Should I nurse one of the babies?

[pekodinky]

My hedgie's babies are 10 days old today and I've checked on them over the last few days and one of the babies always seems to be crying and is always far away from mum and the other babies.

I have gotten a proper look at them today and this one baby is half the size of the other babies and seems very lethargic compared to the other babies. I am scared as I think she may die if I leave her any longer.

Should I nurse her myself. I know this requires a lot of time and care, which I have. How can I nurse her, what do I feed her and how often? Thanks Nikki

 

[Nancy]

You can try supplementing her. Get some goats milk Esbilac and feed her every 4 hours and then put her back with mom. You can also give mom some of the Esbilac to increase her milk production. Just make sure you give fresh every 4 hours or so or it will go bad.

After you feed the baby you have to stimulate her so she'll poop. My second last litter I had a baby girl that quit gaining weight and I had to supplement her for a while. How many babies are there? Sometimes the bigger ones push the little ones out of the way.

 

[pekodinky]

there are four of them. I'm just trying to find that milk you recommended do you know where I can get some from, I live in England

 

[Nancy]

Look for powdered goats milk. You should be able to find it at a farmers store. Mix fresh each time. Don't save it from one feeding to another. You can also use powdered puppy milk but goats milk is better.

 

[pekodinky]

feeding too much?

I'm feeding my 2 week old baby hedgie every 4-6 hours but she seems to be drinking too much milk I think. I'm giving her lactol powder for kittens 1 heaped desert spoon with 100ml of water. She drinks about 2-3ml each time. Her tummy always seems to be very swollen after eating is this normal or is she drinking too much. Should I use more powder. Thanks Nikki

 

[Nancy]

I you stimulating them to poop? They can get bloat really easily so you can add a drop of baby simethecone.

You mix the powder up to what it says on the can. I usually add a tiny bit of extra water. Mix it fresh each time you feed her as it grows bacteria quickly.

 

[pricklesnquills]

You could also try taking out the larger babies(or a couple of them) for a little while to give the little one more time with mom

 

[pekodinky]

Yeah I'm stimulatiing her after. I'll try the simethecone, cheers

 

[pekodinky]

R.I.P baby Pixie

Sadly my darling baby hedgie didn't make it. I took her the emergency vets as her tummy just kept expanding and it looked like she was full of milk. It turned out I was right. The vet said she had a hole in her tummy and the milk was spreading to her other organs. She gave her a bowel stimulant and an anti-biotic but when I got home she was already gone.

Poor, poor little girl, she had no chance in life with her mum abandoning her, maybe that's why she did abandon her because she could tell there was something wrong with her, that's what they do in the wild I think.

Thanks for your advice everyone.

R.I.P baby Pixie:cry4:

 

[starleomach]

I am sorry you lost the baby. Mom's usually know things we don't it is just the way of things

 

[Eclypse]

Im so sorry to hear you lost the baby, atleast you tried all you could to help baby pixie

 

[pricklesnquills]

So sorry! You did everything you could for the sweet baby! Hugs!

 

[Nancy]

I'm so sorry you lost her. Sometimes moms do things for a reason but we can't help but try.

 

[PeaceB2U]

I'm sorry for your loss. It's always heartbreaking to see any animal leave this world.

 

[Chinniechantel]

I am so sorry for your loss. You did everything you could and more. Sometimes nature is just so cruel. I am a firm believer that when a mom rejects a baby there is almost always a health problem. They do know.