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Post by Pollyblue on Jun 19, 2015 20:48:45 GMT -8
Two pups in Stella's second litter seem to have birth defects affecting their hind legs. One seems to not use the hind legs properly, it's really hard to describe. That one also has some strange marks on it, like it could have been injured. I didn't have a lot of time to check it out, Stella kept trying to jump out of her tank and my 5 year old was hovering. Another has no movement whatsoever in its hind end. It's legs just drag behind it.
The pups are 13 days old now, I just noticed because they are more mobile now. Any experience with this? Stella still cleans them and nurses them. I am not sure what, if anything I should do. Would they be able to lead a normal happy gerbil life?
Thank you for your advice.
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Post by betty on Jun 19, 2015 23:54:28 GMT -8
I have not heard of this either, but my main concern would be could they hold food and eat with their front paws while laying on their tummies? They may well be still drinking mums milk - which of course you can do while laying on your tummy, but once they start to wean, they will need to chew and shuck things.
They could well be an injury, and I have had gerbils with limbs missing before, but I would be concerned about limbs still attached but not working. They may before sore as they are dragged or sat on incorrectly and may well get chewed of by the gerbil itself.
Perhaps a trip to the vets to assess the whole litter and mum might be a wise move, as sometimes problems on the outside can be a sign of things wrong on the inside. Others may suggest having these 2 pups put to sleep.
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Post by Pollyblue on Jun 21, 2015 8:17:43 GMT -8
So the pup whose back legs weren't working, didn't make it. Stella had started casting it aside, that is probably for the best. The other pup who was walking funny seems to be fine now, a little smaller than the others but getting around fine now  We took the other babies out and checked them all, there is one gray one missing... We looked all over and could only find 6 live babies and no sign of the third gray one. We are going to check again later. |
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Post by betty on Jun 21, 2015 12:18:31 GMT -8
It is unlikely that the mother would have killed the missing pup, but it is possible.
It is also possible that there was something internally wrong with the pups (leading to the 2 physically disabled pups) which was also wrong with the grey pup and it just died of natural causes. The mum may have then eaten it to 'clean it away'.
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Post by Pollyblue on Jun 21, 2015 16:39:32 GMT -8
We found the missing gray one a few hours ago. It had died. Yesterday morning one of the gray ones was out of the nest and cold, we thought it was dead, but after we held it for a bit it warmed up and was moving more. We put it back in the nest. It must have had something wrong, and Stella had purposefully left it out.
It's too bad there were some problems with this litter, but the remaining 6 seem to be in good health.
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Post by betty on Jun 22, 2015 0:22:52 GMT -8
Yes, mum always knows best with these little furries!
Lets hope everything is now OK with the remaining pups and that there are no problems at the next 2 key stages - opening eyes and weaning.
Eye's normally open at around 18 days and weaning around 21-28 days so it shouldn't be too long before they are out of the woods.
I can't remember if the mum is still due another litter or you took dad out before these were born. That should give mum a chance to recover after this big litter - and for her to get rid of an illness if this is what caused the pup problems.
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Post by Pollyblue on Jun 22, 2015 11:15:52 GMT -8
We took dad out before this litter, sobit is her last. They are 16 days old now, so eyes may open up soon |
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Post by betty on Jun 22, 2015 11:27:36 GMT -8
I love it the first time you see them with their eyes open... Keep us updated as they go.
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