:tant2:I just don't understand, The Joey's where born 3 days ago, minnie and mickey were doing great parenting,this morning they were "barking " I came out and both Joey's were dead.please someone tell me why this happens.Its there first babies.
Thankyou
Danielle

Danielle hi.
Sorry to hear this. :-(

There's a lot of reasons why this can happen, but really, case by case, there's no telling exactly why they terminated the joeys. Some possibilities...

Number 1 reason is because momma isn't producing enough milk. If the mother decides at any time, that she doesn't have the strength raise one or more of the joeys, she will reject/terminate them. Nutrition = Milk.

There may also have been defects or illnesses that the parents can see that we can't.

Bottom line is that there just isn't a good way to know.

The joeys may even have died of natural causes. Adults in the wild will cannibalize dead joeys--as throwing the remains out of the nest can attract predators.

...And lots of mommies have problems with their first pregnancy.

Don't feel bad. This isn't your fault.
Mother nature is a harsh mistress.

And they will have more...put money on it. In fact she might already be pregnant again right now. It's a lot harder to get them to *stop* breeding.

What diet are you feeding? Pregnancy is a REALLY important time for momma to be getting the best nutrition you can give her.

Hope this helps some.

Hi hun, Thankyou for responding. I feed TPG,but she hasn't been eating it, Finally she ate last night but at 4am is when I found the babies, I didn't touch them.This is there first set of babies.

This has been proven to be a myth. If a sugar glider female can and does produce milk the entire time she is carrying a joey in pouch, she does not just stop producing milk.

What causes the mom to stop producing is often times the joeys do not have enough suction to them, which in turn does not allow mom to produce.

If it is the fact that mom, herself, does not produce milk, the joeys never even survive while in her pouch and often times you are not even aware she was with joeys.

Another reason joeys stop eating or why it may seem mom is rejecting is more times than not, mom has mastitis. Although this is not often visible to our eye since moms teats are inside her pouch and its not like we can just open moms pouch to peek inside (in most cases). This has to be determined by a vet in most cases, and even if you can tell your mom has mastitis she should be put on an antibiotic since it is a bacterial infection.

Another cause of losing joeys is actually the pouch they are in. If you have a normal cage pouch and it is hanging high, years ago we discovered that the joeys get stuck under the weight of mom and dad and actually suffocate. Once the joey loses body heat, the parents no longer acknowledge the joey and dispose of the body most times.

Wow! Thanks for the correction Peggy!
Never too old to learn somethin' new. :-)