# Rayo had her babies ☺️



## Greyday

So sometime in the early morning little Rayo had 6 healthy squeekers  She seems to be taking care of them and all of them have a milk band. Mommy let us hand feed her a broccoli and cauliflower omelet this morning and doesn't seem aggressive towards us.


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## Greyday

All 6 babies are doing good! Everyone has a great milk band and mamas doing great 🙂


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## Ratloved

Wonderful! Glad to hear things are going well!!


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## Andromeda

Glad to hear everyone's doing well! I was just reading your other thread, and I'm impressed by how well prepared you were. xD I would be a panicking mess.


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## Greyday

Thank you! Oh believe me we were lol but I think We have googled every possible article on rat pregnancy and birth and looked through several posts from this forum and others. I was worried because she is so young, but she has really been an attentive momma to all the babies. 🙂 It's much less stressful after the babies are born so now we just have to wait and see if Vesta is pregnant (thankfully it's looking like that's not the case!). It's also nice that she only had 6 little ones, we already have a home for two and we are already looking for the others.


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## Greyday

Rayo's little babies are starting to get their patterns and their ears are coming out 😍


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## raindear

Right now they are a handful, in a very short time they will be six handfuls. I wish you the best with them.


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## Greyday

Yes, they are already almost more than a handful ☺ I can't believe how fast they grow!


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## InuLing

So super cute! Have you sexed them yet?


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## Greyday

Well I can't speak to how accurate it is lol but I believe we have 2 boys and 4 girls. One of the ones that I'm assuming are going to be white and one of the ones that looks like they will be black and white for the boys and two of each for the girls 😊. Mom up and moved her whole nest today but everyone is doing great still! I will post some pictures this evening!


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## Gribouilli

Happy to hear they are all doing great. Looking forward to the next pics


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## Greyday

They had to be in a tupperware today for the group shots because they can really move now!


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## Gribouilli

Some have little fatty rolls, sooooo cute


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## Greyday

Yes, I think Rayo has done a great job at keeping her babies fed!


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## Greyday

Everyone is doing good today 😊


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## Ratloved

Lol, those are some very cute fat little guys. Mama is feeding them very well. 😍


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## Greyday

Everyone is getting fuzzy! So are these guys going to turn back and white or are they blue??How do I delete the photos in my uploads??


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## Ratloved

My guess would be blue.


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## kksrats

Definitely blue.


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## Greyday

It's cute that 3 are blue and white like mom and 3 are white like the dad 🙂


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## Gribouilli

A few more days and they will open their eyes. They will start to explore like crazy- super cute.


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## Greyday

They are so cute! They move so much now 😊 Does anyone know if they are dumbo or regular ears??


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## Greyday

Ok so I accidently deleted my photos, how can I manage my attachments so I can upload more photos without deleting old ones?


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## AmandaTrexica

So adorable <3 Yours are a few days younger than ours, but we were surprised with 14. Would have been much easier with six for both us and their Mama! Glad everyone is safe and happy.


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## moonkissed

They look like standard ear to me, but I am having issues loading the pics for some reason.

In baby rats you can tell if it will be dumbo by checking the angle & location of the ear. If the top of the ear lines up with the middle of the eye, then it is dumbo!










I would also suggest using http://imgur.com to upload and post pics. Just make sure to resize them, you can do it on the site by going to edit photo. It even gives you a bbcode link to use on the forums.


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## Greyday

Thank you, I think they are standard too but some look a little different then the others so we will see! They are developing so fast, the little girls had nipples today and I am happy to say we guessed right on the genders! Two boys (one white and the blue one with the thin markings)  Yes we were so happy she only had 6! She's soooooo small I can't believe she had that many in her lol now fingers crossed Vesta is the same way!


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## Nev&Remus

Oh my goodness! I just 'ahhh-ed' all the way through your photos. So cute!


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## Gribouilli

I would keep them all!!!


