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[En.jay]

We have been thinking my female was pregnant for the past week because she's been laying on her side allllll the time. Made an appt to have her checked out but this morning she gave birth to the cutest lil kits. I immediately took my male out of the cage. I am beyond excited right now. This is my first experience with kits.

Any advice??

[kageri]

You need to weigh them and the mother.  Today, 3 days from now, and if they have gained enough weight (or stayed the same for the mother) you can go to ~5 days between weighing.  They should start over 25grams, preferably 35, and gain 2-4 grams a day.  If not you need to supplement them with handfeeding or if it's just one give it some time alone with mom.  You also want to keep an eye on mom's belly.  If the kits are overzealous in getting milk they can cause irritated nipples that make her not want to feed them and sometimes chew her own fur off in that area.  Watch the bar spacing because anything a kit can stick it's head through the rest of it can follow and remove any high shelves so they can't get on them and fall off.

[GrayRodent]

Your bar spacing should be 1/2" x 1" or smaller or you are going to be in trouble.

[En.jay]

Yes I made sure the bar spacing Is good. I think the father got ahold of one of them before we noticed she even had them. It's ok but it seems now that the female kit isn't finding the nipple to feed

[GrayRodent]

You can take the other kit away and see if the kit that is not feeding will begin to nurse. If it does not nurse then there is probably something wrong with the kit and it may need immediate veterinary attention or (unfortunately, sometimes is also the case) may not be viable.
If the kit does nurse you may have to rotate the kits so they both get food. There may be insufficient milk to support both at the same time which does sometimes occur. In these cases the dominant kit gets all the milk and the weaker one dies. Rotation is every hour if I remember right for newborns and it get farther apart as the week progresses. Hopefully someone will comment soon who knows how it's done since I am not a breeder. You should be able to put the other kit in with the father for the rotation as long as he is accepting of them.

[En.jay]

We nursed her til the end but I think something was internally wrong.

Baby Zūk however is very healthy and strong.

[GrayRodent]

I'm very sorry for your loss but I'm grateful for the one you do have. You have a very nice looking kit.

[En.jay]

Zūk is getting bigger n bigger and faster n faster!!

[GrayRodent]

That's great. He has a nice blending of color although I know it will all look different once that baby fur gets shedded out.