# Baby Gambians.....



## droopal (Apr 9, 2010)

I have a new litter, 4 babies, 1 female and 3 males. They are all doing well. 2 weeks and 2 days old. All of them have their tails which I am really pleased about. Here are some pics....

Mum and a baby









All having a nosh









View from above.....









Baby in my hand









All I am doing is posting about the babies and mum, that is all I want to do.


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## myzoo (Jan 13, 2010)

Awwwwww! congradulations they are adorable love chubby little babies the ikle pickles so cute


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## Nicky10 (Jan 11, 2010)

They're so cute these are the giant rats aren't they?


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## droopal (Apr 9, 2010)

Hi, thank you, yes, they are Gambian Pouched Rats.......


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Gorgeous ratties *note to self, add droopals baby ratties to my animals to steal list*, how big are the adults, I actually have no idea just how big they are.


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## droopal (Apr 9, 2010)

This little girl is a feisty little thing, found her exploring the cage a couple of times this evening......just over 2 weeks old.....eyes arent even open yet......

Sleepy girl


















Getting big now......


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## Mickelmarsh Mouse (Apr 21, 2010)

I love her pink/white tail tip. She's gonna be a stunner.


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## myzoo (Jan 13, 2010)

Awwwwww! they are huge the babie in your hands are like the size of my fully grown girls  bet the mother is the size of a small cat?
are they similar to normal rats well i say normal but you know what i mean usuall rats.or are they totaly different.would love to hear all about them do they play with toys ?
they are utterly lovely giant squishies


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## droopal (Apr 9, 2010)

If you know about Fancy rats, you need to forget all you learnt, they are nothing like fancy. They only thing they do like fancy rats is brux and boggle, lol.They are extremely strong, wilful, but very playful. They can be taught tricks. They need somebody who they can form a bond with, which is a necessity. You need to be alpha, and you need to be pushy, and not allow them to get away with stuff. If you do, you start loosing their trust. Without a bond, they can end up reverting to their wild state, and wont trust anybody. I have a rescue like that, would take my hand off if I lost my concentration with him. My other rescue is very nervous, and cant tolerate much noise or movement near him, and my third rescue, is a young male that is still nervous, but has shown no signs of him wanting to bite me. It makes me very sad when people ge these animals, and because they are not what they expected, they just get rid, causing more problems for the animal in the long run. 

They are very clever, but they also remember. Hurt a fancy rat and it will forget quite quickly, hurt a GPR and it remembers. The bond needs to be worked on every day, and it can take as short as a couple of days away for that bond to be broken. They are also extremely destructive. So anything you give them will end up in pieces very quickly. 

Most of their diet is taken from the forest floor which means its rotten, so they actually like black bananas, and other gone off fruits, more than fresh fruit. Because of this, their mouth has bad bacteria in them, and their bite can be very bad. I would advise getting a tetanus booster if you get a GPR. Plus find a Doctor that is knowledgeable of animal bites. They can eat anything basically, same as a fancy rat. Specialist diets, well that is good, if you can get them to eat it. i spent a small fortune on my first two, months of buying all this food that I read they were supposed to like. Tried it every which way, and if they didnt like something, they wouldnt eat it. You work out what they like, and best stick to it. APOPO give theirs banana, monkey nuts and the occasional bit of tomato, and they survive up to 6 years and more on that diet. Here in the UK, for some reason they arent living much past 2.5 years. 

If you have loads of time, and are willing to put up with a wilful, destructive, intelligent, and basically wild animal, then they are the most amazing animals I have very seen. I wouldnt be without any of mine, despite a few being so aggressive. With a good bond they love you to bits, they will lick you to death, they will walk around on your shoulder, my two females will lie in my arm like a little baby. Some will talk to you, some are quiet. I havent got a talker, though have seen a few on youtube.


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

They're gorgeous!


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

my gambian pouched rat queenie is a talker,she sounds like a parrot when she gets going.
queenie will be 2 in october.

how's screech doing?


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## droopal (Apr 9, 2010)

Screech is ok, him and Reme were neutered this week, so they can be in with the girls for good now. No more babies.

Here is a cute little pic of the female tasting banana for the first time......


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

Aww I bet they will love being in permanently with there wives lol.
Is reme the one that u rescued?
Babies look lush.
Hows mum doing?


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## droopal (Apr 9, 2010)

yeh, I rescued Hercules first, then Screech, then Reme. Hercules I have to be very careful with, Reme, I can just pick him up now, without him freaking out, but he doesnt like being disturbed, and will freak out of if he is surprised. Screech, he is ok, doesnt like me picking him up, but doesnt mind me stroking him. i can pick him up, but get kicked to death, until I hold him against me. I wouldnt have them any other way though, they all got their different personalities.....the females are amazing.......I can do anything with them, and I think by the time I finish with the babies, they will be able to tolerate being handled too.