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## Greyday

It's so tempting! And who knows we might 😬😂 the hard part is we have Rayo's babies and anytime now Vesta is going to have hers! We are keeping the two boys, my sister is keeping the blue and white boy (Garrus) and I recently lost my white rat Bravo so I am keeping the white boy (Mordin). Two of the girls have a home so now we just need a home for the two other girls!


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## Greyday

I don't know how to make those smaller, but on my screen you can move them sideways to see the whole picture.


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## rottengirl

Such teeny little things!


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## Greyday

They are so cute! In the picture with the three white ones lined up they are all grooming their faces 😍 And then one of the blue and white girls has her eyes open already!! When we put them back into the igloo Mordin crawled over the chew long at the entrance, changed his mind and went right back into the igloo. I don't know if I am ready for them to grow up so fast lol


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## Greyday




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## Gribouilli

Aww so cute, I would be losing it!!! Are they super sleepy or the eyes haven't opened completely yet?


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## Greyday

They haven't opened completely yet, they are 12 days old but she's the first/only one to open hers 🙂 It's so hard not to just hold them now that they are so active and fuzzy!


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## moonkissed

They are so cute. Makes me want babies right now lol They grow up too fast!


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## Greyday

They really do! What age can Rayo and the babies go into the big cage with the other girls? Do they have to stay separated until she finishes weaning them?


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## moonkissed

Greyday said:


> They really do! What age can Rayo and the babies go into the big cage with the other girls? Do they have to stay separated until she finishes weaning them?


I intro my mom & babies back into my female group at 3 weeks old.

But it will depend on how chill mom is and how tolerating the other females are. Babies are super buggy & could easily be injured if a female is just a bit too rough.

You can do some supervised intros leading up to it all for longer periods of time. Watch for mom being stressed or trying to take her babies away. The females will likely bathe the babies alot but as long as they are not attacking/harming them it should be fine.

I love having them all together, it gives mom alot of help & they get a nice community upbringing which IMO teaches them social behaviors very strongly.


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## Greyday

moonkissed said:


> I intro my mom & babies back into my female group at 3 weeks old.But it will depend on how chill mom is and how tolerating the other females are. Babies are super buggy & could easily be injured if a female is just a bit too rough.You can do some supervised intros leading up to it all for longer periods of time. Watch for mom being stressed or trying to take her babies away. The females will likely bathe the babies alot but as long as they are not attacking/harming them it should be fine.I love having them all together, it gives mom alot of help & they get a nice community upbringing which IMO teaches them social behaviors very strongly.


Ok thanks! This is what I was hoping for, Rayo has been out with the other girls but not with the babies. Rhey is really young and Rue is about the same age as Rayo so I hope it goes smoothly! I know Rayo could use some more entertainment lol


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## Modernstar

The little sleepy eyed babies.... makes me wanna nurture little rat babies... not even a chance that could happen though, even accidentally, as I have 2 boys! 

I haven't read through everything, but where are you keeping them? Have you sexed them yet?


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## DustyRat

Love the shots


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## Greyday

Hey you never know, we started with boys then wanted some girls and ended up bringing home two pregnant ratties 😂. We have two boys (Garrus and Mordin) one white and one blue and white and four girls two blue and white and two white. Right now Rayo and the babies are in the smaller cage we originally bought while we were waiting for the boys to be too big to squeeze through the bars of their current cage lol and Vesta the other mom is a long tub made into a cage. I think we are going to try moving Rayo and her babies at 3 weeks (so next week) back into the big cage with the girls and then shift Vesta into the cage that Rayo is in right now 😜 It's a little crazy at our house right now! I'm just glad that for such young moms Rayo ad Vesta are doing great jobs with mommy duty!


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## Greyday

Rayo is laying in the enterance of the igloo which is full of babies, it's the only way to keep them in now! The two white girls were wondering around in the cage today after I put them back! One of the little blue girls started grooming her face when I was holding her  Everyone except little Garrus have opened up their eyes a little bit!


