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Post by crittercrazy on Dec 17, 2014 21:24:28 GMT -8
Hi all, I have two reasons for making this post. The first being that some of you requested pictures of my new litter. The second is that I've just noticed that one of the pups has scars/dried blood on its face. They are almost four days old, a litter of four. This is Pepper's second litter so Dad is out, but Maggy, a pup from litter 1, stayed in to help Mom. The pup seems fine otherwise, perhaps not quite as wiggly as it's siblings but I could also be imagining that. I'm pretty sure the scars have been there for at least a day or two, as I thought I saw something on one of their faces the other night, but due to shadowy lighting dismissed it at the time. Any ideas? Could Pepper or Maggy have accidentally (or purposefully) clawed/bit the pup? Any help appreciated! As for my first reason, I'm afraid I can't post pictures at the moment. I'll have to do that later- I just wanted to post to ask about the scarred pup now. They are coming though! And finally, I know this is getting long, but I feel like I need to clear something up! Some of you may remember that quite awhile back I made a post something along the lines of "Should I breed my gerbils?" and got a pretty definite answer of the fact that I wasn't ready. Please don't think I disregarded all of your advice! After that, I thought about it long and hard, did a ton of research, made every possible effort to make sure I was ready, and reconsidered my breeding plans for some time. Eventually, I decided that I was as ready as I was going to be, and that I really did want to do this and at that point for the right reasons. So thank you all again for the advice you gave me then and any help now! (And sorry this is so long!) Thanks!
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Post by crittercrazy on Dec 18, 2014 19:55:24 GMT -8
Okay, sorry for the delay, here are the requested pictures. This was them a couple of days ago, I don't have more recent pics yet.
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Post by gerbillover9612 on Dec 19, 2014 5:37:08 GMT -8
Aww! Sorry i dont know about the scar but the pictures are lovely ahah love how that one peice of bedding is the size of the pup :') xxx
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Crystal
Member
Bundles of love since 2002.
Posts: 1,445
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Post by Crystal on Dec 24, 2014 10:25:04 GMT -8
The scar/injury seems to be a common one among recent births. About every litter I've had for the past 12 years had a scar just the same. I used to worry about it, but as the pups rapidly grow it will disappear entirely by the time they grow in fur (usually). My recent litter had one pup with a similar scar but he is now going on 7 weeks with no scar visible at all. From my experience, it's usually the first born (not always) that is roughly handled during birth. Mama doesn't mean to bite or scratch them badly as seen, but it just happens. But I am certain it will go away in time It's most likely an error on behalf of Mom, but shouldn't be of any major concern unless it happens again. Although since it is her second litter I'm positive it was an accident like 99% cases I seen. Congrats on your litter! I hope to see more pics as they grow.
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Post by crittercrazy on Dec 24, 2014 21:21:32 GMT -8
Thanks Crystal! I was hoping/guessing it was probably just an accident. They do have fur now, but that one pup is quite a bit smaller and still has visible scars on his face and now I've noticed them on his back too! He seems okay though so like you said, I'm not too worried. And finally, some more pics! This is from a few days ago: And here is from yesterday: There are two girls and two boys. The top Sapphire in the first more-recent picture is the scarred one, so as you can see the scars aren't that obvious.
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