StoryBooks Pocket Pets

So you've just come home from a pet store or even a devoted breeder only to find that your new babies belly is enlarging by the day.

 

 

Well, there is not much extra you can do for her that your not already doing:)

 

Supply her with fresh water & food along with cleaning her cage on a regular basis and let nature take it's course.

 

It's a good idea to supply your pregnant girl with a little extra calcium & protein. Puppy kibble has calcium and protein. Offer her a few kibbles a week, Or a calcium fortified un-sweetened cereal. You may also try a tiny, TINY piece of cheese like Monsorella or Provolone, but be sure it's a small enough piece that will be consumed in one sitting so no mold or bacteria occurs. If you have birds a pill size piece of cuttlebone may also be ground up and sprinkled over her food once a week.

 

Be sure however, that you don't supply a lot of dairy products like milk or cheese. Old wives tail are incorrect. Yes, critters love them but even for your dogs or cats the dairy products of today with growth hormones and other commercial chemicals in dairy are not very good for pets.

 

 

At least a week before you know she is going to deliver "if you have a clue" it's a good idea to clean her cage normally so when the young are born they are born on fresh clean litter. Supply her with four hypoallergenic tissues or five cottonballs. She will shred them or fluff the cotton and make herself a little nest. It's also a good idea to give her a good size house to build in. Parakeet nesting boxes, a tissue box, coconut shells, are some idea's. It will also make cleaning in the future easy while the little one's are in there. Be sure you also remove any toys like wheels so she will not have her babies in there and then decide to go on a spin.

 

 

Litters like the new colorful pink and blue carefresh are not very good for newborn pups skin in my mind. Even some of those hamster colorful bedding cotton sold on the market. It's safer to stick to tissues or cottonballs. Be sure too that you don't use a pine or cedar shaving. I don't like any pine or wood shaving anyway, not even aspen. I'd rather shred paper and use carefresh. Mice and shredded paper though can become a sticky paper mache.

 

 

Once the pups are born you don't want to disturb mom and the nest for several weeks. One good reason to catch her and clean the tank before she delivers. Mice after a few weeks can smell. Gerbils and Dwarf Hamsters can go up to three weeks before an odor starts.

 

New moms can stress very easy and may either abandon their pups or eat them. When changing the tank one good thing about the house is that you can lift it out and place it some place safe while you put the mom in a critter keeper. If the pups have not been born in a house but in a nest of tissues I would place the tissue nest and the pups in a deep bowl while mom is in the keeper. Once the tank is clean and set, return the pups to a corner of the tank before replacing mom. That way when mom returns to a clean tank, her pups and the old nest tissue will still have all the scent.

 

       Mom in a Critter Keeper                Pups in a deep bowl

 

Moms that have had several litters, you may then change the tank on a normal every week basis. Trust is a major issue from both parties. Once you pets become familiar with you and vice versa the mom will have no problem on tank cleaning day. I would still recommend with new pups under three weeks old that you still separate them in another area from mom.

 

 

When you notice the pups coming from the nest, there eyes will still be closed and they will run blind. Yet you will notice they will start eating. Make sure you move the water bottle lower so the pups can reach it. You can also now start adding some old fashion rolled oats "Quaker old fashion oatmeal" to the mix. This will help the pups with first digesting. Oatmeal is easy on young bellies. It's also good for mom too, who is nursing. Once the pups are in the three week old run blind age you can place mom and pups in a critter keeper while changing the tank. Because when picking them up at this age as they will cricket right out of your hand, very quickly.

 

 

 

 

                             Four Week Olds 

 

                               Six week old 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This depends on the breeder/owner. Some say 6 weeks, some 7 weeks. I say between 8-9weeks depending on growth and size and NO earlier then 6 weeks. A little more time with mom, is not going to hurt them. If you still have dad in the tank helping mom raise the young you can move the pups to a new tank once the next litter comes. But if no father then you don't have to worry.

 

In the event of Gerbil. Mice, and Dwarf hammy father, they are very helpful. They help keep the pups warm and along with mom teach them the basics of critter life :)

But keep in mind if new to raising babies, as mom is delivering dad is mating with her to insure the next litter in 6-7 weeks after the first litter is weaned. Pups add up fast if you don't have stable homes right away for them. Your best to search out the demand for these types of pets in your area before you consider breeding pocket pets.

 

If you don't want more babies and you do have a dad. It's best to separate gerbil and dwarf hammies with a son or daughter just before mom delivers the next litter. Dad can live out their lives with a son. Daughter can help mom with the next litter.

 

Mice fathers can be split with a son, they where with since birth.  BUT, they rather be solitary or with a female and most likely will fight with their son by the time the son is five months old. It's better to keep mousy daddy solitary. Female mice can live happily in a colony of all girls.

 

 

Once you know your girl is going to be mommy you should have already ventured out to find who will adopt them. Friends, family, if none of this is available you can always advertise a flyer in a grain/feed store or a pet store that doesn't sell small animals. You can also try the veterinarian bulletin board. You may also go online and search classifies for pets in your area, place an add with your email address and see if there is a response. It's also a good idea to join a yahoo email group on the pocket pet you own or even a society or association focusing on breed types.

 

 

Hope this was very helpful for you. If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to email me.. 

 

♥~Happy PocketPetting!~♥