I was doing a bit of research on dwarf colors and genetics the other day. It seems that my little orange guys fit the description of mandarin? If that is true, then here are the colors displayed in this litter: agouti, sapphire pearl, mandarin, and mandarin pearl. Even though they look like pearls now due to winter coats + fading, I think both Alice and Lou-Lou are solid mandarins. Jo-Jo is a sapphire obviously, and Bo-Bo a sapphire pearl. I've never really seen the mandarin color before. I think I maybe had one or two mandarin dwarfs in the past, but I didn't know what the color was called. Either way, all of these guys are just beautiful.
To make this more fun and interesting (and because I couldn't help it...), I've named the litter. The agouti is Harry, the girl is Ginny, her twin is Ron, the mandarin boys are Fred and George, and the sapphire pearl is Draco. I hope some of you appreciate the reference.
Here's what's been happening!
Alice and the pups have been doing well. I've been feeding them all sorts of yummy, healthy things to eat. I've noticed that they seem to be more content if they have new things to eat often, and they seem to especially favor fresh produce. I've also been giving them things like baby cereal puffs for a treat.
On the night of the 17th, Alice attacked little Harry! I noticed the babies had been squeaking and wandering around the cage more, and I also noticed Alice was pregnant again. I was holding each of them, and when I set Harry back down in the cage, Mom went after him. I took the hint and removed Alice immediately.
I decided to set up a
bin for the pups. I knew that 17 days was young, but I also knew it was barely old enough to be weaned, and I could see the pups were doing well on their own. I have made sure they always had wet and easy-to-eat foods for the first few days away from their mom. They especially liked baby cereal mixed with almond milk.
I have been handling the pups several times daily, and it has been a joy to get to know them. None of them seem particularly afraid of us, but they do all have different personalities and react differently to us. Harry, George, and Draco are the shy ones. They will come up to me to say hi, and occasionally hop into my hand, but for the most part, they tend to avoid being handled. They'll give me a nudge, maybe stop for a sniff/lick/nibble, and then carry on with their business. The other three seem to enjoy handling more, and jump at the chance to be held. I very much enjoy seeing them all interact with each other. Lately they have been totally into nest-building, something their mother showed them before their relationship ended abruptly. They seem to be eating and growing well.
Without further ado, let's get to baby pictures. Instead of taking the time to choose which ones to post, I decided to be lazy and do photoshoots. Pictures of them are
here.
You called it, flowerfairy! Here's baby bump Alice (also with full cheek pouches). She had her second litter on January 21st. I'm going to guess: 8 babies.
Jo-Jo and Lou-Lou haven't been up to much in the baby department, but they have been out more since it's been a little warmer out. They are such a joy to interact with and watch. I took a bunch of pictures of them the other day. Their photoshoot is
here.
The other day, I had a water bottle fail in the pups' bin cage since they'd been burrowing around it. Half of the cage was soaked. Being at the three week mark, I wanted to separate Ginny from the boys. I also needed to clean Bo-Bo's little cage, and give him a change. So, I gutted the bin and the wire cage. I re-introduced Bo-Bo to his kids. Introductions went very well. He is such a laid back little guy. Now Ginny is in the wire cage, and Bo-Bo is in the bin with the boys. The next set of photos I'll be taking will hopefully be of the first litter of babies individually (and Bo-Bo!). After that, we'll see what the next litter looks like. Stay tuned for updates!