GLIDEIT Posted - Sep 07 2015 : 10:49:43 PM
If you did your research you'd already know how poor of an idea separating dad is.
What are the risks? Mom getting stressed out and over grooming, mom being overwhelmed at not getting a break and taking it out on her joeys, mom not eating enough because she can't get a proper break, leading to lower milk production and joeys not being able to eat enough...leading to joeys biting at moms nipples in hunger, getting nipped at in response, and possibly being rejected. The risk is you having to find baby joeys cold at the bottom of the cage, and needing to handfeed them every 30 minutes to 2 hours, and then possibly still having them die. Or you might be waking one morning to find Joey pieces in the cage since mom ate her joeys.
Dad does a LOT more than just "teach joeys to eat solid food"; he is their full time babysitter and spends more time in the pouch with them than mom does. For the first couple weeks the joeys are OOP, he will be providing them warmth (without it they could easily die, or simply catch a chill, which is enough to weaken them...possibly enough to make them unable to eat). He will clean them and keep them in the pouch as mom plays and feeds. Without him, the joeys may wander outside of their sleeping pouch, looking for food, and fall out, get cold, die. Removing the dad greatly increases your chances of these joeys not surviving...sorry if that is too harsh advice, but the big risks you're needlessly risking, just so you can have joeys quicker....isn't worth it.
And if you tear a new dad away from his joeys, there's a very good chance he will be upset too. He will hear the Joey cries and be unable to attend. Even worse, his dad urges may lead him to viciously attack any other new gliders you introduce to him, as he feels he needs to defend his territory and his new joeys.
I strongly advise you to wait the 2 months, and continue researching. You can NEVER know too much about these little creatures, especially if you're planning on breeding. |
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