Pregnant rescue

[RattieHeaven]

So a week ago i took in three girls from a known "feeder breeder" she left a message saying these three girls needa be gone since they are not breeding or making money or they will be "tossed" she puts them in a cage and lets them starve so i took them she said they been with a male for three months and haven't made any money off of them as they are not breeding, today she popped over night i can feel the babies *sigh* poor girl shes roughly 2 and shouldn't be breed, I took her out into one of the nursery cages but when i separated her from her sisters she stopped eating and drinking she will not touch a single piece of food or drink a drop of water any ideas on how to get her to eat? when i put her back with her sisters she eats and drinks perfectly its just when shes in the other cage she stops

 

[hopefloats]

If she is that old I would be concerned if she can live through the birth of the babies. You could always put the sister with them when you are there and then take her out when you leave. My girl was 17 months old and barely survived being pregnant.

 

[SQ]

I would suggest keeping her in with her sisters as mentioned above, and when not in with her sisters, then in a cage next to them so they can see, smell and interact.

Also suggest a vet apt with a good rat vet.
You need to make sure that everything is ok and at her age she may need medical assistance when she gives birth.

 

[lilspaz68]

Do you have a digital scale? If not try to get one, they are invaluable when you have rats for all sorts of reasons. For this poor lass I would weigh her daily at the same time every day and record the weights...the increase (and decrease) of weight can tell a story on how the pregnancy is progressing, lots of ups and downs means a pregnancy that could have issues or she is reabsorbing which she still might do. I have a girl here who went through the same thing...old feeder gal that wasn't supposed to be in with males but was obviously pregnant...she reabsorbed.

Leave her with her sisters...keeping her healthy, eating and drinking and relaxed at her age is more important then the separation rule. These rats probably all gave birth together and raised their litters together and although its not considered the ideal, I wouldn't stress too much about it, just make sure the cage is suitable for babies to be born in. Deep base, with the wire sitting ON the base rather than in it...will prevent any pinkies getting stuck between the bar spacing. Removing ladders/hammocks etc is important as well so she doesn't take eepers up to a higher level and drop them. But first you have to start weighing her. How obvious are the babies to feel in her belly?

 

[RattieHeaven]

Thank you guys for your help she gave birth last night i kept cavan hills on speed dial just in case she needed help shes still in with her sisters all babies have milk bellys and are making noise the sisters are staying away from them unless one wonders off they just bring them back to the nest shes relaxed and healthy vet checked her out two days ago

 

[dspch911]

That's good news, hope everything keeps going well...

 

[bell89]

congratulations! hope everything is good with mummy.

 

[RattieHeaven]

we have 11 babies one is half the size of its brother and sister and ill be keeping a close eye on this one

 

[lilspaz68]

we have 11 babies one is half the size of its brother and sister and ill be keeping a close eye on this one

Having a runt is normal in a litter this size...usually if they make it through the first 4 days or so, they should be okay. Does your little runt get a nice milk belly or not as much as the others?

 

[RattieHeaven]

she doesnt seem to get as much milk as the other ones so i been hand feeding her and when im done i put her back in with her mamma so far shes been doing better then when she first started off the rest have great milk bands