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Post by tiphareth on Feb 27, 2010 12:43:28 GMT
The 7 babies born last Saturday are doing really well. It's 6 weeks since we took the two girls away from the father of the pups.
Over the last week the Aunt of the pups has developed nipples and the babies look like they are feeding off her. I know that mothers will feed pups from other litters, but is it possible for a female who's not a mother to feed, or can we expect to see more babies in the next few weeks?
The Aunt doesn't look fat and fluffy like the mother did.
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Post by deguconvert on Feb 28, 2010 5:15:41 GMT
Ummm, hmmm! I don't know. Some animals can begin to lactate without a pregnancy, but I don't know if degus are among them. Interesting! I have no idea if she may be pregnant . . . but I suspect not. The sudden appearance of nipples is puzzling, but I think more to do with sympathetic mothering than with a possible pregnancy. I don't think you can see nipples on a pregnant goo . . . or can you? I really have no idea. LOL!
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Post by tiphareth on Feb 28, 2010 21:17:16 GMT
Thank you.
I suppose the next two months will tell.
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Post by tiphareth on Mar 5, 2010 19:35:31 GMT
The question has just been answered, there is now at least one new born in the nest. Hard to tell how many due to the other 7 babies.
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 5, 2010 23:32:33 GMT
LOL! SURPRISE!!! I guess they DO show nipples before babies pop. Congratulations!
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Post by tiphareth on Mar 6, 2010 9:36:21 GMT
Rose never looked fat and fluffy as Alice did. Then again it looks like she only had 2 compared to Alice's 7. I only hope the new ones don't get pushed out by the older ones.
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Post by deguconvert on Mar 6, 2010 20:12:42 GMT
They shouldn't. They will probably all get nursed by both mothers, and become one big happy family. However, it wouldn't hurt to keep a good eye on them and check to see if they are growing or looking dehydrated and skinny. If you have a set of kitchen scales, you can weigh your babies every day or two to see how they are gaining. If you began to find that the two youngest were not gaining, it might be wise to separate them and their mother from the other mom and pup for a few days, so that they can get all their mothers milk to themselves for a bit.
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