Is it possible for another glider that is pregnant to nurse a joey that was born to another glider? - or does a glider have to wait until its own joey is detached to produce milk in their unused nipples.
It IS possible, but not very probable. Most gliders will not accept a joey from another clan Sometimes it does happen though and is always worth giving a try IF a joey has been rejected by its own parents. It has to be done under very strict supervision to make sure the potential surrogates don't attack the joey. Rub the joey down with a blanket that has the potential surrogates scent on it BEFORE trying to introduce the joey. I actually had it work for me once. My Pepe and Bittah adopted my Allira when Coobah & Mareki rejected her. Bittah had twin joeys in pouch that were due out in about 2 weeks. She very confidently shoved Allira into her pouch along with her own joeys and fed her It was amazing to watch tiny little Bittah walk around with 3 joeys in her pouch
I was just wondering as I have a Quad of three females and one male - with all three females being pregnant.... and Brauma was the first one to have a glider OOP with her other twin still attached.... and Brauma spent a large amount of time yesterday (during the day) away from her OOP joey - yet the joey never cried for any thing and she was kept warmed and taken care of my her two aunts and daddy..... so I am wondering if one of her aunts might have feed her while momma was away - as they are very attentive to the joey.
BTW - Brauma has since reunited with her OOP joey (last night) and she is taking good care of her and her brother.
Yeah Dido and Aeneas both got out of the pouch last night to eat and exercise and didn't really go back to their pouch. They would kind of walk over to it, look inside and then walk away. I guess they were just checking up on them cause if they cried they went inside.
Yes - there is enough room - and I have an extra cage as well...... and two of the joey's already have a new home lined up for them - just have to wait for the standard weaning period.
Re: Nursing Question
[Re: ]
#557472 05/26/0802:40 AM05/26/0802:40 AM
WOW! - I looked into the pouch tonight and what did I see but Shumway feeding both her joey and one of her sisters twin joeys..... this was an exciting moment for me as I had thought the girls might have been doing this..... colony raising & nursing of the joeys.
Fergie - (unrelated to the sisters) is still the over all baby sitter when dad and mom go out to eat...... but she does not feed any of the joeys that are OOP - she still has her joey IP.
It IS possible, but not very probable. Most gliders will not accept a joey from another clan
Thanks for the INFO...... and I am sorry but I forgot to mention that the joey in question was from the same colony (a breeding quad - 3 females 1 male)..... and not from another colony of gliders.