Big Babies!

As anyone that knows us can tell you, I call all our Tenrecs 'babies'. So I thought Id catch up on how all the BIG babies are doing.

Mommy Bubbles has her paws full with about 5 babies. They are growing so fast and already started drinking some water and taking sand baths. Not to mention went exploring without mom yesterday!

Soon to be mommy Buttercup is a little lonely and just wants some company. Bubbles had to be separated when her babies came just in case there were disagreements on whose babies belong to who. We are giving her as much love as we can in her very pregnant condition but hope that she will give birth soon so that she is no longer lonely.

The almighty Bruce has decided that he can FLY! Twice yesterday he decided to take it head first out of the cage! I was busy cleaning and he wanted attention so when my head was turned he went "Wee!! Look Mom No Hands!!" and promptly landed on his stomach both times. Despite this clear indication that the power of flight is not in his stars he is still persistent to learn! Between running around all night and using mom as a jungle gym he has a sunny disposition and seems to be enjoying life.

Hedgwick, mommies little boy, has us a little concerned. He's had some diarrhoea the past few days after he had a close encounter with his running wheel. It resulted in a few bruises that went away soon after but he has lost some weight too due to the runny tummy... being a small tenrec to begin with this is not a good thing at all. He seems a little down but is still eating and getting around at night... I think a change in diet might work if he is willing to give it a try. At this rate we will have to keep him awake this winter to eat just in case he gets too small. Tenrec Ladies heart would not be able to go on any more if she lost her little guy...

Baby Pictures Last Forever!!

As any doting mother knows, baby pictures are made of GOLD! So I thought Id share with you some of the baby pictures so far. If I knew how to put videos on here I would do that too :P

It looks like a tiny little otter!

Bluh! Water is not that good!

Hey what is that ugly pink thing with front facing eyes? Is that a human?

Dont worry mommy! Ill protect you from the human!

Little Ones!!

Its finally happened! We have babies!! Monday afternoon I walked past the cage and saw a little worm wriggling around and sure and s#!t there one was!!

I had the opportunity to take a peak inside the hide yesterday and spotted about 6 little babies crawling around. Mom (Bubbles) is very caring, and hungry! Shes eaten twice as much as normal and can keep going. I guess that happens when you have 6 mouths to feed.

Buttercup is a little lonely since we had to separate them but she is still getting love from us and is well on her way to being a mommy too. As more appearances of the little babies happen I will be sure to update :)

Bubbles and Blossom

"When is this going to happen lady? I am sore. I am uncomfortable and I want to eat everything! When will this be over?"

Soon sweety! Our girls are looking all swollen and puffy. Heres an update on their pregnancy for now.

The girls are so big we worry they may just burst at the seams. At 270g they are becoming a bit moody and grouchy.

We are a bit perplexed at how long this is actually going to take since they have been with us almost 2 months now. Tenrec Dad did some research and there seems to be a lot of variance on the actual gestation period. Some researchers even propose that if the girls got pregnant early in the season they may just 'hold them in' longer and wait until the ideal conditions before giving birth... The general agreed gestation period is anything from +-49 days to +65 days!

We dont know what else we can do to make them feel comfortable but as these pics suggest, they are enjoying a good snuggle and take my word for it, a good couple of worms every day too!

Bubbles is the biggest at the moment leading by a few grams on Buttercup but there isnt much sign that they are ready to nest yet... We are seeing nesting behaviour one day and then this the next day...

 

 I think you'll agree... the complete opposite to nesting! As you can see in this pic, their nipples are very pronounced and filled with milk. Every indication of the big day getting closer and closer but no babies yet... Our hearts sink a little every morning and afternoon when the girls pop out their little faces and HUGE bellies to say 'nyt nyt' and 'hello'.

Needless to say, once there are babies, the channel will be one of the first to know ;)

Home Sweet Home

Can you imagine being trapped in the same room your entire life? With the same furniture and the same shows on repeat all day... You'll go insane right? Yeah Tenrecs too.

