March 1
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March 1
Poor frazzled mom... I cleaned the cage completely today. Dash "told" me to by piling all her litter in a corner. Anyway, I put her and the pups back, and she went nuts! She kept picking up very mobile little babies and running around trying to figure out where to take them. A few times, she jumped onto the igloo (with baby in her mouth) and tried to find a way out of the aquarium. Finally, she rediscovered the inside of her igloo and set about rounding up the babies, but every time she put one in, another one would wander out of the igloo right past her. Luckily, the pups found the igloo on their own and went in when they felt like it. I don't think Dash appreciates this stage in their development. For one thing, they have teeth, which has to make nursing a bit rougher. Then, of course, they cannot be kept in a nest if they don't want to be there...
Of course, it's all worth it for these little cuties. I am holding them and petting them a lot now, while they are still fairly slow and easy to catch. ;-) I hold them on their backs often. I'm not sure why exactly I do it, but adults and pups alike really seem to be more handlable and docile when I do this often. I think they get used to being handled in ways they don't like, and that makes it easier to check their teeth and feel for sores and lumps and other things when they are adults. I also let them examine my hands a lot, climbing and sniffing and licking and nibbling.
As for physical changes, the most obvious development has occurred already, but now their ears are getting bigger and growing some fur. They stick out more from their heads. Slowly (or quickly? All is relative...), they will develop more adult proportions with longer bodies compared to their heads and lengthened faces and scaly tails (their tails are now smooth).
And Aerik is still being a "good," completely uninterested dad. I figure if I continue letting him visit with the pups, it will be very easy to introduce Egon to the adult male cage when he is old enough.
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