OHMYGOSH(: RATBABIES!!

Comments

• Sea Oats

  February 2010 69.132.208.177

  <span style="font-size:92">I would most definitely remove the male.. they tend to eat rat babies.</span>

  <span style="font-size: 10pt;"> </span><div><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;">oh I swear to ya, I'll be there for ya.
  10.31.10 ❤</span></div>
• ShesTheManROX

  February 2010 144.136.145.251

  The male needs to be removed not just because he may eat babies (our male hasnt tries but yeah) because they can mate again within 2 hours of birth and as it only takes 3 weeks to have babies and 4-5 weeks to wean them you will have new babies as well as the others born 3 weeks ago, not a good idea.<br><br>Dont feed them the mother will feed them, but the mother will need to be fed extra amounts of food as shes feeding young now.<br><br>I dont know the 'rules' about holding but i have baby rats thtat are 18 days old and i have held them since they were 2 days old and never had a problem with scent on the babies with the mum or anything.<br><br>Good luck, theyre a bunch of fun.
• RoyalRaccoon

  February 2010 75.84.62.221

  A lot of the stories regarding mother animals abandoning animals after you touch them are just myths(some are very true though, and sometimes it just depends on the individual). I've heard that rats generally kill/eat their babies for reasons other than handling. If you are worried you can wear latex gloves, or just wash your hands, which will also help keep your bacteria away from them. Until they are about a week hold you should probably avoid handling them more than once a day for a quick check up, and always be mindful of how stressed out mama rat gets. Never keep them out longer than necessary.<br><br> Unless mama rat stops feeding them, you shouldn't have to worry about actually hand feeding them. The male will need to be removed so that mama can rest. Though some males do help mother rats with their babies, a lot just go back into breeding mode, and upset the mama rat. Some males will also kill the babies for territorial purposes, or to get mama rat ready to breed again.<br><br> I would suggest getting some special vitamins for pregnant and nursing rats that can be added to mama rat's water, but if those are hard to find in your are you can give her products made for mama cats(just adjust the dosage). Actually, you may want to add some cat or kitten food(kitten food normally contains added vitamins and minerals that are really good for nursing rats) to her diet. Cat food is full of protein, and will help her body stay strong. I normally mix cat food into my rats regular diet to keep them at a good weight all the time. If you don't already give lab blocks and fresh vegetables, you should also mix that into her diet, and always make sure she has lots of water.<br><br>My best suggestion to to check out the AFRMA website. It's one of my favorites. I've met a few of the people that run it, and they are very intelligent regarding rats.<br><br><a href="http://www.afrma.org/"; target="_blank" class="bb-url">http://www.afrma.org/</a>;

  I'm done with VP. I'll just be around until I get all my dogs and lines placed in good hands. If you want to contact me, please do so through deviantART.
• MuckyDuckBrendon

  February 2010 217.42.112.25

  Just to let you know, PB is a mother, Youre a grandmother.. <br><br>I dont really have anything to say on the rat care side of things but you obviously wanted babies or you would have seperated them a month ago when i told you she could get pregnant... Theres really no excuse for breeding brother and sister, All i really want to say is i hope they are all healthy and live long lives with homes

  
• Kaley1

  February 2010 75.187.179.52

  <span style="color:blue"><span style="font-size:75">Thanks for everyone's help!<br><span style="font-weight:bold">I removed Jelly</span> beacuse everyone on here and from researching and asking a question on this one site said I should. (if that makes sense? :P)<br><br>I'm so excited!<br>I might hold them tonight.<br>It's their second day alive.<br>I got up to check on them and PB. They were there because I saw pink under her, but I couldn't <span style="font-style:italic">see</span> them. They were like burried under her stomach nursing.<br><br>Thanks, again! <br>♥<br>eeep i'm excited to hold them.</span></span>

  
• ShesTheManROX

  February 2010 144.136.145.251

  Oh also the best time to take them out and check on them is when PB is finished feeding and she is feeding herself, that way she will be less stressed out than if you took them out while she was trying to feed them
• iluvdogs111

  February 2010 74.32.98.30

  Congrats! I dunno much about rat babies.....but i have a question. I'm confused. Are they your rats or the teacher/schools?

  
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