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Post by gemmagreaves on Aug 3, 2009 21:40:37 GMT
we've just become the proud parents of some more babies! mums done well, shes just finished the squeaking and is licking all the babies clean. its sooo cute cos the other 2 females look terrified! the other pregant one is starting to help a bit but the unpregnant one has kept her distance! lol. pics will follow of the newborns and the 2 week old ones.
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Post by deguconvert on Aug 4, 2009 0:02:41 GMT
Congratulations! It sounds like you might soon get lost under the degus though. ;D
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Post by gemmagreaves on Aug 4, 2009 20:50:24 GMT
haha yeah we have done! im a bit worried - heidi maggi and levi all live together and are 7-8 months old, maggi's still pregnant and heidi's just had her 5 (we think 3 girls and 2 boys) but i caught the babies today at a day old staggering about the cage with their eyes barely open trying to suckle from any female they came across. the girls were too wrapped up thinking i had food and were climbin up the cage and dropping on top of the newborns and pushing them out of the way as if they were another goo trying to steal their food. i didnt give them any food and i left them alone in the dark for a bit and stood in the doorway to see how they acted once id gone and they all climbed up on a shelf and groomed each other - while the babies were staggering about. they might not have been hungry but ursula and norman's 4 didnt come out of the nest until they were a good few days old and had their eyes fully open. i dont really know what to do but i dont want to leave them if the babies aren't getting enough attention? normans their dad (we had a bit of incest when we first got them before we'd separated them) and ursulas their grandma so i dont know if this continues whether to put heidi and her babies in with ursula and norman for a bit to see if it calms her down? please help! we've never been grandparents until 2 weeks ago and now we have 9 and more to come!
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Post by deguconvert on Aug 4, 2009 23:32:14 GMT
If Heidi has not been in the cage with Ursula and Norman, now is definitely not the time to do it. They could go completely insane and just kill them all off out of defense for their own little ones. Is Heidi completely ignoring her babies? Do you have an extra cage that you could put her and her babies into, so that she is away from the other degus? I'm just thinking that if she was put into a cage, with the nest, and some of the dirty bedding from the bottom of the cage, she might focus better on her babies. She will need a lot of food to nourish herself and the babies, so not having to compete for the food would be a good thing. You need to be able to see what she is doing with her babies so that you can know if you will find yourself needing to hand feed them. You need to know this very soon, or your babies will soon die. You also need to know if she is keeping them warm, as the pups are unable to regulate their body temperatures on their own. Not being warm will be hazardous for them as well. So, if she isn't keeping them warm, you need to find a way to help them stay warm.
Please let us know how things are going.
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Post by gemmagreaves on Aug 5, 2009 9:40:50 GMT
well i can safely say shes not keeping them warm! i just went in and they're all sat on a ledge with the babies in the nesting box completely uncovered. i know when Ursula had her slast week she kept them covered at all time i didnt see them for the first 4 days. the weird thing is - i cant actually tell which ones heidi for definite. theres Maggi whos heavily pregnant and a chubby one and a skinny one. now levi could be the chubby one as she might now be showing signs of pregnancy, and heidi could be the skinny one, or heidi could be the chubby one with baby fat and levi could still be skinny. you'd think by having a look at her nipples it would give it away - but i cant find them! with ursula they're so visible but none of these seem to have any? i think shes the chubby one-she couldnt have lost all that baby weight in just 2 days could she? aargh what are they doing to me! lol im not their mother their supposed to know what they're doing! ive never had kids i dont know! i swear they're trying to turn me into a nervous wreck! right, my friends got kittens so i'll pinch some of her milk and try and feed them and if they're hungry then it shows shes ignoring them doesnt it?
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Post by gemmagreaves on Aug 5, 2009 10:50:02 GMT
its worked! thankyou so much deguconvert! i guessed the right one and put them, complete with nesting box, into a separate cage and shes fed them and seems to be looking after them now! i'll keep an eye on them but wow! so far so good. now my other heavily pregnant goo needs a nesting box asap!
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Post by deguconvert on Aug 5, 2009 17:17:45 GMT
PHEW!!! So glad to hear that!
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lynn
Newborn Degu
Posts: 24
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Post by lynn on Aug 6, 2009 10:54:39 GMT
thats great news!
congratulations! they are absolutely gorgeous ;D
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Post by gemmagreaves on Aug 8, 2009 17:04:16 GMT
just an update, mums doing an excellent job - i think she just needed reminding she had babies! they keep coming out of the nesting box to find her when they're hungry so she carries them back in (usually by their tail which makes me cringe!) but then she sits on them all while they suckle. im scared for their safety as Maggi (Heidi's sister) is so heavily pregnant im scared she'll squash them when they all snuggle down for a sleep! we put another nesting box in for maggi so she can be alone when she goes into labour if she wants, but so far she insistent on sitting her large little self onto Heidis little babies! its quite cute but if she hasnt had her babies in the next day im going to get worried as shes sooo heavy and her bellys so firm she looks like she'll burst! also, just to add, Norman and Ursula will be divorcing after a life time together. Norman will be gaining custody of their son when he's 7 weeks old - so in 5 weeks time! hes going to be house sharing with his eldest sons who he hasn't seen for nearly 4 months, and his 2 sons (possibly more when Maggis given birth) from his incestuous antics with his daughters. Ursula will be raising their 3 little girls and helping her 3 daughters who are moving back in with her raise their daughters. so there will be 4 boys in one cage and ten girls in the other (and whatever maggi has). but dont worry we know they need a lot of space and as anyone whos visited will tell you - the cage is certainly big enough. we're even going to buy boys and girls a john hopewell mansion when we can afford it - we're saving up as we speak! of course i'll be putting more baby pics up and i'll let you all knwo when maggi's given birth and how many of what etc. altho judging by her enormous weight id guess theres quite a few but ive got a feeling there be only 4-5! we'll see - fingers crossed!! thanks for all your replys :-D
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Post by deguconvert on Aug 8, 2009 18:20:08 GMT
You will have to do introductions with Daddy and the two sons he hasn't seen in 4 months, as they will now be strangers. So be careful with that. I kind of think the newest babies will need introductions with their brothers as well . . . so it might be kind of . . . tricky at first. Make sure you have a look through the training and introductions board so that you have a good handle on things, if you have never done intros before. I'm not sure what mom will act like with her daughters either . . . you will have to be cautious to be certain no one gets hurt. You have some busy days ahead of you. Good luck with it all!! Thanks for keeping us in the loop.
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Post by gemmagreaves on Aug 8, 2009 18:55:52 GMT
yeah ive just realised i forgot to mention i would definitely be doing intros! lol i was too busy making it all sound goo-ish! yeah weve done 2 introductions and they both went very well so fingers crossed! i'll start by taking the babies away from mum and getting them used to being on their own (only for like 10mins a day playtime) when theyre old enough and then when we start intros mum ownt be as protective over them as she is at the moment.
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Post by gemmagreaves on Aug 9, 2009 10:13:25 GMT
shes had them - im now covered in blood cos she came for a cuddle and is still bleeding, and the 5 day old babies from Heidis litter are covered in sticky blood and so is some of the cage! at least heidi stayed in the nest until she'd cleaned herself up! lol never mind bless her. i cant see how many of them until shes finished sitting on them but im still suprised she had them in the same nesting box instead of in her own that we'd given her. never mind! right i'll keep you posted - definitely with pics! im just off to provide a sand bath and a couple of woodland treats for the new mum! :-D
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Post by Philip on Aug 9, 2009 12:55:26 GMT
wow! you have tons of pets!
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