# Mother rat is weak



## B'sMom (Nov 24, 2016)

Yesterday B had her babies and shes taking good care of them but today she seems very weak..shes not moving around much, shes showing signs of pain (i.e squinted eyes, hunched over, ruffled up fur). I also havent seen her drink at all today..? Even when I put the water bottle up to her. Ive been giving her a scrambled egg every 2-3 days since I noticed she was pregnant and then she just gets her regular lab blocks. Is this normal? Should I up her protein intake? I know a vet visit will probably stress her out but if she seemed sick I'd take her. And I apologize for all of the questions, I just want to do right by these babies and B and make sure everyone stays healthy.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Give her some veggies and fruits, not too much so as not to upset her stomach. She needs to drink or eat water rich foods or she won't produce any milk and the babies will die. All my rats love coconut water so you could try that. Put a little Nutella, peanut butter...on tip of syringe (no needle) to give her so you know how many mls she drinks. You can use baby foods or Ensure (elderly drink) too. Could she have a respiratory infection? Very common in pet store rats.


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## B'sMom (Nov 24, 2016)

I dont think its respiratory. Shes been fine up until now and is breathing fine. No sneezes. She drank some water out of a syringe and I gave her some peanut butter watered down with kitten milk replacement for nutrients. She seems much better now. Thanks for the tips


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

You aren't using anything scented around her like air freshener or candles...? Is she in a safe nursing cage, in which the babies can't be thrown out of the cage? What bedding are you using? It probably was just some dehydration and exhaustion. In case some babies need extra nutrition or mom stop nursing, get a very thin new paintbrush to feed the babies. Fingers crossed everything goes well. Looking forward to baby pics in a couple weeks


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## B'sMom (Nov 24, 2016)

No nothing scented. Shes in a one level cage with 1/2 inch bars and a very deep pan. She was on carefresh. Shess now on yesterdays news bedding.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

You said she just had 6 babies yesterday? Do all of the babies have strong milk bands?

Giving birth takes alot out of her, but in general they should bounce back very quickly. My moms are usually up and very active right away. It definitely is not normal of your mom to be acting that way.

How old is she? What type of health was she in before she got pregnant?

What is the brand of lab block you are feeding her? While moms do need more protein, some brands of rat food already have high protein levels. I like my moms around 18% protein. 

My biggest worry would be that she still has babies inside of her. Has there been any more blood or even alot of blood? Honestly I would get her to the vet right away, if something is wrong she needs to be seen right away.

Here are some links with alittle bit of info:
http://ratguide.com/breeding/birth/labor_and_birth.php
http://ratguide.com/breeding/birth/labor_emergencies.php

You can give her some soy baby formula, mashed avocado, baby food, a small bit of Pedialyte or Gatorade, If she is dehydrated.


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## B'sMom (Nov 24, 2016)

I bought a very tiny eyeliner brush, kmr and soy based baby formula just in case anything happened. I took her out for about 15-20 mins today, put her in with her cagemate and gave her some treats so she could have some alone time for a couple mins. Is this an okay thing to do daily? She seemed to like having a little more room to move around. (Her and her cagemate are in half of a DCN)


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## B'sMom (Nov 24, 2016)

All have strong milk bands. I dont know what her health was like before as I got her pregnant but she seemed very healthy during her pregnancy. No signs of respiratory issues or pain. Shes has been a very active girl up until today


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## B'sMom (Nov 24, 2016)

She's around 3-6 months old. And right now I have her on nutro lite dog food because its higher in protein which has 23% protein I think. Before I got her I believe she was on Kaytee lab blocks.


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## B'sMom (Nov 24, 2016)

There was a considerable ammt of blood but I dont know what "too much blood" would be. I noticed she bled from her vulva a little bit about 2 hours after I noticed the babies. I felt her stomach and dont feel any babies but if she still seems to be like this tomorrow Ill take her to the vet.


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## B'sMom (Nov 24, 2016)

There was a trail of blood (about 10 drops maybe) leading into her nest and then another 5-10ish drops in her nest. I cleaned out the blood since then so I cant take pictures


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Too much protein before giving birth can make the babies too big for the mom to give birth to, and some can get stuck inside the birth canal. She needs to be ALONE with her babies, no cage mate. A cagemate could kill or injure the babies and make the mom just stressed even if nothing happens.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

I don't like to take mom out away from her babies during the first week. The babies really shouldn't be away from mom for long at that age. I'd leave her with them. 

There are some pics on those links that show what too much blood vs normal blood looks like. You also don't want to really clean her nest too much at first. You don't want to stress her out, even more so as a young mom. 

She is quite young that is very sad. It is always going to be alittle bit rougher on young moms. 

Honestly I would switch foods and definitely do not give her extra protein on top of the dog food. 23% is too high as is. I prefer 18% but up to 20% can be ok. When I suggest people supplement protein it is when the protein levels are lower than that.

Kaytee is like one of the very worst foods so she was not getting very good nutrition before that which sucks. But not much you can do now. But she may have had nutrition issues. I'd switch off the dog food. I am so not a fan of feeding dog food anyways. I'd suggest oxbow (which is what I prefer) or mazuri, native earth.


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## B'sMom (Nov 24, 2016)

I know Kaytee is a bad food thats why when I got her I switched, its all my pet store sells for rodents...I read on a rat article somewhere that nutro lite is good for rats and I was planning on switching them all to that but if the protein is too high, I can get a different food. What food do you recommend? And btw, I didnt mean I put the cage mate with her. I took her out for a few mins and put her in their regular cage. although ill be leaving her in with her babies until they're older


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## B'sMom (Nov 24, 2016)

Sorry, didnt see the last part haha. Ill look into ordering a bag of oxbow


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