Karen,
I am SO glad that I was correct on the "C-gang!" LOL!
I really try hard to remember everyone, but I
understand that it is literally impossible.
You rescue gliders too? Do you really?! Aww, well GOOD
FOR YOU! I have been a glider-mom for ALMOST three (3)
years now. I adopted my first pair back in February
2003. The suggies were a bonded male and female
(brother and sister) and have never left my home
since!
I did not know WHAT to name the little things and as a
result they got stuck with the worst names EVER! LOL.
I named the female "Mommy" who has never had joeys in
her life, so go figure and the male ended up being
named "Guy-Guy". I know. Terrible! LOL. But they were
my first, so I am entitled to a one-time goof right?
LOL.
My kitties LOVE to watch the suggie too. However, I
have my gliders in their own glider-room which has a
door that closes and locks, so the kitties are never
exposed to the gliders without my supervision. I do
not want any accidental deaths occurring.
As far a timing a neuter goes. Well, it is extremely
trick business that can (at times) not go right at
all! lol.
Getting the male neutered is the easy part, it is
deciding WHEN to do it and it is especially hard to
accomplish AFTER the female has bore joeys.
You see, a female can nurse a joey(s) and still become
pregnant with a SECOND joey(s) in utro. Yes, one
joey(s) OOP and a second joey(s) ip. Been there. Done
that. Actually I JUST did that! LOL.
I had Bailey (father) neutered on 09-19-05 and I
roughly calculated that Kahlua (mother) became
pregnant on or around 08-16-05 (08-16-05 to 08-31-05
is exactly sixteen (16) days gestation) and the joeys
iped on 09-01-05.
Therefore, if these calculations were correct the
joeys could OOP as early as October the 30th (that is
exactly sixty (60) days ip) or as late as 11-09-05
(that is exactly seventy (70) days ip.)
And I was close. I had a new set of identical twin
boys OOP on 10-31-05! Like I need MORE boys as I do
another hole in the head! Grrr! I just had four (4)
neuters performed in between 7-05-05 and 10-28-05 at
$117.00 dollars a piece! Unfortunately, the operations
do NOT come cheap like the feline spay/neuters can
i.e. low-income, sliding-scale, low-cost clinics, etc.
PLUS, a female sugar glider can harvest a fertilized
embryo up to six (6) months AFTER conception!
Therefore, she can "surprise" you with a pregnancy
even AFTER a neuter! Nice huh?
I am seriously trying to get ALL of the boys neutered
before the baby comes because my OB/GYN has my
delivery down as a "Scheduled C-Section" (due to my
extensive medical history) and I am only 27! LOL. Just
the way my luck runs!
Anyway, getting back to your point. It is never "good"
to separate a pregnant bonded female and male, because
it causes stress (which can lead to rejection and
cannibalization of the joey(s).)
However, if you choose to NOT temporarily separate (in
order to have the neuter properly performed) then you
run the risk having more unwanted pregnancies and the
cycle continues all over again.
Eventually, you have to find a medium break somewhere
and most the time it is the pet-guardian who has to
CREATE that break, because the sugar glider do not
know any better. They will breed themselves to death
if you let them.
For me, the risk of having more joeys outweighed the
risk of stressing them out. Therefore, I have
experience in temporarily separating a newly pregnant
colony and everything went fine. The female did not
reject or cannibalize her joeys and the male did
beautifully in the neuter.
They were separated for a minimum of five (5) days
(long enough for the male to completely finish his
post-operative pain medication) and then was reunited
on the sixth day. Really not that big of a deal.
Easy-easy!
If you have any more questions regarding your beloved
suggies please do not hesitate to give me a holler on
or off the list. I would be delighted to help in any
way that I can.
It is ALWAYS so nice to meet another glider/cat-mom!
There are WAY too many glider-moms who are anti-cat!
Too sad! Keep in touch.
Lora
--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Yep the whole c naming thing that's us.
Hey I rescue gliders too!!!!!! I have a mom dad
and joey right now on the website. My cats love to
stay up all night and watch them!!!
I heard it's not good to get dad neutered while the
joey is just coming out of pouch. Too much time away
even if just for the better part of the day. What
do you think?
Girl you have a handle on the whole thing. Everything
has changed since my first in 83. They told me I had
toxo but wasn't sure what that was. It came from a cat
and the old tests couldn't tell the difference from
past exposure or present infection. Amnio was new and
not an option unless you were over 35.
I think you have everything covered and I am proud
to know you again.
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