Reptile & Amphibian Forums

oh man...this is sooooo sad. the joeys are gone. yep - GONE. as of yesterday. i took the girls home at lunch, and let them out of their pouch and into their house, and cricket looked very skinny all of a sudden. i knew, but i had to check her out anyway...you got it, both joeys are no more. i was so sad. part of me wanted to flick her in the eye and tell her what an awful awful evil cannibal she is. but really? mostly i just felt sad. my daughter's on spring break in florida, and i couldn't even text her to tell her, i knew she'd just be upset.
cricket lives with her mom, zoe, but right after they were surrendered to the rescue group, and without anyone knowing it, she was bred by her brother. so it was inbreeding, and i guess that's bad, they eat great, their cage is 3' x 3' x 23" or close to that, and i THOUGHT that was enough room for the girls, they have about 20 pouches that i made, ones that slide onto a perch for sleeping in, and others with drawstrings to be carried around every day. yes, every day. i feel so damn guilty. what the hell did i do wrong? or was it just the inbreeding? i find that hard to believe that something like that would do it. oh, and from what i was told, cricket was only 3 to 5 months old. maybe she was too young, too.
we were just so looking forward to meeting the little baked beans and starting from scratch...sighhh.... now we'll never get the chance to see how cute and big-headed they are out of the pouch, and how sweet and snuggly....dang.

Oh I'm so sorry. how devistating...
Yeh you got it right about the inbreeding ANd the age.. And the two put together are deadly espesially... A 3-5 month old female, well let's jsut say you are lucky my girl, that you didn't lose her too. At that age she is still growing herself. Her bones are stillgrowing and developing and everything inside her is. She is a baby. Not ready to care for young physically or mentally. So you are looking at a ton of possibilities. The babies could easily have been sick doe to the inbreeding. Yep, I've seen people inbreed gliders before. And the babies taht DO survive often come out all deformed and sickly and usually dont last long. Most didn't even make it out of the pouch. Then there is her VERY young age... I'm sure they would be just as shocked to hear she managed to even get impregnated that young.. it just doesnt usually happen. 6 months being the youngest usualy. But there is always the few who jus tdont listen to what WE say they should be able to do. lol So tht leaves her not mentaly ready and able. She may have eaten them because of that... but at that young I am doubting that was it.. they were still atachted to her nipples. It is possible..but I am mostly guessing that they were sick or died. And lastly at her young age she is still growing herself, so she might not have been able to sustain them and herself. And when losing that much nutrition they will often eat thier babies to survive themself.. You really are lucky she is alive... I know it is a huuge loss. I know how looking forward to those cuties you were. But just remember how lucky you are to still have her. I didn't know she was so young or I would have given you warning that this may happen... At least then you would have been prepared. So sorry...
You can always get a male later on when she is at least a year old. And try try again.. or get another now to breed to mom. But that would require separating your baby. And for that you would nee yet ANOTHER female to put in with the baby. Or a neutered male.
So very sorry... really am. I was looking forward to your geting those little beans too. =(

thanks. i just feel guilty! but i know rationally i shouldn't, they had tons of new food every night, fresh water, the big stupid wheel...sighhh....
i'm glad she's okay. i'm kinda grossed out, though too.
but maybe with everything the poor little monkey has been thru in just the last couple of months was just too much. leaving her first home, going to the rescue, being seperated from her brother, going to a new home, let alone the age and inbreeding stuff. i'm not gonna breed her. as much as i'd love to get to know some little ones from day one oop, i'm so into the whole rescue/don't shop...ADOPT! mentality that the guilt would kill me.
aw hell...everything happens for a reason, right? that's what my mom always says!

Happens for a reason, but man sometimes I swear that reason just never comes to surface! lol
I've had my fair share of problems with other animals.... right now dealing with salt water fish.... my first salt tank after tears of fresh and I think I'm ready for that next step.... This salt water tank has given me more problems than ANY of my animals ever have.. I am about to give it all up and turn it into one huge fresh water tank... Course that only if my salty fishy friends dont make it through this problem I'm having now withthis tank. ugh. I dont see the "happens for a reason sometimes. But I suppose there has to be something? =P
Well sorry bout her still... if any thing else arises feel free to drop some questions. Though other than this mishap, it sounds like you have everything in good order for these guys. Sounds like they are in heaven with all thier good food and toys and enrichment you give them. =)

The same thing happend to me about 2 weeks ago, she had 2 little female babies only i had the displeasure to see the bones left.... it was pretty upsetting.... Ive been told by many many people that they will do this if their nutrition is off or they are over stressed.

oh YUCK! no way!!! how did you now the little ones were girls?? and how was your girls diet? oh, and how old was she?
i thought i had at least the diet part DOWN. but maybe the whole leaving her first home, going to the rescue, and then going to my house was too much. and then if she really was as young as i was told, that's WAY too young, and it was her brother that got her! i just keep telling myself that there really wasn't anything i could have done differently. it would make me so sad to think i did something wrong!

Yeah mines diet was fine and she is almost 3 so i narrowed it down to stress or not enough protein in her diet. I knew they were girls because the girls look as though they have an innie belly button rather than an outtie. I had a pair of boys before and she did great. The move may have been a little stressfull also.....