I have been hearing tiny squeaks coming from Tumble's tank for hours now and then I spotted the white-butted ASF herself and she was once again sleek and thin:




I've been doing lots of research on ASF litters and it's okay to handle them right away, in fact it's encouraged to help the taming process. So I removed the lid to the nest and took a look:




Mommy Tumble climbed in and said "go away!" which I comletely respect, but I had to check for any problems (and there was one stillborn pup ). But the rest of the litter was perfect, there are four plump little pups all squirmy and peeping, they are twice the size of Fancy mice newborns and a darker red...




I decided to hold off on picking them up yet, at least for Tumble's sake. It's not like she and I are best friends, though she's getting friendlier by the day...




So I closed the lid and gave Tumble a gentle head rub. She seemed to like it and didn't even try to nip me, as I read new ASF moms can do. Things are going well...

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