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## Greyday

We did the first supervised visit with the other girls, it went really well! Mom was relaxed, Rue cleaned them, and Rhey went and laid with them  Little Garrus has an adorable blue spot on his belly, and they are all exploring around outside the igloo.


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## Gribouilli

Oh great, I'm happy the first intro went so well what a bunch of darlings!


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## Greyday

I am excited to say that two of our little girls found a home! Meet Zara (white) and Sheba 


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## Gribouilli

Wonderful!


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## Greyday

They are getting so big! They are climbing now and had to get a bigger tub for pictures  Everyone's been getting out for some one on one attention and they are so sweet! They are starting to nibble on food, what foods should we offer them??


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## Gribouilli

I would offer them Oxbow if that is what you are using or whatever other rat block you are using for your other rats. Not sure when to introduce veggies though or other human foods- probably later as they are just starting to nibble on food now. I know lab blocks are fine. What kind of lab blocks are you using?


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## Greyday

Oxbow but the little triangles because they wasted too much of the blocks. Rayo moved a bunch of them in nest, so the babies can chew on them if they want.


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## moonkissed

As soon as they start to nibble on foods (usually after 2 weeks old) I offer them everything I give the adults. I like to make sure they have alot of variety of veggies so they aren't picky. Leafy stuff always seems to be a big hit. I also love to give them hard boiled eggs for mom chopped up & they often eat some too. A little tiny smidge of yogurt is a fav too. 

Some babies are super interested, some just take a nibble and some don't bother until around 3 weeks.


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## Greyday

They are just over two weeks old now  They are sooooo much fun at this age! We make Vesta and Rayo a mini egg and veggie omelet just for the extra protein, can the babies have some of this? I know some foods are a no, like surgery foods. Can they have some of the protein shake that Rayo and Vesta get also?Everyone got out again for some cuddles  its going to be so hard to see these guys go, they are so sweet!


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## moonkissed

After two weeks is so much fun. It is the best.

I really love the white ones. Are they all white? It makes me want a PEW lol

Yeah I'd offer them anything the adults are getting but just make sure they do not eat alot of it. It is unlikely they will but too much rich food may upset their tummy or give them diarrhea.

Alittle taste wont hurt


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## Greyday

Ok good to know! Yep 😊 Three look like mom and three turned out PEW like the dad, they are so sweet! Mordin the male white one is always on the go but the two little white girls Zara and the other as of yet not named girl are so cuddly! They like to run but after they have explored they love to be held, every time you scratch their ears they start grooming their little faces 🙂 Well we have 12 unknown colored light eyed babies, some are bound to be white SOOOO if your in the market for an adorable little PEW or two....🙄😇😄 lol I have already been checking everywhere for the big double critter nation cages just in case we can't find homes for all of Vestas babies


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## Greyday

The two white girls got into a tug of war over some egg this morning and little Mordin was climbing the cage walls 😬😊 Rayo went back into the big cage with everyone last night. Everyone seems happy, little Rhey was laying in with Rayo and the babies this morning.


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## Greyday

We got Rue and Rhey out to eat some veggies with the babies 


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## Greyday

Ok so I have neglected photo duty only because these little buggers are hard to get a picture of now! They are blurry in half of the picture AND they can now escape the tub I use to transport them which I found out when Zara escaped behind the couch! Luckily she came back after five minutes of me searching lol the two others girls are now Lexi and Snowball. So we have Lexi and snowball going to one home Zara and Sheba to another and homes for possibly two of Vestas babies. Lexi and snowball will be going to someone with a dole critter nation cage who might take another female from Vesta  So far Garrus and Mordin are staying with us, people really don't seem to want boys as much as girls. Little Garrus now has two blue spots on his belly 


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## Gribouilli

Look at the little one trying to escape, lol. Watch out for that little rascal😄


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## Ratloved

Oh my! Too much cuteness!! Gosh I just love little babies, they are so fun. You are doing a great job, they are also a lot of work. I foster mamas with babies sometimes when the rescue I foster for get them, so I am familiar with how time consuming it can be.


