# New foster rat litter



## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

So after the last litter one of my new girls I bought on craigslist had (she lost the litter sadly and I took a long hiatus from updating :/) I have gotten into the business of fostering rats when my local shelter doesn't have the space for them. The newest addition to the clan for now is a sweet, little girl who ballooned over night. Thankfully all has gone well and this morning I woke up to adorable little squeaks. After one day mom was dying to get out and while she was enjoying some lunch I counted 13 little ones! They all appear clean, fed and very vocal so I am hoping for the best this time around. I do not have any questions as of right now, I just want a place where I can document their growth. Hopefully if anything starts to go wrong I can get some quick help and avoid losing this litter as well (it was heartbreaking to wake up to still-born babies.) I hope everyone is ready for baby pictures, the next 5 weeks are going to go by quick!

The only picture I have of Keegan (the momma) when I first noticed she looked abnormally round- this was taken November 1









The little guys about a half hour ago. (11-4)
I will definitely start taking more pictures when I am sure she is comfortable with me handling her babies. I was just getting a quick head count and decided to take a picture.









I am not sure if there is a better way to attach pictures so any help on that end would be great!


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## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

Sometimes the forum says you've exceeded your message size with pictures, I use imgur now


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

Oh, great thank you so much! Just a quick question to reassure myself, is it normal for the momma rat to be away from her babies all of the time? Whenever I go into the room to check on them (which is every 1/2 hour probably, I am paranoid) Keegan is always standing on top of her nest trying to get out of the cage. It makes me nervous that I do not see her with her babies a lot. Judging by her size I would say she is quite young so maybe she does not have a strong maternal instinct? I would think that being the first day she would want to be with them a lot.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

It could be by walking in she leaves the nest to ask to come out. Make sure she is plenty entertained in there and does get to come out. It's a hard task. 

Are there milk bands? Check for them every two hours if possible. If the babies have them it should be fine. If they seem cold at all put a heating pad on low under half the nest (so they can wiggle away). Make sure not to overheat them. 

If you end up having problems with her feeding her kits get soy milk and get ready to hand feed. Try to downsize the space first to see if proximity helps. 


My young mom was always excited when I came in and would stop feeding and ask to come out. She still had a healthy 13 litter but we lost the fourteenth one which almost always happens at least in young moms in the first three days. 


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

I feel much more reassured now. I have been sitting with her the last hour or so, and once she realized that I was not going to let her out, she went back to the nest. This has me sure that she was only out when she heard me coming- I have her downsized into an aquarium, so I can understand her wanting to stretch her legs. Are rats good about making sure that all the babies are feeding? Whenever I check on them, they are all in a giant pile and the ones on top are the loudest and most well-fed. Should I be rotating them around or are they good about fighting up to feed?


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Pretty good. If it becomes a problem you can try and start rotating babies or see if she'll split the nest. Keep in mind though you do have one more baby than nipples on mom. 


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

Well nipple problem solved, we are down to 12 babies. I am hoping that I counted wrong yesterday, but I do not think so. I feel bad about the little guy, but I hope she can handle her litter better now. Thankfully, the the dozen look great!

Day 2 (11-5)









Look at that little face 









I love that the markings are coming in already









Sorry the pictures are not great, I am just using my phone.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

It is unfortunately normal to lose one or two within the first three days. Everyone else looks healthy! 


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

Still 12 little babies . They were so incredibly wiggly today it was hard for me to hold onto them which was adorable. Keegan has become very motherly overnight. When I let her out to take a break she came right back and was fretting over me having them out so I did not spend much time with them. She was not angry or anything, but she kept running back and forth between where they should be in the nest and my hands that smelled like them. Once I put them back she kept a close eye on me. Because she is acting like this should I leave her babies alone or is it okay to keep taking them out as long as she is not aggressive or overly stressed?

Day 3 (11-6)









This is what I mean by she was keeping an eye on me. She kept following me around the tank (I am assuming to see if I was going to bother her babies again)









It is funny how yesterday they were trying to stay in a tight pile, but now they are rolling all over the place.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

It should be fine. My girl was an obsessive nester and always tried to momma her babies into a new nest when out or if I had them. I made a point of free ranging her twice a day when I would pull the babies out to fuss with them or give her a chewy treat if I was doing it in the cage. She eventually welcomed my presence in the nest and encouraged it as it meant a break. 


