changing cages too soon?

[SmileX3]

Today the baby is 15 days old so I decided to put Mama and Baby in a bit of a bigger cage bc Mama seems way stressed and has even started fur biting and she's never done this before. Its a rabbit hutch and the spacing is baby proof before everyone starts questioning that. Its only been a couple of hours but I'm worried it may've been a bad idea bc she's not letting baby around her or even nurse now. Like I said, its only been a couple of hours but I thought babies ate every couple of hours? Should I switch them back or just give it a little time? This is my first baby and although it was unexpected, it is such a joy! She's a standard little girl. Today she weighed 109 g! She has doubled in size in like 2 days! Let me know if you think this is going to be a problem with the different cage. It doesn't have ledges and is 3ft X 22 inches and I'm not sure how tall but that doesn't matter since I haven't put ledges in yet. Spacing is 1/2 in. Just don't know if its too much of a change right now or if I just need to relax a bit!

 

[SmileX3]

I just woke up and checked and she still isn't nursing and Baby's cold.

 

[SmileX3]

Ok so I switched them back. I didn't know what to do but my spider monkey was sooo cold and Mama just wouldn't mellow out. I'm even worried that the itty bitty cage they're in is too tall bc Baby keeps climbing to the top then just dropping and then cries after hitting head and/or face on the hidey house or food bowl! Its a little more than a 2 ft drop. I do have a smaller one if you think that'd be better. Its a little one I just use if someone's sick. I could bleach it out (the last one had giardia) and put Mama and the Baby in it if it's a good idea? Idk what to do but the 3'X2' wasn't working out. It was about 6hrs or so but i didn't think it was working as planned!

 

[lauralynne]

Have you weighed the baby? If she's losing, you're going to need to start handfeeding.

 

[Linda]

I'm even worried that the itty bitty cage they're in is too tall bc Baby keeps climbing to the top then just dropping and then cries after hitting head and/or face on the hidey house or food bowl! Its a little more than a 2 ft drop.

Can you put in a fleece hammock to catch him when he falls?

Or can you move the hidey house and ledges under the shelves or overhangs so the kit only falls on soft shavings (assuming the floor of the cage is shavings)? And can you increase the depth of the shavings?



Linda

 

[RDZCRanch]

Linda brings up a good point. Is the kit on shavings? They shouldn't be on complete wire bottom flooring. Kits needs solid flooring where they can sit and rest. They also tend to get their little feet caught in floor wiring and end up with broken bones. If there is no solid bottom you need to figure out a way to make it solid. You can pile shavings on top and that will give a cushion for the baby when she decides climbing is her thing.

Like Laura said, if the kit is losing weight and mom won't let her nurse, you need to start hand feeding. Try checking on mom and baby every hour to two hours. New moms need QUIET and even if you're just going in there to check on her...it is freaking her out.

 

[SmileX3]

The hidey house is a plastic dust bath house. Thats what she came with a when I got Mama a month ago and she's not a chewer so thats what I've kept her with to keep her comfortable. She's never been a friendly one but it may be bc she was 2 1/2 mos pregnant when I got her. The reason I mentioned the dust bath house is bc the cage their in is only big enough to fit 2 of those in their (for measurement's sake) so I couldn't more anything around. Shavings are deep enough. Its the house and food bowl she keeps hitting. When I moved them last night I tried all fleece bedding and in the house too but I thought that was too much change for Mama and thats why she was so spastastic and wouldn't relax so I put the shavings back (grr! hate those things!) but I'm worried it was the space that gave her too much area to get away from the baby. Is 15 days too soon to move them to a bigger cage? I just feel bad bc its soo small. There are levels to it but don't know when its safe to put them or ledges in with Mama and Baby? I've read lots of the babies forum but there is sooo much to take in and having a hard time finding a place where it says when that is ok. I can start feeding myself but am going to have to learn about that too. I just got scales yesterday so until now, I don't know if she's gaining adequate weight or not. 109 yesterday. She appears to be growing rapidly but I'll start feeding her a little too. I don't know what to do exactly. From reading, is it 1 T goats milk 1T baby rice cereal 1T water? I don't know where to get this or how to administer but I do have some syringes from a previous vet visit.

I was worried about Delilah furbiting out of nowhere so I thought she'd be happier in a bigger cage but then all this happened so I don't know what to do. She's back in the temp one but its not going to help with her biting her thighs but it will help with Baby getting to stay warm and nurse.

Please help. I wasn't expecting or ready to deal with a baby and am not knowledgeable on the how-to's if... happens! Thank God for this forum!

 

[RDZCRanch]

Mom is fur chewing because she has a baby. It's stressful having a kit nursing on you at all times. If you can, I would check her nipples to make sure the baby is not biting her around the nipples. This often leads to infection and mastitis.

You can put ledges in when the baby is weaned. If you plan on keeping mom and baby together, you can put ledges in between one to two months. The worry with ledges is that the mom will jump off the ledge and crush the baby or she'll go up on the ledge where the baby cannot get to her.

Don't do any cage changes, you'll only stress mom out further. Leave her in the cage she's in until the baby is weaned so that she'll continue nursing her. Keep an eye on the baby's weight now that you have a scale. Try to weigh at the same time every day to get more accurate day to day weights (daily weights can vary 2 or 3 grams). If mom is not sitting with her the majority of the day, she is not feeding her as much as possible.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

109g sounds big for a 15 day old baby - even if she was a big kit like 75g at birth thats still more than a 2g a day gain...Ditto to what Tab said -She's fine in the small cage - those of us who run breed keep our females in what pet people would consider small one level cages and they do just fine. Let her do her thing being a mom and try not to keep stressing her with all the changes.

 

[SmileX3]

K thanks guys. So since "volunteerchin22" says my lil gal is big for 15 days, does that mean I shouldn't step in and hand feed? I've yet to weigh her today (day 16) but when they wake up a little later, I will.

 

[mishalaa]

single babies tend to gain more than 2g a day, i do not consider 109g overly big for a single kit over two weeks old - but i would not step in with handfeeding unless the kit is actually losing weight. it's better to get it direct from mom so long as she allows it.

if you can manage a small cage, no taller than 18" and no shelves or ledges, with wiring that is no larger than 1" x 1/2" - that is what is recommended as a baby safe cage.

 

[VolunteerChin22]

Well, no way to know the rate she's gaining since we dont have a base weight, but lets rephrase to say 109g sounds like a "good" size for a 2 week old, provided weight is still gaining.

Agree with Mish. The natural stuff is best.

 

[SmileX3]

She's 112g today.

 

[RDZCRanch]

Sounds like she is still gaining well then. Weigh her every two to three days to make sure she continues to gain, but bother her and mom as little as possible. 112g is a fairly normal weight for a single kit litter.