scared degus! Baby Question

[akosmyna]

oh yeah! if you want to email me to answer the question if I am not on..my email is [e-mail]

[kerry]

hi, i dont think the mommy will do anything to her babies other than protect them. she will spend a lot of time in the nest looking after them.

is there any reason she should be scared?

congratulations by the way.. make sure she has got plenty of clean kitchen towel to take into her nest.

what bedding sre they on?

[akosmyna]

I dont think theres any reason she should be sacred...my 2 cats are locked out of the room.I know Lola hates it when someone flushes a toilet as the pipes are in the wale behind her, so they make a bit of noise.

I was just wondering because I wouldn't want her to eat her children if it was just me in the room, as she is now in my bedroom. she does squeak loudly at people trying to take a peek through the cage...but thats only if I am not in the room, which I usually am.

they are on pine wood shavings, they look healthy and quite furry!

thanks kerry

[jackdaniels]

I would say dont handle the babies for a week and then only handle them for about 5-10mins for a few weeks

Make sure babies cant escape out of cage they will escape out of anything from 2x2cm.

Put loads tissue napkins hay for bedding in cage to keep babies warm.

Make sure they cant fall from a height.

Make sure they have access to water/ food /hay they will be eating out the food bowl soon


Pics?

[akosmyna]

kk. thanks jack! and yes the babies can fit through the wholes, so I am putting fiber glass in front of the sides for a bit!

and pics will come soon!

[kerry]

my babies were allergic to the wood shavings and after about a week they lost all of their hair. as soon as you can, i would try to put them on carefresh.

the babies are soooooo sweet.

[akosmyna]

okay...thanks kerry! I will try for carefresh...their cage smells bad, so I will try and clean it withinh the next week. but I do not want to put too much stress on her to soon.

[kerry]

i had to move our babies into a different cage when they were 1 day old because we had nothing to put round the cage to stop them getting out. we just tried to take as much of their nest material as we could and arranged it in a big nest form, they were fine.

[akosmyna]

okay, thanks again! they havent tried to get out yet, but I know one pup who will try to when he's able to come out of the nest without mom yelling at him!lol

[akosmyna]

Baby Pictures are up! Here they Are ----> deguworld.proboards31.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=world&thread=1206325283

[Lala]

I don't think degus commit infanticide [or however you spell it] like most other rodents to be honest.

Congrats on being a new degu grandma .

[akosmyna]

lol, I really dont think she would, cause she is soo sweet, but I heard that it happens in other rodents. thanks lala!

It was soo cute a min ago, the little brave pup (the smallest,too) climbed up the wall, and fell but thank god he was only up a few bars!

take a look at the pics!

[akosmyna]

I have another question!!

okay, I was almost positive the mother of the pups was Lola, as she was the one to gain weight and the when the pups were born she seemed to lose some. She also has her teats showing.

Her sister Delihla never looked like she gained weight of lost any. She too has her teats showing, but they might just be swollen, as the pups could try and nurse off of her. 2 days after the pups were born, she did have a bit of blood in the "you-know-where" spot. Sorry I didnt know what to call it! lol I thought, well maybe she is just in the heat???

Delihla has always been the more timid of the two, squeaking when any loud noise came, and if I stuck my hand in the cage for a bit. But now she squeaks if I walk by her cage, and really loudly if I stick my hand in to refill their food. Lola doesnt seem to mind, lola also lets my put my hand very near to the cage to get her out. Why is Delihla being more protective then Lola, if Lola is the Mother?

Well I guess my question is Who is The Mother???

[kerry]

oh err, thats a hard one!! perhaps her sister is getting a bit broody and acting all protective and this had made her come into heat.

when dan had her pups there was no mistaking who fed them because they would all lie underneath her.

[akosmyna]

yeah, well They do lie all under Lola, but if Lola is eating/drinking Delihla is "feeding" them, I am not sure if she is really feeding them, maybe just comforting them. but I really dont know!

[Lala]

Oooo, hmmm, :s
Kerry could be right, degus do communal nest so Delihla may just be getting protective over her sister pups and offering to feed them when Lola's too tired, maybe problem being she hasn't/isn't pregnant! Hmmm :s

[akosmyna]

thanks! guys....I am almost sure its Lola being the mom, now. Well , Because Lola is in the nest more, and Delihla is mostly sitting in her wheel.

plus when I put delihla in her hamster ball, she ingornes all the pups noises and everything, she doesnt even squeak!