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

I guess all I am worried because I have only had her a little over 2 weeks. Considering she has already eaten one of the babies, I do not want my strange presence making her nervous. If she was afraid of me and going to hurt her babies would she have done it by now? I have read so many horror stories of the babies being eaten, and given that one went missing yesterday, I am freaking myself out a little bit.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

She would display stress behavior likely. Burying her kits, scattering or abandoning them outside the main nest, or even aggression at your presence. When you return her babies see if he'd rather take them from your hand. 


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

*Daily Baby Update*

Thankfully she is not showing any behaviors like that. When she sees me pull the nest out she gets a little frantic and rushes to put all her babies back. I only got two individual pictures before she took them away from me . I am honestly glad that she is being so watchful over them. Anyway, all the babies are doing well, colors are coming in nicely and all day long I hear them trying to walk around in the nest, so they are getting pretty active!

Day 4 (11-7)
The little guy on the bottom right was determined to get somewhere.

























Individual picture, little hooded baby. His ears have popped out on the top. I am thinking they are all standard ears, but I have not really checked.


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Last individual before Keegan made me give them back . Are the light babies guaranteed to be white or can they be any lighter fur color?


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I had some light grey babies that appeared white until the fur came in. I also had a male who looked white with touches of grey until suddenly he hit 12 weeks and got his guard hairs -- his hair is now predominantly silver with white underneath. I would start advertising in the Adoption Center so these babies can go to nice homes instead of the humane society


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

Not knowing who the father is, it will be a surprise (aside from the few that are already starting to look like their mother). Grey babies would be super amazing though! I just put a thread up for them, hopefully there are at least a few people in my area that would be willing to take some of them . I am going to see if a few other local shelters will put up ads for them, just to get the word out. Thankfully I can keep them for as long as needed, but it would be great to not have 16 grown rats to watch over.


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

My obsession with my rats has finally paid off! Being off of work and class for the surgery I got yesterday, I have been pestering my boys with attention and treats every half hour. Somehow Keegan (who is living in the same room as them on top of my dresser) popped the lid off her aquarium and then fell into a deep dresser drawer (she is perfectly okay!) I shudder to think that some of the babies could have passed if I had not gone in to check on them. All is well though, momma was more than eager to get back to her babies, the lid is now firmly attached, and my heart has started again. The longest they could have been alone is probably 45 minutes, crisis (hopefully) averted!


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Be careful with that lid! One day, my momma rat got out and took her babies with her to a new nest under my bookshelf!


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

Well I am glad she did not move hers! It was scary enough that I did not know where the mother was let alone ripping apart my room to find the litter. I tried to attach the side and covered the top with my heaviest books, so I will be very impressed if she can break out now.


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

I think I am going to attempt to figure out the genders tonight once momma is ready to leave the nest. I will try and get individual pictures of all the babies as well. Hopefully this goes well and I can start finding them homes!


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

*Individual Pictures (Day 4)*

Well gender results inconclusive. I counted possibly 4-5 males and 7-8 females (there were many that I was not entirely sure about.) Oh well at least I got separate pictures of them 

!







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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

Last two


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

*Daily Baby Update*

Well we made it to 5 days within only one casualty, I am hoping it is smooth sailing from here on out. Today is first official clean out day for the tank. I tried to delay it as long as possible, but Keegan has made quite the mess and her bedding is soaked. I got a few pictures of the little guys before I moved them to the carrier- Keegan still gets nervous when I have them out so I try not to mess with them too much. 

Day 5 [11-8]









Are these darker babies going to be the same color as their mother? I am not sure how fur color changes in such young babies. 


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

*Daily Baby Update (Still Day 5)*

Quick and easy, they are smelling much better with the new bedding, hopefully it still smells like her nest (I did not wipe it out and I kept the nest itself) I could not resist taking some more pictures of them though. 










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Should you still be seeing the milk band at 5 days old? I cannot see it on any of the babies anymore. Are they not being fed or it is just the skin thickening?