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## Fu-Inle

I like the picture of the black and white adult eating corn with its mini me


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## Love My Rats

love your pics  aww what little sweeties


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## Greyday

It is definitely time consuming lol but it's a lot of fun also! They are so sweet and cute, literally like mini rats now they climb everywhere! It's funny when we got Rue I had never seen a rat with those cute marking but then Rayo gave birth to three that look like her, little white diamonds and all. So my question now is that everyone is doing great, they all eat and use the water bottle. So is it ok for them to go to their new homes on 5/27 instead of 6/3? It's a week early but I don't even see Rayo feeding them anymore.


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## moonkissed

Greyday said:


> It is definitely time consuming lol but it's a lot of fun also! They are so sweet and cute, literally like mini rats now they climb everywhere! It's funny when we got Rue I had never seen a rat with those cute marking but then Rayo gave birth to three that look like her, little white diamonds and all. So my question now is that everyone is doing great, they all eat and use the water bottle. So is it ok for them to go to their new homes on 5/27 instead of 6/3? It's a week early but I don't even see Rayo feeding them anymore.


IMO babies should never be sold before 6 weeks old. So May 10th. The very very earliest a baby can go is 5 weeks. 

Babies are usually weaned at 4 weeks old and you need to separate the boys from mom & sis at 5 weeks.

Babies need alot more then just food from mom. They are at a very important age where they are learning how to be a rat & learning ratty social behaviors. 

It is important to remember, even eating foods they are still just babies.


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## Greyday

Thanks! So we now have 6 rats lol these guys are so big now, I had to use a big tub for transporting them (the one in the pic) and little Sheba jumped up and tried to crawl out! And of course once Sheba did it everyone had too lol little snowball is a little shy, she even squeaked when I tried to pick her up today. This is the first time she has been like this, any suggestions?


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## Greyday

Garrus and Mordin are ready to go in with the big guys! They look so little compared to them!


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## Ratloved

They do look so small, but they seem to be fitting in great!😊


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## Greyday

So Rayo's PEW weren't PEW lol I think they are Siamese, all of them are getting color on their noses and a little behind their ears. This is Zora and who used to be snowball (she's now staying with us because her personality is not great, I have never met a more scared rat so she definitely wouldn't be a good fit for a 7 year old, she's getting one of Vestas babies as a friend for Lexi instead)


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## moonkissed

Adorable!



> So Rayo's PEW weren't PEW lol I think they are Siamese, all of them are getting color on their noses and a little behind their ears.


Not Siamese  but Himalayan. Siamese rats don't start off white but have color, himalayan start off white and later get points.


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## thelmaandlouise

Seen this post just now and let me tell you what, it was a joy reading through all the comments and watching the babies grow up in a matter of minutes. Your babies are so cute! I hope Snowball starts coming out of her shell. I wonder what's making her so shy?


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## Greyday

moonkissed said:


> Adorable!Not Siamese  but Himalayan. Siamese rats don't start off white but have color, himalayan start off white and later get points.


Thanks! I really don't know much about the colors!


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## Greyday

thelmaandlouise said:


> Seen this post just now and let me tell you what, it was a joy reading through all the comments and watching the babies grow up in a matter of minutes. Your babies are so cute! I hope Snowball starts coming out of her shell. I wonder what's making her so shy?


Thanks! It has been fun watching them grow and change and really it seemed like in the blink of an eye 🙂 The whole process has been fun, soon they will all be off to new homes! Idk why Snowball is so shy, really Rayo's babies in general seem jumpier but the others are calmer and sweeter. When I went to get her out earlier today she squeaked, ran around the cage, and at one point stood up on two legs frozen and I thought she might bite me. She's calmer after she's out but very stiff like she's scared and not relaxed. We have been spending extra time with her too to try and help this but it hasn't helped much yet. We never met the dad so idk if maybe he was like this.


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## Greyday

I spent forever trying to wash their noses because I thought they we dirty 😳😂


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