While they don't watch TV they are curious, adventurous and like having a new place to explore every now and then.

When it comes to essentials for a Tenrec enclosure the list consists of  the following:

• Water and Food (See 'Food Glorious Food' for more appetising morsels for them)
• A Sand Bath
• A Heat Pad / Lamp / Stone (Which ever you think is best) 
• A Hedgehog Wheel (Bigger than a rat wheel. The smaller wheels curve their spines and that can hurt)
• Hides (Houses for them to hide and sleep in. A few around the cage are preferred)
• Obstacles and Terrain (Obstacles for adventure and different terain allow for a more engaging experience)

Our Girls House. The Sand Bath in the corner was empty in the photo.

Obstacles like drift wood and rocks for them to climb and scamper over will keep them happily entertained in the wee hours of the morning when Tenrecs get up to the most mischief!

The boys' multi level home. Their Wheel is where the bottom Hut is an the bottom Astor-turf is now Corn Husks.

I prefer to give them a few different terrains to play with. Astor-turf, Corn husk bits, Peach Pip bits, Chinchilla sand (sand baths), small Bark Chunks, Newspaper are all possible combinations and more if you want! I use a small bit of fleece for their hides they seem to be more comfortable on it and it helps retain heat.

From Google

Obstacles can be left in the same places but what’s the fun in that!? Mix things up a bit and change it around every 2-3 weeks. See how fast they find their favourite log or the best hide!

From Google

Expecting HOW MANY?

Boy or Girl? They look the same!

What do you do when you are unsure of the gender of your little critter?

Also what do you do when you are expecting MORE little critters and are not sure what to do when your girls get bigger and bigger?

The first question is not a simple one to answer...

You can wait until they are about 6 months old and have gone through their first torpor (hibernation). Introducing them to a Female will then result in the males secreting a smelly milk like substance from their eye. Note this usually only happens when a new female is introduced so best to keep them separate from their moms for a while and see if they react when reintroduced.

The more impatient and DANGEROUS approach is to wait until the babies are weaned and to introduce them to an adult Male. Once again you will have had to separate them from their mothers long enough for their mothers smell to have dissipated from them. The typical adult Male will milk at in the presence of a new female (even if the female isnt mature). The down side is, if the baby is a Male too then the adult Male will try to kill the baby... This, needless to say, is why I advise against it.

Sexing an adult outside of mating season can be a bit tricky too. There are some minor physical characteristics to go on but they often prove to be a poor method for sexing. During mating season however, males and female look very different, see image below.

Note the swollen eyes of the Male. This is caused by the glands that secrete the milk like substance swelling. Here you can also see that the male has a shorter face and patches around his eyes that are lighter than the rest of his face. These characteristics are sometimes used to sex when not in mating season and if no female is available. It is however not reliable as, just like humans, sometimes a boy can look extra girly and a girl extra masculine. Bruce looked Exactly like a female when we got him because he is already quite light and we couldn’t see his eye patches.

Bruce

Then later on he developed swollen eyes and surprised everyone! Hedgwick on the other hand is quite dark and his patches show quite prominently.

Hedgwick

In the end we had 2 boys and a really good life lesson.

If you have a Female available I would recommend the separate and reintroduce method of sexing and not the Male or physical appearance method.

Now for the second question. We are expecting for the first time with females that (luckily) have had 2 previous litters. (So they know what they are doing). For now I have decided to document the journey. Our girls arrived with us a few weeks ago I suspect already pregnant. Since then they have gained weight and are now at around 210g - 230g. Our breeder told us that is about the weight that they normally reach before "popping" so to speak. So at the moment we are eagerly awaiting and checking every morning and night for little creatures.

Their appetites have increased significantly and even Mrs Stingy Bubbles is now eating mealworms and egg! Their previous litters were about 4-6 babies so we are hoping all goes well.