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I do not know if the phone is picking it up, but the little pink ones are getting some color 


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I love this little hooded one, not sure why, but (s)he is so adorable


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Well, here's a pic of my litter to show how much indetermined genetics can cause variances...
Parents http://s1350.photobucket.com/user/Nanashi_Mu/media/photo1_zpsea566a18.jpg.html?sort=2&o=78

Pinkies http://s1350.photobucket.com/user/Nanashi_Mu/media/101_0654_zps21f05012.jpg.html?sort=2&o=33

First fur http://s1350.photobucket.com/user/Nanashi_Mu/media/101_0694_zpsd0317abc.jpg.html?sort=2&o=57

2 weeks http://imgur.com/a/Nbwwj


As babies darken, the milk bands get harder to see.

As for gender my method was to find a definite girl or boy, and use that to compare genital spacing to everyone else to see who is who.


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

Those are some beautiful babies . I am hoping the dark ones will have more of a grey tinge but I am thinking they are going to go black/brown like Keegan. The light babies appear to have light eyes, so maybe they will fade to beige? I guess only time will tell


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

Determined Keegan had built a fortress. She has formed a giant mound of bedding and paper towels in front of her nest, with a small hole at the bottom for her to get in and out of. She has moved all the bedding from the rest of the tank, so I cannot imagine how long that took her. This was the first day I have seen her do something like this, I thought it was quite entertaining. Is it normal for captive momma rats to build such elaborate well-protected nests? The temperature dropped last night so I am happy the babies are nice and cozy inside their den . I feel bad about taking it apart later, but I am eager to check on the little ones.

Its a weird angle, but the nest is ridiculously large and developed, you can see her entrance at the bottom left.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

http://s1350.photobucket.com/user/Nanashi_Mu/media/101_0619_zps5ae6adb3.jpg.html?sort=2&o=15 Momma in her burrow.

Especially if they get cold, it seems to be normal. Rats are burrowing creatures naturally as well.


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

That is adorable, she looks like she is drowning in the bedding . I am glad it is something to keep her busy though, she doesn't seem to care for any other item I put in there.


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

*Daily Baby Update*

We have genders ! I am about 90% certain this time. They were insanely active (a few of the girls were all over the place!) There are 3 males and 9 females. I am glad it turned out this way, because if they are not rehomed in time, I can pop the 3 males in with my other 3 boys and keep all the ladies together in one cage. I hope it does not come to that (I really do not want 16 rats), but I am glad I have a back up plan if no one wants them.

Day 6 (11-9) 









Boys First


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

*Daily Baby Update*

And now the girls (Day 6)





















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## SarahEden (Mar 5, 2013)

So cute!


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

We made it to a week! I cannot believe that much time has gone by already, before I know the babies are going to be ready for new homes. I have to get pictures up, but sadly Keegan has picked up the habit of my other other rats that getting up before late afternoon is impossible .


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

*Daily Baby Update*

I got a lot of decent pictures today, I am quite excited ! Sadly I could not get any group pictures because they just kept rolling around and trying to get to the bottom of the pile. Hopefully someone can help me with the colors, I am just guessing here! 

Day 7 (11-10)

Sorry for blurry pictures, they are wiggly little things! 













































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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

Ran out of space 

Day 7 still















I though this was cute, they kept trying to get under each other 









So we have possibly beige hooded and I think the one at the back may turn out PEW (1 male and 2 females)


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Then 2 possible beige berkshires- or self I forgot to look at their bellies (both female, and I think this color is going to be super cute- sorry for the weird lighting)









Now 3 black berkshires (1 male and 2 females) 


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And 4 black hooded (all female)


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Do all the colors and markings sound right?


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

Mistake, for the beige hooded and PEW it is 2 males and 1 female


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

*Daily Baby Update*

Day 8 (11-11)

Everyone is doing well. They all have a thin layer of hair now so they feel like velvet. I cannot believe how fast they develop.








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The 3 males


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Big pile of girls (9)


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I am in love with these two, they have such a pretty color.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

They're at my favorite fuzz level! Adorable. 


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## SarahEden (Mar 5, 2013)

wow they are so adorable!!! I can't wait now haha. 
so amazing to see them develop and grow!