Mum is doing ok, she is a good mum, and very relaxed, allows me to handle the babies all the time.


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## hope (May 25, 2011)

they are so cute bless


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## droopal (Apr 9, 2010)

exploring the cage, and eating baby food.....


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## LostGirl (Jan 16, 2009)

ive heard they are really hard work, and not for everyone at all! what what you have its defo the case

they are very cute tho


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## metame (Sep 25, 2009)

wow, they're gorgeous!


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## droopal (Apr 9, 2010)

The babies are 3 weeks old today, eyes still havent opened, but they are getting really good at making their way around the cage.

I wont be making anymore updates here, but if you want to view my blog, its found at Gambian Pouched Rats

Updates will be made about all my Gambians on there daily.....


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## droopal (Apr 9, 2010)

Added more pictures to my blog today, of the pups, cleaning my nose......funny little things......I think the biting phase has past now......Gambian Pouched Rats


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## droopal (Apr 9, 2010)

Three weeks till the male babies are ready to go. If anybody is interested, there will be a charge......contact me either here or on my blog via the 'Contact Me' page.......just out of a matter of interest, I like to know a little bit about the people I send my animals to, so if you want a pup, saying I want one, and then popping up just before they are ready to be homed, wont work.....


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## droopal (Apr 9, 2010)

One of the babies opened their eyes last night, took some pictures, and added them to my blog......Gambian Pouched Rats they are so cute when their eyes first open......


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## Guest (Jun 20, 2011)

aw they are beautiful x


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## droopal (Apr 9, 2010)

Updated my blog with some pics of one of my male pups having a cuddle......bruxing like a little train.....almost fell asleep, just turned 4 weeks old.......url to blog in my signature


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## ceretrea (Jan 24, 2011)

I always look at these guys and wonder if we should have one. Then I think that they are not what we would think of as 'family' pets. A pet that will tolerate a few people including children running in and out the room, going up to the cage to talk to it and wanting to handle it and play. I think of GPR's as more of a one person pet or maybe suited to a couple? Where they have have that strong child like bond without having to share too much 

Correct me if I'm wrong.


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## droopal (Apr 9, 2010)

I firmly believe its about handling, and understanding the animal. These take a lot of time and patience. Taking one on, and allowing it to spend 20 hours a day in the age, is not going to help. For the first couple of months, they need to be with you as long as you are awake. Either in a carry pouch or in a hoodie with the hood in the front. It needs to get used to everything that you do, with your family, friends, all the different noises. Everything. I still hear when people talk, they cannot get out of their minds that they are distinguishing between fancy rats and gambians when people talk. I have 4 babies that are getting used to everything, and a few are going to their new homes this weekend. If you dont have time, then it isnt for you. If you are a holiday person, they arent for you. I know gambians that will go to anybody, I also know them where they will attack you as soon as you go near them. It doesnt matter if somebody has done tons of homework to get used to them, the learning starts when you get one. If somebody says to me, they have learnt everything they can about them, I will tell them, they know nothing. I have had people say to me, I want one, and then I ask them questions and they get ratty with me, like as if I am treating them like a child. If somebody does that, it shows they arent willing to learn, and they dont deserve one. Too many people have taken them on and when they find they are too much to cope with they get rid, and its the animal that suffers later, because they havent been able to bond with anybody. If you do get to know a gambian, its the most amazing thing you will ever have experience of. It isnt about the person, its about the animal.


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## droopal (Apr 9, 2010)

Thought I would ad an update about some of my Gambians......I have six.....two rescued males one of which is around 4.5 the other around 3.5 or just over......the others various ages.......one of my females has had epilepsy, which I have been using Epiphen solution to try reduce the amount of fits she has, and she has gone from 2 or 3 every couple of days to 1 or 2 every months or so.....couple of months ago, she had a bad episode where she became agressive....gave me a nasty bite on my left hand which went through an artery and nipped the nerve.....so we decided to add Diazepam to the treatment.....which is working really wel. She no longer wants to attack me, and is back to being friendly......she has some problems with hyperkinesia but she eats, drinks plays and is a good weight 3.5k......I have pics somewhere if people want to see them


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## elmthesofties (Aug 8, 2011)

I hope this doesn't come across as me being rude... I haven't got a way with words. 

I've heard that the genetic health of pouchies is really struggling at the moment because of bad breeding when they were first bought to the UK as a pet. You've just said that one of your pouchies has epilepsy, which I've heard is very common.
Is there some sort of project going on to help stop this at the moment? And do you sometimes struggle getting in contact with some breeders?

Just a bit intrigued, that's all. 
Gorgeous animals, though, and your blog is fab!


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## zany_toon (Jan 30, 2009)

Piccies are a must  What a shame that your nerve was damaged by the girl with the epilepsy, but I'm glad that she (and you) are doing better now  And well done on the rescue boys


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