A difficult birth for Vic

[dinkyjedi]

What a night!

My lovely degu Vic began giving birth at 4pm yesterday. Sadly the 1st baby was stillborn.

By 10pm last night she was still struggling to give birth to the rest of the litter, so after a phone call to the emergency vets I took her in for examination. The vet advised delivery by caesarean section and following discussion about the risks, (and leaving her struggling was not an option) I agreed, fully expecting the rest of the pups to be stillborn too. (I wont tell you the cost of this procedure as I may well faint, suffice to say I love Vic and she comes first).

At about 1.30 this morning I was told that Vic now had 5 wriggly pups!!!!!!!

One was not as active as the others and very sadly died.

By 2am I was watching them in their incubator with the vet and nurse, who were enchanted and taking photos! (See photo)

I got them home at 3.30am, surrounded in rubber gloves full of warm water in a pillowcase for warmth. Vic couldn’t wait to get back into her familiar nest and is feeding the little ones beautifully. Dad Bob is delighted and loves building the nest all around them!

I’m so delighted with the strength of character of small furry Vic, and her tenacity, that I want to tell EVERYONE about our night!

[dyzired]

Awww!

[moletteuk]

Congratulations and well done on providing proper vet care.

Has Bob been neutered while Vic was pregnant, or was Vic sterilised during the operation? Vic will be fertile straight after the birth, and as this pregnancy was dangerous for her, it is vitally important that she does not become pregnant again.

We are doing a survey on surgery in degus, I would very much appreciate it if you tell us more about the surgery in a couple of weeks, after you have more recovery information deguworld.proboards.com/thread/16907/anaesthetics-surgery-survey

[dinkyjedi]

I'd be happy to do the survey.

Bob has a hormone implant to reduce fertility,which is alleged to last for 1 year but seems to actually last for 6 months.

He's having the "snip" on Wednesday at my degu specialist vets. I was reluctant previously as I had a degu who had the snip and was extremely ill as a result, partly due to the anasthetic, partly the surgery.

But as you say, I cant take chances now for the sake of Vics health.

The wee ones are so cute as they bumble about on their wobbly little legs!

[moletteuk]

That's great that you are all sorted for Bob Did the implant fail and allow the pregnancy? It would be great if you can tell us more about the implant, I've never come across this for degus before. (Has Bob been prevented from impregnating Vic during her oestrus after the birth? - I assume this would still apply since she started to birth naturally. Obviously you can ignore this question if the implant is still functioning).

Vic and the babies look cute and well in your avatar Vic might appreciate some extra food like nuts and oil seeds while she is nursing and recovering from the op. Good luck for Bob's snip. Do keep us updated on how the whole family come along

[Maravilla]

It is great to read that mom and pups are doing well!! It was a long night for all of you.

Great to read that you finally opted for having Bob neutered. It was now at least the second time that this implant failed in one in your degus (you posted here).
I can understand your concerns regarding the operation and everything and that you were so reluctant, but venturing health and life of the females is no option either.

[dinkyjedi]

Thanks so much for your interest.

The snip op went well and Bob came home fine. The vet said he's enjoyed stretching out under their heat lamp and to keep him warm, so I rigged one up for him and he loves it (the things we do for pets!)

I seperated Vic and Bob after the birth (they have had time together as a family, rigerously supervised by me)Cant risk another pregnancy for Vics health.

The implant is something used in cats and dogs, and is effective for different timescales for different animals, generally thought to be a year, but varies considerably. It was injected just under the skin in between Bobs shoulderblades, and disintegrates when no longer effective.

I'm very lucky to have a degu specialist vet (Vets 4 Pets, Chesterfield) to keep me abreast of these things.

The 4 babies are thriving marvellously, and scrambling around out of the nest. Ther are very investigative little fellas! And sooooooooo cute!

[dinkyjedi]

I've tried to add more photos but I keep getting a message saying "this forum has exceeded its attachment limit."

I dont know what this means (computer thicky!) But will keep trying.

Mum, Dad and pups all doing very well. Pups scrambling about and starting to boldly climb the cage mesh! They are investigating toys now, but still spending most of the time in the nest. xx

[dyzired]

You need to use a photo hosting site such as photobucket.com

[dinkyjedi]

Many thanks, will try that.

[dinkyjedi]

Vic is doing really really well, babies very investigative now and coming out of their nest alot generally looking extremely cute!

Bob also recovering very well indeed.

As am I!!!

[dinkyjedi]

Put some photos on Photobucket but cannot for the life of me work out how to get them onto here!
All ideas/advice welcome.
Many thanks.

[dinkyjedi]

link



Heres a link to a pic of Vic and the babies. xx

[ntg]

Awh how cute, to put the image up you need to put [ img] (without the space) infront of the pictures url then closing it with [ /img]

[dyzired]

Awwweew!

[deguconvert]

Vic looks so well!! I'm so glad that she does. I was worried that the C section would be hard on her . . . though not so hard as a labor gone badly, of course! The babies are adorable!!

[moletteuk]

That is too cute!

Sorry to put moderator hat on, but it looks like a lot of plastic has been chomped from that Silent Spinner wheel, I'd be worried about how much they might have ingested, you might want to think about getting a metal or wooden one.