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

They definitely are cute. I am excited everyday when I go to check on them because they look completely different every time! Keegan is starting to have keep an eye on them because now that they are walking they keep escaping the nest . I was also super surprised that there are five different color/marking combinations. Is it safe to assume that the father was a beige rat (or whatever color the lighter ones are)?


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

They do look like they will probably be beige, though they could be champagne too, probably a little to dark for that. Dad could have also been black carrying red eyed dilute just like mum. With you having a fair few less pale rats than dark that would make sense. I wouldn't be surprised if he was her brother. 

Just watch them about 4 to 5 weeks old when they start on hard food, weve lost a couple red eyed dilute babies (topaz and beige) around that age and I think that is possibly linked to the issues that come with red.


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

I am not sure about her background at all. Considering her estimated age I would assume her last owner did not separate the litter or was just breeding feeders, so the brother thing is highly likely. Thankfully she has a lovely personality, and although she is still skittish with fast movements and loud noises, she is very curious and readily climbs into my hands and up my shirt, so I am confident that her babies are going to be super sweet. For the red eyed babies, did they get noticeably sick or just drop dead at that age? Is there anything specific I can watch for?


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

*Daily Baby Update*

Day 9 (11-12)

PEW Girl-She has more curled whiskers, could she end up with slightly curled fur? She is the only one in the litter that I noticed- the rest of the whiskers are stick straight. 















Beige Hooded Boys








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Black Hooded Females








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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

*Daily Baby Update*

Day 9 (11-12)

Beige berkshire girls


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Black berkshire- 1 boy and 2 girls


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

Day 10 (11-13)

When I checked on the babies today I forgot to bring my phone with me so no day 10 pictures. I just tried to lure Keegan out to take some, but she is adamant about staying with her babies, so I am just going to leave them alone for the night. However, all babies are great. For the first time I saw one of the girls try and groom her face which was absolutely adorable. Also a correction on one boy, after closer inspection, the black boy that I though have been saying is berkshire actually only has a little triangle patch of white on his chest and little white feet. I believe this marking is called irish? Either way super cute. I am going to try and not miss anymore days for pictures, I really want to keep track of their development. I cannot wait for open eyes and ears in the next few days!


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## Batman (Sep 11, 2013)

Awe they are cute your doing better then me I post pics when they were born when they got fur mine are 4 weeks I should post pics :/

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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

*Daily Baby Update*

Well I like to keep up with the pictures because they grow up so quickly . Anyway Day 11 is here! As always the babies are doing very well. I actually have three people interested in them now which is fabulous! If can get all three to take 2-3 I would be set to care for the rest if I could not re-home them. 

Day 11 (11-14)









3 Females- Black Hooded, Black Berkshire, and Beige Berkshire


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2 Females- Black Hooded // 1 male- Beige Hooded









3 Females- Black Hooded, Black Berkshire, and Beige Berkshre









2 Males- Black Irish and Beige Hooded // 1 Female- PEW









This is the little irish boy. He is so sweet already. Even though I kept putting him back in the pile, he kept crawling back to my hand to sleep so I got a cute picture of him trying to groom and a cute one of his face 








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## Minky (Apr 4, 2013)

Daily photo updates are a great way to get people interested in the babies. I love the Black berkshire girl and the PEW <3


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

Minky said:


> Daily photo updates are a great way to get people interested in the babies. I love the Black berkshire girl and the PEW <3


Hopefully it will work to find them some great homes . Yeah the girls are definitely adorable. A few of them are showing some real personality already. The PEW for instance really loved it when I rubbed her neck and started smacking her lips- I decided it was in contentment because she settled into my hand and fell asleep.. too cute . 

Update on the boys: 2 of them have found a home! Little irish and one of the beige hooded (to be determined once they know their personalities better) have been snatched up by a really great rat owner. Honestly out of all the boys I was hoping to keep Mr. Irish the most, but I know this is better for him since I will have his sisters to look after. He gets to start his own adventure in just a few short weeks! I wish I had an even number of boys so the last hooded could have a familiar face when (if) he finds a new home, but I am sure it will all work out just fine! Finding these 2 a home has made me so positive about finding the rest a place to live.


