So Loofah's first estimated due date has come and gone but I estimated her at 35 days gestation from the first mating and technically, I should have to wait at least until 40 days have gone by as a good rule of thumb to assume she is not pregnant. Let's also not forget that I put her in with Sonic a second time so will have to keep in mind that she may have taken during her second encounter with him which would mean the 16th of June is still a possibility and then I will have to wait until the 40th day as well to rule out pregnancy. Gees, that's a lot to keep track of so it's a good thing I documented this and keep a close eye on her. Some breeders weigh their pet throughout the month after possible mating and if steady weight is being gained by the female, then it can be assumed she is pregnant. I haven't done this with my hedgies but is a practice I might get involved in as it will give me more accurate indications on the progression of each individual pregnancy. Although keeping a very small herd is not much of a demand on me to know exactly if and when a female is pregnant, it's not like I have many people or pet shops calling and asking "are they ready yet?" so I can take the liberty to just let nature run it's course and if it happens it happens or else I will try again. But with that being said, just waiting and not knowing is hard in itself because you just never know if it's going to happen and how soon. I have a scale, I should put it to good use next pregnancy.
I am very excited for Loofah and Sonic as this will be their first attempt at parenthood and heir litters should pack a beautiful punch of colour. I expect to have pintos and solids in chocolates, salt & peppers and maybe more champagnes. Hope she has 4 or 5. That's a nice number, not too many for new mom to handle but not too few either. Nice to see a good sized healthy colourful litter.
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| (a picture to show Sonics pinto markings. His entire rump is white along with patches on both sides of body) |
Sonic is a high pinto in the salt and pepper colour meaning he has a lot of white markings on him which is very desirable in the pinto varieties. he should be able to pass on those lovely genes. Him and Loofah also have very desirable personalities. They are quick to un-ball (within 1 second of picking them up) even if sleeping and in the middle of the day and are very curious and friendly. In the evenings, even if the lights are on, they will come out to explore and eat and drink and lick my fingers. Oddly enough, I have never seen either one self-anoint so whether they perform this natural behaviour known to hedgehogs or not is beyond my knowledge as I have never seen them do it. What is self-anointing you ask? Well from the time they are only 2 weeks old or so, if the hedgehog encounters a smell or taste which they find appealing, they will like it, taste it, nibble it, then produce a lathery foam in their mouths and spread the sticky, foamy saliva all over their body. While it is not clear why they perform this behaviour, scientists believe it is to cover themselves with that particular taste or smell to ward off potential predators or to attract a mate - weird. Anyways, unless Sonic and Loofah are self conscious and refuse to do this while anyone is watching, I have yet to see them perform this interesting yet innate behaviour.
Tonight I have thoroughly cleaned Loofah's cage so it is ready and prepped for possible babies in the coming days so she is ready to go. The shavings were very fresh and very aromatic so she was out walking the perimeter of her cage taking in the smells. I added a clean peek-a-boo pouch in her igloo as well and scrubbed her food dish and water bottle clean. She is ready to give birth. Fingers crossed her and babies do well when and if the time comes - will keep you all posted :)
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| (Loofah exploring while I cleaned her cage) |
