AdamR
New member
I hatched out this little normal girl (I'll post pics ASAP) on July 14 and decided to hold her back because she had such a unique pattern and a mustache! She was the first to pip out of that clutch and seemed to be in great health and was 61g.
She showed no interest in feeding for far too long so on August 29 I force fed a pinkie mouse because she was losing weight and was very thin. I did this again on Sept. 2 and Sept. 16. By this time I had grown worried because other than an occasional pee, she never had any bowel movements and was looking pretty "plugged up". I gave her a warm bath on Sept. 20 to loosen her up and she passed a very large well-digested stool. She weighed 72g that day.
On Sept. 22 she killed and ate a live pink rat! I was so excited that my little girl finally ate on her own! On Sept. 28 she repeated this and by Sept. 30 she weighed 90g. Once again, she stopped eating and could not pass her stool so I gave her another bath and she passed a large one.
On Oct. 15 and Oct. 20 she killed and ate pink rats but still had not had a bowel movement on her own and once again she looked very "plugged" and uncomfortable. I noticed today that she has a very solid mass about the size of a Tic-Tac about an inch before her cloaca that is somewhat moveable. I've seen all along that the lower half of her ventral side is dark from the inside. It appears abnormally dark to me but I will post pics for others to determine. Another worry point for me is that her first and only shed was on July 18. She has not shed since. She is very calm, but almost lethargic. She does not move when handled but is strong enough to support herself and hold on.
She is kept in a 12qt tub on paper towels with a water bowl big enough to soak in. The humidity is usually in the 50's-60's. I clean her tub and bowl every 5 days. She is not extremely active but does move around occasionally.
Any suggestions on how to help her defecate on her own and shed? Any ideas as to what the solid mass is and why her belly is dark?
She is quite a looker and I'd like to save her! All of her siblings are doing very well so she is the only one who is having problems.
Thanks!
She showed no interest in feeding for far too long so on August 29 I force fed a pinkie mouse because she was losing weight and was very thin. I did this again on Sept. 2 and Sept. 16. By this time I had grown worried because other than an occasional pee, she never had any bowel movements and was looking pretty "plugged up". I gave her a warm bath on Sept. 20 to loosen her up and she passed a very large well-digested stool. She weighed 72g that day.
On Sept. 22 she killed and ate a live pink rat! I was so excited that my little girl finally ate on her own! On Sept. 28 she repeated this and by Sept. 30 she weighed 90g. Once again, she stopped eating and could not pass her stool so I gave her another bath and she passed a large one.
On Oct. 15 and Oct. 20 she killed and ate pink rats but still had not had a bowel movement on her own and once again she looked very "plugged" and uncomfortable. I noticed today that she has a very solid mass about the size of a Tic-Tac about an inch before her cloaca that is somewhat moveable. I've seen all along that the lower half of her ventral side is dark from the inside. It appears abnormally dark to me but I will post pics for others to determine. Another worry point for me is that her first and only shed was on July 18. She has not shed since. She is very calm, but almost lethargic. She does not move when handled but is strong enough to support herself and hold on.
She is kept in a 12qt tub on paper towels with a water bowl big enough to soak in. The humidity is usually in the 50's-60's. I clean her tub and bowl every 5 days. She is not extremely active but does move around occasionally.
Any suggestions on how to help her defecate on her own and shed? Any ideas as to what the solid mass is and why her belly is dark?
She is quite a looker and I'd like to save her! All of her siblings are doing very well so she is the only one who is having problems.
Thanks!
