I managed to spot Marigold, the little Face Spot Agouti, having breakfast with the other Fancy mice in our biggest tank this morning. But the brown-coated ASF vanished before I could get a pic, she's fast!

But since she is doing so well in there I decided to go for it and add her big Pied friend to the mix this evening when I cleaned the tank...




Tumble definitely needed to get out of her current home and get out and meet some friends, so I carefully added her to the mix in the iso-tank while I was changing their tank, and then when everybody went back in she went with them...




Unlike Marigold though, she seemed to react with fear to the new enviroment and went and hid under the nearest mesh wheel...




The mice in the tank noticed her right away and just like they did with Marigold appeared to have no problem with her, they were only slightly curious...




They sniffed her all over and preened her, then ignored her. But the issue wasn't them, it was Tumble. She seemed downright terrified, rooted to the spot poor thing. I'm going to give it some more time and then decide what to do...

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Awwww.... bless her..
She's sooo sweet

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My babies:

Crossbreed dog Oscar
6 Syrian hamsters Leo, Lucky, Blackie, Jim, Apple and Isabelle
2 Campbells Russian dwarf hamsters Rosie and Smirnoff
A Winter White dwarf hamster Misty
2 Dumbo rats Freya and Sophia
A mini lop rabbit Lilly
A cross lop rabbit Oliver
Too many bridge babies Suzie, Gizmo, Penny, Smudge, Treacle, Ross, Winston and Joey


http://sarahspetboutique.webs.com/index.htm

She is, yes, I really like her.

But sadly the attempt to introduce Tumble into our largest tank's population did not go well...




As you can see, the problem was not on the Fancy mice's part, they accepted her with no problem. But poor Tumble seemed terrified of them and just hid under the green wheel for hours and hours, afraid to even move. She was actually quivering with fright.




Different mice came and went, mostly ignoring the fearful Pied, but nothing would get her to change position, it was sad. She barely put up any resistance when I finally reached down to scoop her up...




Back in her travel cage she was soon her spritely self, digging and playing on the wheel, drinking and scrounging in her food dish, it was weird.

Perhaps she just wants to be alone? Is Tumble a lone wolf? Unknown. But on the plus side of things, Marigold has actually appeared for the first time...




I watched her eat and play with the other mice for a good half hour this morning, she is definitely part of the gang now. So at least the ASF experiment is a partial success, I can't complain too loudly...

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Okay, wow, the "mystery" of Tumble's strange behavior when she met the mice of my largest tank has been solved...




Here's a pic of the ASF soon after she first arrived:




And here she is now:




Can't believe I completely missed it, but then my experience with Multimammates is limited. A close examination of Tumble has proven it beyond a shadow of a doubt...




She is pregnant!

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Awwww are you happy or sad about that, I can't wait to see the little babies.

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Mum to:
Sam & Lucy (human children)
Henrick (GSD)
Syd, Dizzy, Elvis(Cats)
Harvey, Mojo,Freckles, Nobby and Sugar(Mice)
Snakey-Lakey and friends(Fish)
Remy, Fidget, Rommel, Monty and Edd (dumbo rats)
Spike, Cordelia,Willow,Fred,Xander, Angel, Darla (hamsters)
A place in my heart will always belong to my babies at the bridge.

Very happy! It's unexpected but I can't wait to see and hold the babies.

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Mom-to-be Tumble has been safely transported into her own personal tank...




Recently I was shocked to discover that the Pied ASF was pregnant, which comletely explained her odd behavior ever since she arrived...




I have been talking to the breeder I recieved her from asking for an explanation as to how this could have happened, and he has assured me he had been careful to seperate the boys from the girls long before they could start breeding and that Tumble has never lived with an adult male. But there is no way Tumble isn't pregnant now, I've felt a baby, so that's that...




Tumble seems very happy in her new home and is in high spirits now that she has proper space to let nature take it's course. Which is good because she seems to be swelling fast, the birth could happen anytime now...




She has a nesting box as you can see and she loves it, she's mostly ignoring her wheel and is spending her time getting the box ready. I'm nervous about all this, but still can't wait for the litter to arrive...

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Wow an immaculate conception, thats as amazing as my male hamster (Spike) giving birth.

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Mum to:
Sam & Lucy (human children)
Henrick (GSD)
Syd, Dizzy, Elvis(Cats)
Harvey, Mojo,Freckles, Nobby and Sugar(Mice)
Snakey-Lakey and friends(Fish)
Remy, Fidget, Rommel, Monty and Edd (dumbo rats)
Spike, Cordelia,Willow,Fred,Xander, Angel, Darla (hamsters)
A place in my heart will always belong to my babies at the bridge.

Your male hammie gave birth?

lol, Tumble's breeder is in denial, he must have a male ASF hiding among his females, I've read that can happen. He just doesn't want to admit he made a mistake, like I care anyway, I'm happy to have the babies.

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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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