s.o.s. babies....what can i do?????

[Helva]

Hello, a friend of spanish forum has a problem...her hedgie has had babies but she is a new mother and hasn´t milk...
how can she( my friend) give food to them? :dunno:
what kind of food? cat baby milk? :dunno:
how many times at day? :dunno:

I hope your replies to translate to her...thanks

[HedgeMom]

Espilac or baby dog milk is better. Goats milk will work if you can get it. They also need goat colostrum.

How do you know the momma has no milk? Hedgehogs should be left completely alone and not touched, not looked at or they may kill their babies. If left alone she should take care of them.

If you must hand feed, you'll feed every hour around the clock by putting drops on the babies lips and letting them lick it off. They will need to be stimulated to go potty with a warm damp cotton ball or wash cloth. You will see the milk bands on the tummy when they are full. Make sure the formula is warm but not hot. Cold formula will chill the babies.

Make sure momma has plenty of food, clean fresh water and privacy. She can have some soft scrambled egg to help her weight. If you can get the herb fenugreek, a pinch of the powder on some soft food will help her milk come in.

Hope this helps. And hopefully a breeder will come in and give you some more advice.

ETA I found the FAQ on handfeeding:

http://www.chins-n-quills.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80380&highlight=handfeeding

[Nancy]

Hand feeding has a really low success rate and their best hope at survival is to stay with mom. They need to be left alone. Mom will kill the babies if she feels stressed.

A bit of kitten food in with her regular kibble will add some needed fat to her diet. I also give my expectant and nursing moms 5-6 mealies per night and sometimes more depending on the size of mom and size of the litter.

I also crush a Tums and sprinkle a bit on the kibble the day of delivery and again 2 days later and then every 3-4 days for the first couple of weeks. This is for the calcium.

The most important thing is to give mom privacy and quiet. Refill her dishes morning and night and other than that leave her alone. I have 2 sets of dishes and as I am removing the dirty dishes I also quickly grab a handful of dirty shavings and add a handfull of clean as I am setting the fresh food and water back in. This helps keep control the mess in the cage in a non threatening way. Make sure before reaching into the cage that mom knows she is there. Talk quietly to her and tell her what is being done. Do it quickly and then leave. If she is throwing a fit just replace dishes and forget the shavings. I always fill the dishes so that if I can't do it for a day there is more than enough and she won't run out. :)