The mother may be 5 weeks pregnant. She has her 3 female babies who are also 5 weeks old in the same cage.
Lately I noticed her behavior has changed. She often runs away when we pet her, and she didn't used to do that (She still lets us, and lays down a lot when I do it, but runs more than usual). I'm not sure if she's just not used to her new surroundings, because we put her and the female babies in a different cage 11 days ago to separate them from the males. Or, if she is pregnant, I am thinking her hormones may be going a little crazy and maybe she doesn't want to be bothered. She also rumbles sometimes and makes the babies get out of her hidey house.
Tonight I noticed she and one of the babies seemed to be having a dominance battle, which I thought was odd considering she's their mother and they are only 5 weeks old. There was butt sniffing, and they followed each other around. The mother's hair stood on her neck, and the baby even mounted her. It was strange.
Questions are:
1) I am guessing this is normal?
2) If she is pregnant, are the babies causing her to be stressed? Should I remove them from the cage until she has the babies?
3) If she has another litter, will the babies bother the newborns? Should I remove them after the new litter is born?
Thanks so much!