|
|
Post by ilovemydegus56 on Jul 11, 2015 20:45:25 GMT
In December I adopted 2 degus, Lemon and Misty. They appeared to be girls. Well that doesn't seem to be the case. We have now had misty give birth to 4 healthy pups. I have seperated the male into his own cage and out the babies with there mum in another cage. I don't want the male to be depressed.
In 6 weeks we will be putting the males with there father and females will stay with there mother, as in 6 weeks they will be old enough to leave there mother.
Lemon seems to think the babies are still there and dragging bedding in. this makes my heart crack into two pieces. When we get our female out for a little while the male will see the babies. but it makes me so upset to see him on his own. Any tips to stop him getting depressed!!!
Thanks
|
|
|
|
Post by deguconvert on Jul 12, 2015 3:00:20 GMT
Awww, I know, it is a difficult situation, and we hate to impose the pain of the separation on them, don't we? I've been there, and it is not fun. The only thing I can tell you is to spend lots of time with him, giving him time out of the cage and cuddles with you. If you wear hoodies or sweaters, he might enjoy having some time inside the sleeves, or at the neck.
|
|
|
|
Post by ilovemydegus56 on Jul 12, 2015 18:36:07 GMT
Thanks, Is there any tips on making my female look after her runt?? We have a runt and she won't feed it, shes perfect with the rest but when she/he goes to get some milk, my girl runs away. the baby's father takes better care of it. We are starting to hand feed the baby but she/he won't really take the milk. As recommended on google I use a syringe with no needle and watered down cat milk.
|
|
|
|
Post by Maravilla on Jul 12, 2015 20:33:58 GMT
If the mother ignores one baby but has no problems with the rest of the pups it is probable that she feels something is not okay with the wee one. I don't think that you can force her to feed this little creature so it is you who has to try it. The most important point is not to change the mixture as this can cause diarrhoea which could be fatal.
How's the father taking care of the baby? Isn't he separated from mum and pups? I would not risk another litter by having him with his family. Only some time ago there was a case where mummy got pregnant again because the owner put the father back during the considered "safe time".
|
|
|
|
Post by uglibug on Jul 12, 2015 20:43:02 GMT
I have no baby experience but if mum is totally ingorant of the little one and dad isn't, if you are already taking over feeding, would it be possible to house it with dad for the first 3 or 4 weeks? Baby goos struggle to maintain body heat so he could be getting cold as well as hungry. What does someone with a bit more experience think?
|
|
|
|
Post by deguconvert on Jul 14, 2015 0:20:42 GMT
It is possible that the runt is not healthy and the Mother is not willing to put the energy into caring for it. If you are willing to feed the runt, you need to be feeding it every two hours, with unaltered kitten milk. When you are offering it to the pup, produce a drip at the end of the syringe, but do not force milk into it's mouth, you could end up shooting milk into it's lungs, which will make it very ill at the least, if not cause a painful drowning. Just be careful with the feeding. As mentioned by Uglibug, the pup will be unable to generate it's own body heat, so needs help to stay warm enough. If Mom isn't keeping him warm, then perhaps he will fair better living with his Dad. Dad will have very likely impregnated Mom again, and the sooner you separate your adults, the better for you. Pups can/will be sexually viable by six - eight weeks of age, so you need to have males and females separated by seven to eight weeks at the very latest. I literally mean that your female pups can conceive and your male pups can impregnate, and you do NOT want the population explosion that produces. As it is, you are likely expecting more pups in about 80 - 90 days since Daddy goo is still with Momma.
|
|
|
|
Post by uglibug on Jul 14, 2015 7:15:00 GMT
Dad is separate I think. I remember reading, possibly on a different thread, he gets regular time with the babies.
|
|
|
|
Post by deguconvert on Jul 15, 2015 6:00:41 GMT
I do apologize, if I have completely misunderstood. And really, I hope that I have!
|
|
