 | Posted by: | Lina, lina@napanet.net | | Subject: | Stressed out mother (long?) | | When: | 1:52 PM, 19 Oct 2000 | | IP: | 216.139.153.51 |
My glider Gacy has a joey that is 7 weeks OOP by my calculations. The joey is weaned, etc. Last night I noticed that Gacy's fur around her eyes seems to be thinning (but not like patches missing) and she just seems even more freaked out than usually. She seems to have snagged a toenail, and there is a tiny bit of blood, but no tear or anything.
She looks really tired and worn out!!
She is not a friendly glider, she seems to be really scared. She also seems like she is sick of her joey, she usually pushes her away.
I don't know how old Gacy is, we think she is at least 5 years old, maybe older. She has had many joeys over the years.
It seems like she is really tired of her whole family, and maybe needed to get away from the needs of the joey. Last night I put her in a cage alone, next to the one that the others are in. After a few hours, she was doing backflips in the way when she gets really stressed out. So finally, I put Cupcake in with her (Cupcake is her favorite daughter, she is about 1 year old).
Cupcake seems to be happy, but I am not sure if seperating them is the right thing to do, I can't tell if they are happy with the situation.
I hate to say it, but I feel like I have rarely seen Gacy looking happy, and I feel like I don't know how to make her happy!
If anyone has any advice, I would appreciate it.
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| Posted by: | Rocki'sMom, babygirl@ccp.com | | Subject: | none | | When: | 8:17 PM, 19 Oct 2000 | | IP: | 216.60.86.109 |
Lina, how was she after being seperated all nite? Does she seem any better and were you able to tell if she ate much?
| Posted by: | Kitara, fuzzybabies@juno.com | | Subject: | momma | | When: | 8:36 PM, 19 Oct 2000 | | IP: | 63.31.46.254 |
How much personal time do you spend bonding with her? Is she friendly to you? Maybe she wants your attention. It is also possible she doesnt want to raise anymore babies. Try to get in tune with her and find out what she needs.
Kitara
| Posted by: | Lina, lina@napanet.net | | Subject: | none | | When: | 9:11 PM, 19 Oct 2000 | | IP: | 209.244.180.6 |
To answer your questions Kitara, I do not spend much time bonding with her, and she is not friendly to me. My BF gives her a lot more attention than I do, and I guess I have just assumed that she didn't want the attention from people, because she acts so different than my other gliders! The more I think about it, she is just scared. So now I feel guilty! So I think it is the baby thing. She has had at least 8 that I know about, all single births. So she is probably wanting a break.
Rocki'sMom, I can't tell, she seemed really stressed about being alone at first, but now she seems to like it. I have actually seen her come out to eat a few times, which is rare. She hates eating in front of me.
I have been giving her a lot of unwanted attention today, but she is already acting nicer. I guess I have a long road ahead. I have never heard crabbing so long and loud!! It goes on for 10 minutes at a time, it is really amazing.
A question, should I leave her alone, or put Cupcake her favorite daughter (1 year OOP) in with her so she won't be alone? I don't think she has ever been alone before.
Thanks for the advice everyone!
| Posted by: | Kitara, fuzzybabies@juno.com | | Subject: | momma | | When: | 9:19 PM, 19 Oct 2000 | | IP: | 63.25.129.157 |
Personaly I would just work with her, now that she is alone this is a great opportunity for you to bond with her. You can give her a friend later. Do you use licky treats with her when you giving her attention? What are doing when you say giving her attention? Now is not a good time to try to pet her or pick her up. She needs to learn she can trust you. Just give her the lickable treats off the end of your fingers. Dont let her lick so much that she gets to your fingers or she may bite you to get more. See how that works for you, just be patient and talk to her softly, she will come around.