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

I wouldnt be letting your boys go in a pair not a trio unless you can find a similar aged friend to introduce to the group. Im sure your friend would understand or even offer to take all 3, its important he grows up with same aged friends if possible


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

I will be sure to bring it up, but I do not want to push too hard. I am just thankful that he is wanting a few of them. I do not think it would be too much of an issue if I kept the other beige hooded with my other young males or rehome him with someone that also has a young boy. Thankfully there is plenty of time to get the living situation sorted for the three boys, so I am not very worried .


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Ah! I feel like I missed sooo much their fur is in!!


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

Yeah they are growing way too fast! I cannot believe that by the end of this weekend most of their eyes and ears will be open. When I pull them out of the nest they are no longer content to go to sleep, but they feel the need to walk all over the place. Keeping up with a dozen blindly walking rats is a lot of work ! But I love them to death and cannot wait until they most aware of their surroundings and are able to actually interact with me. I am so glad they are finding homes, the older they get the more I realize that there would be no way to give this many rats the amount of attention they deserve on a daily basis. I ran out of picture space on here, so once I figure out how to insert pictures from another website I will be sure to get updates on their eyes opening .


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Yay! When they open their eyes, they can be moved to a wire cage for fun and climbing and hammocks


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

*Daily Baby Update*

I did not get Day 12 Pictures but I did get Day 13! No eyes yet, but I know a few of the babies can hear because they were flinching when I made loud noises. The home search is going great! In fact, it is going so well that I may not have a cage-mate for the mother when they are all weaned. So either I will have to adopt another female or find her another home. I would prefer to re-home her, but she is skittish and I would not want to give someone an unfriendly rat. Oh well I have time to plan this. Enjoy the pictures  (sorry if they are too big or don't show up, it is my first attempt embedding ones here.)

Day 13 (11-16)

Male Beige Hooded



Male Beige Hooded 



Male Black Irish (possible velveteen fur?) - Reserved for a Home 





Female Black Hooded



Female Beige Berkshire - Reserved for a Home 



Female Black Hooded



Same Black Hooded decided to scale the box



Female Beige Berkshire 



Female Black Berkshire



Female Black Hooded



Female PEW (velveteen fur?) - She has a different fur type (I secretly hope no one will choose her!)





Female Black Berkshire



Female Black Hooded



And here is momma Keegan enjoying some lunch just for fun 



Now I am just waiting for people to email me back on which babies they want


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

*Daily Baby Update*

Ah man, I moved the pictures to try and organize them. Here are the pictures again in the same order.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

What a nice variety! Some of those ears definitely look opened, but its probably all vibration to them. 

Blind mostly deaf rats are a terror to watch play in the cage (I had them in a wire cage a little earlier due to momma escaping) and seemed to make poor mama rat haggard trying to get them in the nest and such.

If anyone taking a baby is a rat person, they may just take on momma voluntarily. I know I rescued an _aggressive_ rat and while it wasn't fun wouldn't go back for the world and give her up.


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

Oh my goodness, I feel like the worst rat owner. I let my dog in my closet (which never happens) and she came running out with something in her mouth. Thankfully she is well trained and dropped it when I asked, but it was one of Keegan babies! What?! I have no idea how this happened. I never let Keegan out unsupervised, and the lid was on the tank with mother inside. The baby was alive (unharmed by my dog) but obviously weak and cold. I have no idea how long she was out or how she got out in the first place. I immediately gave her to Keegan, so hopefully it is not too late and she can work some momma magic and make sure she survives. I feel so horrible, I keep running through the day and wondering how she could have gotten out. I have absolutely no idea. All I can say is that I am thankful my dog found her, and I need to do a head count in the morning.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Definitely start head counting before taking out after it and throughout the day. That's so strange. Don't worry too much maybe make mama a. Nice rice porridge as apology. 


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

Looks like you have a couple of topaz hooded babies and one buff, 2 seem much more ginger than the others. Your pew may also be champeign, but that could be the light.

Sounds like your dog is a bit of a hero, babies are remarkably tough and in the wild can survive without mum for I think around 48 hours however that is in a warm nest, your little ones have fur so they have a better chance. Fingers crossed for the little one. I would put a weight on the tank lid, skmetimes mum decideds she wants to kove the nest and she could have maybe pushed uo the tank lid with a baby in her mouth and pushed it out before trying again with the others. One of my friends girls managed to break out of her cage and moved the entire litter into a bale of bedding nest to the cage. I do do routine headcounts when getting out and putting back in, it becomes more important as they are older, to be fair thougb my last litter were 11 identical agoutis so it was neccesary.


