Bandit's Pregnant!!

[sweetie]

***HELLO****

I am pleased to announce that Bandit is pregnant. Of course earlier than expected, but pregnant none the less.

I saw she was looking larger. All the gerbils have thier fat days so I did not think anything about it. I always see Honeymunch try to mount her and she pushes him off and uses his back to rest her front limbs on. I did not think they had been ...uhm.....well.... you know.... busy.

I let them out today and did thorough tank cleanings. It was then that I felt "little bowling balls" ,as Queenie says, in her belly.

Our little girl is pregnant!!! I am so excited. I can hardly wait ;D.

I figure she has about another week to go!! I did not put anything in the tank except and upside down log, a glass jar, and toilet paper.

That should be okay right. You are not supposed to give them anything that can fall on them or they can fall off of right?

I'll keep you posted!!!!!!!!!!

[andrea]

Congrates ;D

Fingers crossed all goes well for you

Andrea

[queenofthenile]

Wow, that was quick . I guess I figured Momma Bear would get pregnant first. Good luck!

[sweetie]

I thought that Bandit was fending him off so I speculated January. So much for speculation !

I also thought since Momma Bear was older that she would be first. When I got Squirt, he was only 6 weeks old. I thought that males matured faster when they where in with an older female ? Perhaps I am right maybe Momma Bear is too old for babies. I mean why else would a beautiful girl like her be at a pet store with no other burmese gerbils? It might also be that Squirt "hasn't figured it out" just yet. He is 11 weeks now if my calculations are correct. I was hoping to have both litters around the same time to offer a variety and to keep all boys together and all girls together until I could adopt them.

How did that work for you all? If you had multiple litters, did you house all boys together and all girls together? Or did you separate them by sex and then by litter?

Thanks for the help and support. I'll keep you posted. ;D

[sweetie]

Well she had the babies last night!! Tank was barking last night and we couldn't figure out why.

Well, we found out this morning!!!! ;D

She had 5 pups. All with black eyes and very pink!! LOL. I can't wait until they get fur!!!!

She has moved them 2 times already. I am not sure if it is because Honeymunch just runs over them or what. They are all moving and have white bellies!! I count them every chance I can and I have taken one picture but can not get it on Photobucket. I will post them when I can.

Thanks again for all of your support.

[sweetie]

Here are the new babies!!

[sandy]

They look good! Nice and healthy.

[queenofthenile]

Yay!! Can't wait to see them all fuzzy.

[andrea]

Congrates ;D

Are both parents honeys?..

[sweetie]

One is a DEH the other is a Nutmeg. I think that I have 3 DEH's and 2 Nutmegs.

I have kept Dad in the cage and I am sure with all his ..... uhm....
enthusiasm that she is pregnant again. I will then leave a female in with her to take care of the second liter and split cage the dad and the boys. They are so lovey, I don't want to split them up indefinitely.

[queenofthenile]

Yay, I was hoping you'd get some nutmegs. How fun!

[sweetie]

I was nervous that they were all DEH because they were so dark pink. Today, I gave her pine nuts so I could do a pup count (nervous Nellie here : and I saw the 2 of the 5 where a lighter shade. I went to AGS color strip that shows pups then fuzz then fur. I hope I am right.

Queenie, I had to pick one up the other day cause it was in a hole that they had burrowed. She is still taking care of it. SHould I be picking them up daily at this point or should I wait a while? I guess I don't want to stress them or her but it may facilitate taming and be easier to place them later.

I have to visit your site again to check about sexing also .
It is a great website. I love the changes you have made!

[queenofthenile]

I have always picked mine up from day one. Many people don't however. I really think it depends on how *you* feel and whether or not mom is getting stressed out (ie: she moves her nest a lot, or neglects the babies).

[moghedien]

I've (very, very carefully) handled mine from day one for short amounts of time, and never experienced difficulty.

I always wash my hands thoroughly, then rub bedding on them, before picking up the pups and I watch mom with the pups when I'm done handling them to make sure she doesn't reject them.

[sweetie]

I haven't noticed Mom neglecting them. I think she is comfortable with me touching them. SHe does run over to see what I am doing. Dad does too. He is so cute. He tries to pull them in to his belly to keep them warm. He is so adorable. Today I did a count and only found 3. I had to poke around and found the other 2 a little further away under some bedding. I put them all together again and watched Mom run right over to finish her seed near them. One attatched to suckle and then Mom darted away and in doing so dragged the pup. SO I figured out how they got moved.

What fun to have such beautiful little creatures. They are so precious.

Thanks for the support. I always washed my hands and only touched the ones I needed to but never thought about rubbing my hands in the bedding. THANKS~~