last night my baby girl delivered 6 dead rittens...help

[ratattack]

The birth actually seemed very easy for her. All of the babies came out dead, though. Within 75 minutes it was over. 6 babies in total. it was so sad because by the 6th baby she had just given up- she didn't even clean it off totally. We even found one that had half of it's body gone. She must have eaten it...it was quite gruesome . She's been eating/drinking/walking around fine all day today though.

Is it possible there might be some left inside of her? She seems fine and all 6 came out without ANY problem. What could have caused this? We had her checked by the vet just a week before she got pregnant and everything was perfect. Also, why would she literally eat half of one of her dead babies? I know I'm new to this forum, but any help would be great.

 

[lilspaz68]

The birth actually seemed very easy for her. All of the babies came out dead, though. Within 75 minutes it was over. 6 babies in total. it was so sad because by the 6th baby she had just given up- she didn't even clean it off totally. We even found one that had half of it's body gone. She must have eaten it...it was quite gruesome . She's been eating/drinking/walking around fine all day today though.

Is it possible there might be some left inside of her? She seems fine and all 6 came out without ANY problem. What could have caused this? We had her checked by the vet just a week before she got pregnant and everything was perfect. Also, why would she literally eat half of one of her dead babies? I know I'm new to this forum, but any help would be great.

First thing to tell you is that we are a rescue-oriented forum, so deliberate breeding is not condoned here, but as you said not long ago you don't plan on breeding again, so we shall try to help you and your girl.

The half-eaten baby is normal. Mom's clean up afterbirth and dead pups instinctually after a birth since they don't want the smell to attract predators. This is the same instinct that adult rats will "clean up" a cagemate that has died in the cage, although this is a lot less common.

There is a possibility of infection, or pups being retained since it wasn't a normal birth and the first pup was stuck and she had to pull it out with her teeth (the baby's skin was ripped and it was born dead).

A vet cannot tell much about a rat except its apparent health (not genetic health), not how it will react to a pregnancy or a birth.

 

[SQ]

You might consider getting her spayed by a knowlegable, experienced rat vet.
The removal of ovaries and uterus will make sure she never needs to go through this again.

Last year I rescued a girl (Eve) whom had been used as a breeder and had 3, four day old babies.
When her babies were almost 3 weeks old she had a bit of discharge. Her uterus had died, was black and she had 6 dead babies inside of her.
She had an emergency spay and is now doing ok.

 

[jorats]

I'm sorry your rat went through this. It's not uncommon which is why breeding is such a very bad idea.
I too recommend having her spayed and have an overall health exam done. The vet might be able to tell if she's ok after all.