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

Sorry topaz hooded, topaz berkshire and a buff hooded, all uk variety names. Which is odd as there are no agoutis in tne litter, but thats how probabilitys can fall, it means if they are that dad must have been agouti or agouti based.


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

*Daily Baby Update*

12 happy, healthy babies ! Everyone is doing great, the little escapee seems to have recovered well, but I am going to keep a close eye on them the next day or two just to be sure. We made it to 2 weeks, but raising babies is stressful! I think the lighting is weird in the pictures because in person the berkshire and hooded ones that I have been calling beige appear to be the same color. 7 out of 12 have found homes so far! 

Day 14 (11-17)

Female PEW- I love her fur!- Has a home 





Male Black Irish - First eyes open! - Has a home 





Female Black Hooded



Female Black Hooded



Female Black Berkshire - Has a home 



Female Beige(?) Berkshire - Recovered! - Has a Home 



Female Black Berkshire



Female Beige (?) Berkshire - Has a home 



Female Black Hooded



Male Beige (?) Berkshires - Possible Homes (deciding between the two)





Female Black Hooded - Has a Home


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## SarahEden (Mar 5, 2013)

they are so adorable!


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Adorable! I'm so happy you found so many homes; are either hooded or the Berki girls you'd want to keep?


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

I have not set aside any of the girls for me to keep specifically. I have decided that I will let people choose the ones they wanted and keep whoever does not find a home. I figured that the more "interesting" colors and fur types would be easy to rehome. That is why I did not set aside the PEW with her wavy fur, beiges, or the irish boy like I really wanted to. I love all the little babies, so I will be happy with any of the leftover girls. I am trying to rehome all of them (except for maybe one if I decide to keep Keegan), so I will see how everything goes. I really would like to do more rescues and fostering to help the shelters out, but I cannot do that with a bunch of rats at home. I am so excited to have friendly, socialized rats though! I have never had rats that were not rescues or feeders, so I have never had rats that did not take a lot of work to make comfortable around people. It will be a dream to have cute little babies who want to play with me !


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

*Daily Baby Update*

Well I made a mistake with the genders. I was checking bellies today (for whatever reason) and found that one of the berkshire "girls" is actually a boy. Thankfully I only promised one female berkshire so not going to have to give any bad news. I double checked everyone else, and he was the only mistake. Oops . Anyway we have many opened eyes today so I moved them to their big-kid cage; there was not enough room in the aquarium for active babies! Momma Keegan is going crazy trying to keep them in the nest, but they just want to explore. It is too cute! Just as a side question, what what would call the fur type on the irish male and PEW? It has a slight wave to it, but I do not know if they are rex or not. 

Day 15 (11-18)

Female Beige Berkshire - Has a home!



Male Beige Hooded - Possible Home!



Female Beige Berkshire - Has a Home!



Female Black Hooded - Eyes!



Male Beige Hooded - Has a Home!



_Male_ Black Berkshire - Eyes!



Male Black Irish - Has a Home!



Female Black Hooded



Female Black Hooded - Eyes! - Has a Home!



Female Black Hooded - Eyes!



Female Black Berkshire - Eyes! - Has a Home!



Female PEW - Has a Home!


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

I did not get any pictures from today, but I did get my first baby nibbles . They all seemed to enjoy chewing on my fingers with their growing little teeth. It was super cute!


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Awww  that part always made me really pity poor mama and her nips haha. 

I'm glad to see you are able to rehome so many! I hope the brothers can go in pairs now!


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

Oh goodness, I looked at her belly today and she looks so raw, poor thing! I will definitely try and get the brothers in pairs now. In fact, the person who is taking the irish and hooded males said that his cousin's two rats passed away and she may be interested in a few more. Either way, I only have 4 babies left as of now which is definitely manageable!


