Stargazing pup, 2nd litter, what the heck do I do?!?

[sparkbubble]

Yesterday, the mom kept attacking the pup to the extent that it started limping, so I put it in a separate tank 'for the night.' Well that turned out to be a stupid move, because it was colder than death this morning. I rubbed it an used a blow dryer (please don't judge) to warm it up. It worked too well, and it wobbled off my hand and fell onto the chair. Now the pup's head slowly drifts left, as well as the crippled leg.  Finally, i got the genius Idea to put the dad in with the pup, but of course the dad can't feed the pup (its only 3.5 weeks old,) So I will be stopping at petco for kitten milk. I wanted to see if the mom could maybe meet the pup in a neutral territory, but I guess the reason she chased the pup off was because she had a litter today. I didn't move the Dad until I got up this morning, so I expect that litter #3 is a valid concern? I am worried that without the father all the pups will die. this has been one (insert choice descriptor) of a morning and I have absolutely no clue what to do. 

[catnut]

sorry to hear about the pup, is the pup still with the dad? I don't know if they need kitten milk at that age, have you seen the pup eat regular food yet? If the dad accepts the pup, then i'd keep them together. if you do try the kitten milk, do it very slowly with a syringe so it won't choke. Do try to put reg. food in as it may be able to eat that,now. Good luck and hope things go okay for the pup, poor thing.

[wendybird]

Hopefully someone more experienced will come along, but until they do here is my two cents.

I would offer the pup some high calorie mush. I read somewhere on here about it and it seems brilliant. You cook old fashioned oats and then mix it with pet formula. I wonder if you should even blend it. Hopefully at this age they will at least lap it up out of a tiny bowl. I don't understand how the newest litter was born in only 3.5 weeks though, that seems extremely fast but maybe not unheard of?

As for the newest litter being raised with the mother alone I wouldn't worry. I have had two inexperienced mothers raise litters alone, one of them was a large litter of 7. Everything went just fine. It is more ideal for them to have help but they can do it alone.

I hope the sweet little thing makes it and that the father accepts it and helps out. Please keep us updated.

[sparkbubble]

Thanks. So far Solitaire has been holding her own. She can walk in a relatively straight line if given enough space to do so. I have been feeding her kitten milk and standard food. It took her about 7 minutes to eat a peanut section. I have to feed her water with a wet paper towel or off of my fingertips. I don't know how I will teach her to drink from a conventional bottle though. Maybe Dad will teach her.

[betty]

Great news that Solitaire survived that first night - it is certainly easy to underestimate the warmth of a shared nest (even if you mum does hate you).

Dad's are great and so I would have no qualms there about them being together and dad teaching them everything. I always use a shallow dish (up on a small platform above the substrate) for pups - with a shallow stone in the middle so they can only get their feet wet if they fall in). Water bottle balls (especially the double ones) can be VERY hard for pups to push up with their tenny tongues - so it can be a real issue if that is their only water source.

3.5 weeks is old enough to live away from mum - although tere can be a bit of weight loss at first while they adjust to food they have to digest themselves. the suggestion of oats in formula or bread soaked in formula/water is a great inbetween.

As for the wonky head and walking - this might not be recoverable per-se - but could certainly be adaptable. So making sure the substrate isn't to difficult to walk on; changing the lay out so there are no sections that can't easily be reached walking flat; nothing solid against the sides of the enclosures so they can do a full lap leaning on the glass (to help them walk 'straight') without bumping into anything; water and food sources in multiple locations and various nests with multiple entrances each so that they never get stuck in anything or trapped behind anything; etc.

There is the chance that the wonky-ness when walking is only part of the symptoms - they may have balance or other coordination issues - so do watch out that they are able to feed, toilet and clean themselves without issue too.

[sparkbubble]

Solitaire is doing well. Tomorrow she will be 1 month old. I think she did not enjoy the sticking from the kitten milk and refused to drink it today. Oh well, I'll try tomorrow. I gave her oats and she seemed to like that. She was out a lot longer than usual today. Her leg seems to be working, but she still babies it whenever she sits to eat. I notice that she holds her food up against the wall when she eats it to maintain her balance. this balance issue seems like it's come to stay awhile. But yeah, she is adjusting very quickly, although she dislikes heights, even if there is only an inch difference from point a to point b. I weighed her today and she is 15 g's. This is normal, right? She is definitely slimming down and elongating. I'm almost sad to lose the puffball shape. Also, She has a piebald pattern and light gray fur with red/wine eyes. Does that mean she is a Pied Dove?

[sparkbubble]

I just caught solitaire drinking out of the water bottle. I checked the side as she drank and I saw little bubbles floating up so I don't have to worry about her dehydrating. She's maturing really quickly! Also, the dad tried to hump her today. She's 4 weeks old, So I can still keep her with the dad for two weeks still right?

[betty]

The dad might just be 'marking' her with their scent gland rather than trying to actually mate with her - but yes - I would be assuming she needs to have her own home (and friend) by the age of 8 weeks really - as early as 6 weeks if you already have another female lined up.

I will check my weight chart for pups - but I would be wanting her to weigh more than that at this age. I wouldn't be hugely concerned that she is still so light - but do keep an eye on it as she should be gaining well now she has been eating herself for around a week now. As long is she is adding at least .5 of a gram on every day, she will soon catch up.

When you say she is holding her food up against the wall to eat - I assume this to mean she is holding herself up against the wall with the food in both hands - or do you mean she is pushing the food against the wall and eating it from between her palm and the glass?

[sparkbubble]

yes, she holds herself up against the wall with the food in her paws. If the piece is small enough, she holds it with one paw and stabilises herself with the other. Sometimes when she feels lazy she just leans forward with her paws braced against the ground and eats with her butt sticking up a little.

[sparkbubble]

Solitaire weighs about 17.5 grams today. the scale kept flicking from 17 to 18 so I assume she's somewhere in the middle?