suprise babies

[bloody_phoenix_tears]

ok i work at a locally owned petstore and we got a hedgehog in a little over 3 weeks ago. she is not our first weve gotten in but the first that has come in pregnant and we of course had no idea she was... and last tuesday(2/2) she had 4 babies.. we looked up info as soon as we found them and moved her to a quiet area and only went in to feed and water her... come that friday she had injured and rejected 2. one we were too late to try and save and the other we tried but he ended up not making it either...
soooo come today(2/8) she had another rejected... throughout the weekend we were battling with her putting it back in the nest while she was sleeping so she wouldnt see us messing with the cage and she'd take it back but today was the end of her accepting it back as she pushed it away and ignored him for most of the morning... so we decided to pull him and hand feed him..
we had looked up info on hand feeding when we first found the babies and got everything we needed just incase it came down to it as we found young first moms arent always the best at dealing with babies...
so ive been feeding him every two hours we got goats milk to feed him and everything... my biggest concern is over feeding as i know over feeding can be as fatal as under feeding... i know they all eat different ammounts but how much is too much.. ive read 2-3 mouthfulls generally works but he seems so hungry still.
Also we know to stimulate the digestive tract by rubbing down his stomach with a moist q tip... mt q with that is nowhere can i find if hes suppose to go every time i do this or not.. as he only went once around 530p(its 20 to 11p now) since i started hand feeding him. im being a paranoid mom and worrying as ive read if not done their tummys can actually rupture if they dont go... any help is much appreciated . i really want this baby to live... hes got so much spunk for being so young..
thanks Jen

[littleblacktutu]

Im confused..you took the baby from the mommy and then tried to put it back? Im pretty sure you should have never touched or moved them..but im a newbie..what do i know?

[emeko]

Oh dear. The odds were stacked against this litter surviving from the start. She likely wasn't getting adequate nutrition during pregnancy, and the stress of being in a pet store environment all through pregnancy and birth wouldn't help. It's good that you moved her somewhere quiet, but that move could stress her too. You're not really supposed to touch the babies for a few weeks, as it greatly increases the chance of rejection. But it does sound like you've all been doing the best you know and the best you could given the circumstances.

So this little one is about a week old now? Do you happen to know Mom's age?

There's a good story/info about hand feeding babies here:
http://hedgehogcentral.com/handfeed.shtml

I've never had this experience myself, but I'm pretty sure you could add a bit of puppy Ebsilac to the goat's milk (can someone confirm this?) Make sure the baby stays warm enough, and yes, don't overfeed. And as you've probably already figured, I wouldn't get hedgies from that breeder again.

Hopefully some of the more experience breeders on the forum will reply. Are there are any other hedgehogs in your area? If you were REALLY lucky, you might be able to track down a "foster mom" who could nurse the baby, and hand fed babies have a very high mortality rate. Good luck, and keep us posted!

[Hedgiepets]

If you look on the left side of the baby's belly you should see a little white spot when the tummy is full. The hardest part about hand feeding is bloat. Babies tend to suck in a lot of air. Get some Simethicone (baby gas drops).

[bloody_phoenix_tears]

thanks for the help.. i would have replied sonner but its been kinda caotic between feeding the baby and working.. we never took the babies from mom untill it was totally nessicary.. when she had them pushed out of the nest we would use a spoon or put on vinyl gloves before we moved any of the babies back so our scent wouldnt get on them.. as from what my boss was telling me she read that we should try keeping the babies with mom as long as she may take them back.. anyways we have no clue as to how old mom is we just know shes young. and yeah we figured out odds were againt this litter quite quick after she had it and we were looking up info... so yeah..

also a lil up date the mom is still taking care of the one baby so far but we keep an eye on her incase she decides to reject this one too.. but an update to the one im hand feeding.. s/he is actually doing really well and is about a week and a half old. im not really having any issues with bloat which is nice. so between the 2 babies left they are both doing well so far so we are just hopeing it stays that way now.

thanks again for the help

[LizardGirl]

Glad to hear the one you are hand feeding is doing well.

[bloody_phoenix_tears]

alright update time again now that i have time and am awake.. we pulled the second baby from mom about a week ago because mom wasnt eating very well and getting a bit thinner though shes finally back up to eating more and doing better. But both babies are 3 weeks old today and doing good.. the first one we ended up pulling is a bit of a runt but still goin strong and eating well and developing at about the same rate as the other.. we noticed their eyes are finally starting to open today too which is awesome. but all in all everyone is doing great and hopefully it stays that way

[shetland]

I am glad everything is going well. Thank you for the news.

[bloody_phoenix_tears]

well suckey news.. the second baby we took from mom so she could get better just died tonight from bloat.. his poop was looking normal and he was going every time we stimulated him to though when mom went to feed him tonight while i was out he had become bloated and when she was stimulating him and he went it looks like there was some blood with it also from what she showed me when i got home a little while later after her call. but by then he was gone but the other baby is still doin good and no signs of bloat with him for the time being so hopefully it stays that way

[LizardGirl]

Sorry the baby boy died... hand raising hedgies is very hard. If it's any consolation, it sounds like you were doing a great job with him (and still, with the other girl) for them to have lasted this long. Fingers crossed for the little girl.