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

*Daily Baby Update*

All eyes have opened ! Now that they can see, Keegan is really struggling to keep them in the nest. Every time she leaves they try and follow, so she has to drag them all back. Speaking of Keegan, recently I noticed that she is having poo that is has a really strong, pungent odor. I have not changed her diet at all. Is it something I should be worried about? What could be causing this? 

Day 17 (11-20)

All of these babies have homes!















Potential home for these two- the woman is still trying to convince her bf 





One lady wants to meet them when they are weaned to choose which girls she likes 







So as of now, I will probably have 1 or 2 girls left over which is perfect! I have decided I want to keep Keegan, and I definitely want to keep some of the babies so this works out very well.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

The smelly poo is probably baby poo. Congrats on finding homes!


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

It has to be hers because I find it on my bed when I let her have some free-time. I will work on giving her less rich snacks and see if that makes a difference.


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

We have our first dare-devil. One of the little girls has taken to hanging from the top of the cage. Scared me half to death when I caught her the first time. She can barely run without falling over, I cannot imagine that being safe! I have found that baby rats are jumpy little things. They all go on random bouts of crazy hopping when they seem to pop all over the place uncontrollably. It is too cute; I never want to give them away !


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I know what you mean! I did more obsessive updates than you haha. They also are crazy. At least she waited until her eyes were open! Soon you'll see mama give up nesting them and the cuties will sleep everywhere! 



I thought about the poo and unless you have her extra fresh food I think perhaps she is getting too much protein or other supplements. Especially if you give her foods that make human poo smelly (awkward sorry) like eggs. 


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

Oh gosh, I have moved to obsessively updating their new owners on every little thing that happens. They are probably getting sick of me and my constant pictures! The nesting is actually something I was thinking about earlier. All of the babies have opened their eyes and are moving around well, but momma still goes crazy trying to keep them all contained. I cannot wait until she actually lets them out to play without me having to shove my hand into the nest to lure them out. Also exciting they started eating her food today! I have Keegan on a good protein dog food mixed with her blocks, and the babies absolutely love it! It is at least the size of their heads but they try so hard to chew pieces off and were even trying the steal their mother's food right from her mouth. 

I have a the little ones in a CN now, but I removed the upper level. What is a good age to put it back in and start hanging hammocks? I just want to be sure that they are not going to fall and hurt themselves, they seem so clumsy and reckless, but I want to give them plenty of room to explore. 

Since you mention the high protein, I am sure that is what has been doing it. I started her on a fairly high protein dog food when she had her babies, and then a few times a week she was getting oatmeal, eggs, or something like that. Along with the fresh fruits and veggies it was probably too much for her system. I went a little overboard trying to make sure everyone was getting enough to eat . Although one thing that has amazed me is how well she took to a litter box! I am not sure if it is the instincts of trying to keep her nest area clean, but she has been using it almost 100%! The bedding is soaked by the end of the day so I know she is peeing in it, and obviously her smelly poos are in there as well. It has made clean up so nice, I can only hope she keeps it up (or maybe teaches her babies? I can only hope.)


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I had hammocks in their cage and levels when their eyes open. Just provide soft landings and make sure that no fall is great (less than six inches). You want to put everything you can into the cage because this is when they learn what they can do, jumping balancing running etc. 
Honestly their is such a difference between my parent rats who were tank raised and the babies who had bars and wheels and hammocks and perches. The babies are a lot more confident and capable while the parents are unsure and clumsy. 


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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

I put the level in, and they immediately started flinging themselves off the side of it. I put it on the lowest height and moved any toys out of the way. I have a nice, padded liner, so I do not think they can hurt themselves. The hammocks are hard to hang because the top of the cage is so high. I put in some corner hammocks, and once they are better at climbing I will put in more. 
The little ones had a nice feast of grapes, sliced meat, and a tiny bit yogurt off my fingers (to hopefully stop them from biting me in the future). I love watching them trying to eat! I need to get some pictures of them soon .


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## Voltage (May 15, 2013)

I'm extremely envious that you have found homes for all your babies.
I can't even find a home for a single one of my babies from an accidental litter.

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## toke (Aug 28, 2012)

*Baby Naps*

I had the babies out for snuggles and they all fell asleep in my lap. They were not impressed with the interruption for pictures 







The PEW that got injured is in the middle. She is doing well today!


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