I will keep you posted with more info on the girls as it develops. :)

Tenrec Know How

When it comes to Tenrec know how, a lot of people don’t know where to start and Google is not a great help as they are not very well documented as pets.

Luckily, TenrecLady's boyfriend and Tenrec Dad is on a mission to correct that. He created a survey and tallied the results. Here they are:

My Tenrec Likes to Eat (Ranked from Most to Least)
· ​ ​Mealworms
· ​ ​Superworms
· ​ ​Cat Food
· ​ ​Egg
· ​ ​Fruit
· ​ ​Veg
· ​ ​Baby Food
· ​ ​Locusts
· ​ ​Mario Worms
· ​ ​Wax Worms
· ​ ​Dubia
· ​ ​Cat Biscuit
· ​ ​Dog Food

My Tenrec Refuses to Eat
· ​ ​Fruits
· ​ ​Egg
· ​ ​Large Insects
· ​ ​Vegetables
· ​ ​Crickets
· ​ ​Catfood
· ​ ​Butterworms
· ​ ​Hookworms
· ​ ​Dried Biscuits
· ​ ​Will not eat anything but Insects

I supplement his/her diet with the following (Ranked from most to least)· ​ ​Nothing
· ​ ​Calcium Powder (Repticalc, Zolcal)
· ​ ​Vitamins (Reptiles)
· ​ ​Maizuri
· ​ ​Nutrobal
· ​ ​Skin (Olive Oil, Flaxseed Oil, Coconut Oil)

I use ____ as a substrate
· ​ ​Fleece
· ​ ​Aspen
· ​ ​Clay Cat Litter
· ​ ​Coconut Shreds
· ​ ​Orchid Bark
· ​ ​Dried Corn Husk
· ​ ​Crushed Apricot Pip
· ​ ​Astroturf
· ​ ​River sand
· ​ ​Wood Shavings

When my tenrec had babies she had ___ in the litter (Only commenting on responses > 0)
· ​ ​5
· ​ ​5
· ​ ​2
· ​ ​1
· ​ ​1-9

I use ___ as a heat source (From Most to Least)
· ​ ​Heat Pad
· ​ ​Heat Lamp
· ​ ​Heating Cable
· ​ ​Ceramic Heat Emitter
· ​ ​Home Heater (near cage)

I maintain their cage around ____ degrees
· ​ ​25 Celsius
· ​ ​28 Celsius
· ​ ​22 – 28 Celsius
· ​ ​26 Celsius
· ​ ​23 Celsius

My Tenrec is Male / Female / Unknown
· ​ ​50% Male
· ​ ​41.7% Female
· ​ ​8.3% Unknown

My Tenrec Weighs (grams)
· ​ ​90g
· ​ ​105.9
· ​ ​114
· ​ ​120
· ​ ​150
· ​ ​160
· ​ ​180
· ​ ​196
· ​ ​200
· ​ ​210
· ​ ​240
· ​ ​290

My Tenrec Loves It When
· ​ ​It’s food time!
· ​ ​Rub them (behind ear, under chin)
· ​ ​Sleep with me (under shirt, under blankets)
· ​ ​Bathtime! (Sand)
· ​ ​Free Roaming/Games
· ​ ​New Toys/Plants in Enclosure
·
My Tenrec Hates it When
· ​ ​I wake them up
· ​ ​I wake them up
· ​ ​I wake them up
· ​ ​I wake them up
· ​ ​I wake them up
· ​ ​I wake them up
· ​ ​I wake them up
· ​ ​I wake them up
· ​ ​I wake them up
· ​ ​I wake them up
· ​ ​Claw Clipping
· ​ ​Baths (Water)

My tenrec top tip is
· ​ ​Lots of love and attention!
· ​ ​Lots of things to climb on
· ​ ​Meal Diversity
· ​ ​Keep Cage Clean
· ​ ​Balance Diet
· ​ ​Keep an eye on their skin

Let Me SLEEP!