GF rats had a baby

[FuZZy]

She got a pet store rat and it just had a baby can you guys give me some ideas on what she should do to so i can tell her....and is it possible to have more abies since it happened about an hour ago

 

[jorats]

She could still have more. Check to make sure she's no in distress.
How old is the mom? Make sure she gets fed extra protein at this time to help her keep her strength up.

I so wish pet stores would separate their males from females.

 

[FuZZy]

shes prob about 12 weeks and what kinds of food should she use for protein and she says that shes just sitting in the tissue box cuddling the baby

 

[jorats]

Give her foods like chicken, tuna, cooked egg... add it to her staple diet.
She's a very young rat, so it's possible she will only have one baby.

 

[FuZZy]

when will the baby start eating hard food and will it be fine feeding off her mother until then....and should she wait a couple weekes before handling it or when should she....and thanks for all your help

 

[jorats]

Baby will nurse from mom for about 3 to 4 weeks. Baby will start to try hard food when it's about 2.5 weeks but he's still totally dependent on mom.
You can handle the baby within a couple of days if mom lets you.
At 4 weeks, you'll need to separate the baby if it's a male.

 

[SQ]

Also give the mom baby ceral for extra protein, and don't forget the good quality lab blocks.

 

[FuZZy]

:cry: the baby rat is dead and she thinks the mom ate it because it is not in the cage

 

[jorats]

That's ok if mom ate him. Rats will do that if there's something wrong with the baby.