Nesting Mother

[Chimney]

My rat, Minion, gave birth to approximately 10 babies this morning at around 7. As of yet she has yet to leave the babies (which is a good sign in my eyes). However, this also means that she has not gotten out to get water or food. I gave her a bit of mashed food on a fork so that she would not have to leave the nest, but this leaves her still without water. Is this normal? Or do I need to take measures to get her water?

 

[lilspaz68]

My rat, Minion, gave birth to approximately 10 babies this morning at around 7. As of yet she has yet to leave the babies (which is a good sign in my eyes). However, this also means that she has not gotten out to get water or food. I gave her a bit of mashed food on a fork so that she would not have to leave the nest, but this leaves her still without water. Is this normal? Or do I need to take measures to get her water?

Are you watching her at all times? I wouldn't worry too much if she's well, just keep food and water closer to her. Is she in a hidden nest, can you see if she and they are doing okay? Not too much blood from Minion?

 

[Chimney]

I have her in an aquarium, and there is an area in her nest that I can see into through the side panel. Have not seen her go out for anything in the last five hours or so. Moving food and water closer now. Thanks for the input.

Also, not too much blood from what I could tell, but this is the first time I have dealt with a litter.

 

[Chimney]

Turned out fine. Guess she was just making sure the babies got enough food. She came out and explored my arms a bit and got food and water.

 

[mamarat]

Congrats! Can't wait for pics.

 

[Godmother]

So glad that all is well. Kisses to mama and the babies.

 

[Chimney]

The new rat babies. A day old.

 

[mamarat]

Sweet!

 

[SQ]

Adorable babies :heart:

 

[Chimney]

Ended up with thirteen of them. A friend of mine who raises mice looked at them and told me that 7 had black eyes and 6 had pink/red. Their father had albinism, so we shall see how that turns out.

 

[victoria]

Ended up with thirteen of them. A friend of mine who raises mice looked at them and told me that 7 had black eyes and 6 had pink/red. Their father had albinism, so we shall see how that turns out.

Are you sure he was albino and not just pink-eyed white? They're not the same thing necessarily.

I'm still having a lot of trouble wrapping my head around this situation. You were going to get the male fixed but you don't have the money to pay for a check-up for a respiratory issue? It really does sound to me like this was an intentional/careless litter, I really hope all of those homes you have lined up pan out. The mom was very lucky she had an easy labour, it doesn't sound like a c-section would have been an option if necessary. I also hope you have something other than a tank for them to live in in two weeks time, there's a lot of information on appropriate housing in the habitat section - tanks are not appropriate. In fact, its' likely the reason you have respiratory issues.

 

[Chimney]

I could not tell you if he actually had albinism. I was told when I got the father that he had albinism, but they could have been wrong.

Yes, I do have another place to keep them when they get a bit bigger.

I acknowledge that it was careless on my part. I had a male and a female who were both too small for the cages I have (I was sold the cages and accessories for about fifty dollars from a friend who was doing rescues but then stopped due to money issues) and I did not have the knowledge until recently on how to modify the cages to fit smaller rats. The cages are the "Super Pet Multi-Level Ferret Home" which, while good for larger rats on its own, has too wide of bar spacing to safely home smaller rats. I was unaware of this when I first got my rats, as I am fairly new to this.

The respiratory thing I did get lucky with. It was very unexpected for me and came up during a time when I too was having health issues and was spending money on medicine (had pretty bad ringworm and ended up spending a lot of money to deal with it. Did not want the rats catching it.) She was actually living in the larger cage when she started making sounds.

I intend to take her in for a more official check up with my next paycheck.

Thanks everyone for helping out with useful information.

 

[KayRatz]

A respiratory issue isn't something that can wait...

 

[Joanne]

If it's the mama that's having respiratory problems, the vet will have to be careful of which drug he might prescribe, as some drugs can be passed through the milk to the babies.
Good luck with your new, big family! Make sure mom has lots of nutritious food available. And make sure there is a water bottle and not a water dish in with mom as the babies could potentially drown in water or runny food until they are much bigger.

 

[SQ]

The rat with respir problems needs to see a vet now.
Rats get sick and die fast. When ill, they can not wait like other animals sometimes can.
If it is the mom, she will likely need to be put on clavamox or zithro as both are pediatric friendly.
Mom needs her diet of a good quality lab block + daily vegs supplimented with things such as baby cereal mixed up with soy infant formula. Raising a litter is not inexpensive.

Hope your homes work out. It is hard to find good homes.
For the protection of the ratties, many people use nonbreeding contracts specifying good care with a return clause.