I'll decide later on if I need to.

[smux]

I haven't looked in on them yet properly but I am almost certain it is just the two babies...I could see two huddling together in the house.

Gizmo seems to have calmed down a little although he and the baby boy aren't getting on great (not fighting or anything, just they're probably agitated) and the other boys have stopped the squeaking too, so maybe Theresa can stay in with me. I might find a better place for her than on top of the big cage though.