Cindy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote
>Well, here I am with a litter of pups that are actually a day old.
>However, I am concerned, because they do not seem to be staying in a
>"nest". Mom seems to drag them everywhere and leave them singularly
>and I find them and they seem to be cold. I put a heating pad under
>the bottom of the cage with a towel on top of the pad on low...I know
>I need one of those reptile lamps, but my 18 month old is napping so
>it will have to wait a while. There are 5 pups and yesterday when I
>first saw them I could see the milk in their bellies but not so
>today. When is it ok to start touching them and not make mom mad?
>(Like moving them all to a nest?) I do not want to bug her, but on
>the other hand, she does not seem real concerned that she is a mom.
>She came to me pregnant and is in with another littermate (and
>pregnant) (a female) no male and she is just galavanting with her
>sister with no real concern. The sister is not hurting the pups, but
>like I said, I am just worried that mom is not doing enough
>"mothering". Any thoughts?
>
>Thanks, Cindy
Leaving her with another pregnant female could be disastrous. It is not
natural for two females to raise litters in the same nest. The females
could fight, or even destroy one another's litters. It may be OK for
this first litter, but I would separate them straight away.
The presence of the other female could be contributing to the problem.
On the other hand it is normal for females to often move pups around or
even burrow underneath them and kick them around. It normally does no
harm. The best thing is to remove any stressors, provide a box or
similar for an enclosed nest area. Remove the other female. If they are
not being fed then they would die very quickly. One of the reasons for
leaving the father in with pups is that he often carries the pups back
to the nest and keeps them warm whilst the mother is busy doing the
opposite!
As for move in the nest etc, I would no do this until they are furred
and exploring the tank. Handling can be done at any time as long as the
mother does not appear to agitated by the experience. If she knows and
trusts you she should be happy with you handling the pups.
--
Julian
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
National Gerbil Society
http://www.gerbils.co.uk/
