Moving kits out of baby cage

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Joined
Dec 19, 2015
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At what stage is a kit big enough to go into an adult cage? Mum and daughter are pining for each other while mum is nursing current 5 week old kit. When is lit big enough to be in multi level cageif I ensure the flooring is thick with fleece?
TIA
 
Are you meaning you want the mother, kit and the older daughter all together? or just move the kit to it's own cage? If you want them all together I would wait a few months, then do slow intros, the daughter might not accept the kit. If you mean more like how long till the mom can go back with her older daughter and the kit on it's own, you should wait at least 8 weeks old before weaning the kit. Some kits need longer if they aren't gaining enough or eating well on their own yet, so 10-12 weeks isn't uncommon.
To answer your question a bit more it depends on the bar spacing and shelf spacing for the adult cage. Kits up to about 4-6 months old need bar spacing no bigger then 1/2", they can easily walk right though 1". As far as multi level, it depends on the kit and the cage, but normally by the time they are a few months old they are getting less clumsy, but still you want over lap so no possible way of falling more then a foot, 6" is safer.
 
Thanks. Yes I meant putting them all together. Daughter is happy spending time with kit in nursing cage when she's out to play and I'm going to start putting kit in big cage under supervision to get her smell in there. The bar sizes are fine for a kit. I'm just unsure at what age to best put kit in there. If necessary mum and daughter will just have to live apart until she finishes nursing the kit. I do let them out to play together. Thanks for your reply.
 
kits shouldnt rly be out for play time. They need to conserve there energy to growth. They also have issues regulating temperature at that age. They could easily over heat and cause problems. They also often dont know when to stop and over exert themselves.

Just to say again, cage bars need to be at least 1/2" spacing or less. Even a chin a few months old can still get through, or try to get through and get stuck, on bars that are 1" spacing.

As for putting all three together, i would first, naturally, double check and make sure they are all females. After that, i would probably wait until the kit is done nursing at 8 weeks and has been fully weened and eating/drinking on its own. If anything should happen, its (slightly) better if the kit is able to take care of itself a bit.

As for the cage itself, i most definitively wouldnt expand it until after weening is successful. A mother with more room could get away from the kit and possible start to neglect it. You want to make sure momma cant get away from kit like that. So id wait until fully weened.

After that you need to be careful while expanding the cage. Young kits are still clumsy, and have sight issues/ issues judging distance. As such you need to design the cage so that should the chin fall from any spot, that it is a short one.
 
Thank you. What you say is pretty much what I have been thinking.
Just to confirm, the kit doesn't have any play time. The most she gets is being on my lap and held by me. It's her mum and older sister who get playtime, during which the sister often goes to the kit for sniffs and greetings.
 
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