Kitara
| Posted by: | Lina, lina@napanet.net | | Subject: | none | | When: | 11:14 PM, 19 Oct 2000 | | IP: | 64.152.160.6 |
Well, this evening I took the pouch out of her cage and held her in it for like 3 - 4 hours. I gave her lots of yogurt. I am trying to buy her love with yogurt LOL. I have been putting the yogurt over my fingernail so she can't bite as bad. She has actually been biting and attacking a lot less after just a few hours. She is a master crabber though! She seems to be chilling out a tiny bit. I feel like an idiot for not doing this sooner with her. And I still feel bad about leaving her alone in the cage.
| Posted by: | Kitara, fuzzybabies@juno.com | | Subject: | momma | | When: | 11:31 PM, 19 Oct 2000 | | IP: | 63.25.129.218 |
Dont feel bad, just learn from your mistakes. Instead of taking her and the pouch out of the cage try just sticking your hand in the pouch with licky treats on it. She needs to feel safe and the bonding process can take time. Let her go at her own pace. She may nip at you but dont pull your hand away, she needs to learn that you are safe and wont hurt her. Only let her have a few licks at a time so that she does not bite your fingers trying to get more treats. She will come around just let her do it on her time. For now I think she needs the safety of her cage, both of you will work up to geting her out when the time is right.
Kitara
| Posted by: | Kitara, fuzzybabies@juno.com | | Subject: | glider family | | When: | 11:53 PM, 19 Oct 2000 | | IP: | 63.25.129.218 |
How is the joey doing not being with his mother? Usually I leave mine with the parents 8-12 weeks oop. Also keep a good eye on the thinning hair on your females head, you may need to have her checked by a vet. A vet could easily check her for mites. Do you have the daddy? How is he adjusting to the changes,how about his health?
What kind of diet are they on? Sorry for all the questions but they are important.
Kitara
| Posted by: | Gliderlover, Angie_nightgirl@hotmail.com | | Subject: | none | | When: | 12:00 AM, 20 Oct 2000 | | IP: | 24.65.233.144 |
Lina, I know you will do great. Just spoil her with lotsa licky treats and take the bonding process slowly. It sounds like she is getting better  If the loss of fur gets worse then you may want to take her to a vet to check for parasites, mites, etc. Keep us posted on your progress!
Angie ;)
| Posted by: | Rocki'sMom, babygirl@ccp.com | | Subject: | none | | When: | 7:06 AM, 20 Oct 2000 | | IP: | 216.60.86.109 |
Lina, it sounds like you are doing great. I think I would leave her in the cage by herself until you guys are more bonded. Just keep up the work with her and it already sounds like she is coming around. I think after you have bonded with her, I would try letting her have a cage mate.....the female, sounds like she may have had enough of this baby having crap....hehe Kepp us posted on your progress and keep up the good work. ;)
| Posted by: | Lina, lina@napanet.net | | Subject: | none | | When: | 5:33 PM, 20 Oct 2000 | | IP: | 63.210.209.95 |
Kitatra- THe joey seems fine without her mom. Gacy has been ignoring her a lot lately, and Bitsy (the joey) seems very independant as it is. She is still with her dad, so she doesn't seem to be bothered. She is in my lap right now, and happy as a clam.
The thinning hair bothers me a little bit. I am watching it ver carefully. I have kind of been assuming that if it was mites, at least one of my other gliders would have it as well. Is this wrong? Has anyone heard of this kind of hair loss being a result of old age or stress?
I do have the daddy, he seems fine. I am going to watch him closely tonight to see how he is doing. He is in great health, He is only about 3 years old. I have to say that he seems pretty oblivious to Gacy being gone.
They are on a modified leadbeaters diet, they won't eat the kind with chicken babyfood, so I have been using real chicken and other forms of protein. But I have been watching their diet pretty carefully.
The only interesting thing I noticed about the gang is that I had the mother (Gacy) out in her pouch today. She was sooo much nicer, no biting and much less crabbing. My BF was sitting next to me with the joey and one of the others in a pouch. I put Gacy down for a minute and she jumped in to the pouch with the joey and Cookie. When I tried to get her out, she bit me so hard! And all three were crabbing like crazy! None of the others have been crabbing since she has been in the other cage. I think she may be a crabbing instigator.
Anyhow, sorry about how long this is, but if anyone has any other suggestions or ideas of what the thinning fur around the eyes may be that would be much appreciated.
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