phantom pregnancy?

Question
QUESTION:
hi stephanie
my little choo had a tete-a-tete starting 45 days ago and ending 42 days ago with keith, a horny 6 month old stud who quite possibly was not mature enough to deliver the goods, even though he managed successfully to bring my little choo out of heat

as for choo, she has been growing fat (but not really fat) and enjoying the extra attention and food that's been coming her way
she's been finding it hard to jump quite so high as she usually does, though
& her favourite bath exploration has been out of the question for a few weeks as she just can't quite make it over the edge
she's not herself
and she has a swelling around the belly - maybe it's the extra food she's been gobbling, but i was under the impression that she was with-bub, and that it would be a small litter as it's her first time

there's no sign of any development in the teats at all
and i think at this stage - ie: just over due, she should have some change in that department, shouldn't she?

and there's no sign of any babies
or, indeed, anything
day 43 tomorrow
d-day is past and gone
so we're off to the vet in the morning, and this is a late question, but he's not a ferret-vet, he's just a convenient vet, as i don't drive
so i thought i'd ask you're opinion,
as you have experience with this kind of thing
what do you think
thanks so much for your time
jus


ANSWER: Hi Jus:

I'm sorry that Steph was unable to answer your question. I saw it in the question pool and couldn't help wondering what your vet told you when you took her for examination?

Having no experience with breeding whatsoever, I'm glad you are having her checked out and am sure you will get a definitive answer from your local vet.

I hope and pray all went fine - please let me know?  My thoughts and prayers and with you and your chubby little girl :-)

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Little Miss Choo had a phantom pregnancy. I believe it may have been because she was with Keith from day 4-6, not 10.
She came straight back into heat again, young Keith was summoned for a repeat performance, which was 7-4 days ago, and the count begins again...

thanks for your concern!

Answer
Hi Jus:

I'm so glad you took her to the vet!  A jill in heat can actually die (which I'm sure you are aware of :-) if not brought out of heat, either with a whole male or vasectomized hob.......that's about all I know about ferret husbandry LOL.  

Thanks so much for updating me.  I will keep my fingers crossed that, if you are hoping for a litter, that you get one.  I hope in the meantime you will do lots and lots of reading so you will be really well-read on the pregnancy, birth, and when it's an emergency and when it's not..etc.

I checked and here is some good websites that you may find helpful. Apparently the jill needs to be on a special diet during her pregnancy, so since you are *hoping* this is a pregnacy, I would think it would be an excellent idea to get her onto the special diet just in case she IS pregnant:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=11&cat=1296&articleid=539


http://www.craftycreatures.com/forferretsonly/ask_angela/index.html     (SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM FOR ALL KINDS OF PREGNANCY INFO :-)

I hope those will help get you better informed before the 'big day' happens; so you will understand what are the do's and don'ts of helping Choo in the best way you can......one of the things that caught my eye in researching ferret pregnancy websites for you was that first pregnancies often produce LARGE litters instead of smaller ones.

Happy reading....I hope you will keep me updated - my thoughts and prayers are with Choo, her potential babies and with you as you go forward with this.

Sincerely,

Jacquie Rodgers