# Bijou's babies available soon - Bay Area, California



## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

Hi everyone! You can follow Bijou and her babies' progress on this thread: http://www.ratforum.com/showthread.php?89473-Bijou-is-having-her-babies-HELP-deformities-in-babies 

If you haven't read any of my previous posts, you should know that I was told Bijou has "high white" markings which puts her babies at a big risk for developing megacolon once they start to be weaned and are about 2-8 weeks old. *Because of this risk that their genetics carry, these babies should NEVER be bred. If it is risky for you that genders might get mixed, or even climb on each other's cage bars, please consider not getting one of these babies. I would hate to subject more babies to this risk since megacolon is very painful and pretty much always fatal and the affected babies will have to be put down to prevent suffering, the condition will only worsen over time. *I adopted Bijou only a week ago when she was already pregnant, so I had no control over her getting pregnant or not. I'm hoping that all these babies will be lucky!

There are also two babies (one boy, one girl. Affectionately referred to as the "potato babies"  ) that are runts and who also both have had their back feet nibbled off at birth, and some fingers on their front hands. These babies will need to find a home that can accommodate their special care. I imagine they will be similar to a HED rat, and will probably need a large floor space, single level cage, and frequent butt baths to prevent urine burn since they will have their tummies and hind ends on the the litter all the time. I may decide to keep one of these babies, but if I can find a good home (and I don't get too attached!) I will adopt them out too.

Because of the reasons stated above, I cannot guarantee all the babies will make it or that you will end up with a baby if you're interested in one. I am giving no promises to anyone for this litter. But as of right now, they are 3 days old and there are 5 boys and 5 girls. They were born in the morning on *July 17th* 2013. I plan to keep one or two, and will let Bijou tell me which babies are her favorite, and I'll keep the ones she seems to "choose" to live with her.

I'll post a picture of their aging progress once a week or so. But if you'd like to follow daily updates with pictures on their growth and development, please follow the link above. 

Please send best wishes and positive thoughts to these little ones that none get MC and all survive to be happy, healthy, and old!


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## TexasRatties (Jun 2, 2013)

Awww I have been keeping up with their story if I lived closer I might would take one but I am in Texas


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

I have been following the story as well and would love to adopt one of her babies if I lived closer.

Have you contacted any relatively nearby rescues? Many, if not all, have special places in their hearts for cases like these and can help organize homes and a potential rat train.


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## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

It's too bad you guys are so far away!  
That's a good idea, Blue Star rescue is right near me, but I know they recently took in a hoarder case with TONS of rats on top their normal rescue amount, so I'm not sure if they'd be able to take in even more. I'll certainly try to though! I'll look around for more rat rescues nearby.
I'd be willing to be part of a train if I was certain the home they were going to would be a good one. I could maybe drive to Oregon or Nevada borders.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

I would definitely email them. Even if they aren't able to help directly, there are good chances that they know folks that can help you find excellent homes or organize transportation to good adopters from other rescues that could be connected via rat train. The possibilities are endless and a few emails won't hurt a bit!


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## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

Here is an update for the babies when they were one full week old. 

There is a problem with uploading pictures on the forum right now, so just click on the links below and they will take you directly to the picture on my imgur account.

Boys:

Light: http://i.imgur.com/25qgcsG.jpg
Dark: http://i.imgur.com/b3WyjjG.jpg
Blaze: http://i.imgur.com/jx6B8mF.jpg
Thick Stripe: http://i.imgur.com/pYyR9g8.jpg

Girls:

Curly: http://i.imgur.com/huFL7KS.jpg
Eye-spot Stripe: http://i.imgur.com/bgPhkgr.jpg
Spotty: http://i.imgur.com/vv6iKJI.jpg
Short Stripe: http://i.imgur.com/fTjdJSX.jpg


Pictures from today!
Boys: http://i.imgur.com/IPD0l1V.jpg
Girls: http://i.imgur.com/nyy1GlP.jpg

As of now, we may be keeping Dark boy and Curly girl. But that may change once their personalities start to come in.
Please keep sending good thoughts that none of these babies will develop MC and all will grow very old and stay very healthy!

If you leave in or near California, keep us in mind!


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

So, so cute. I wish I lived closer.


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## Crezzard (Jul 20, 2013)

I'd keep dark boy too he's so cute and fat too 


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## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

Yeah, he is definitely the biggest baby and pretty chubby xD


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## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

*Day 15*! It's been 2 whole weeks now since they've been born!

Dark boy, biggest baby still, can be calm sometimes, but still likes to roam around a lot. I'm beginning to hope he is a berkshire. He has a bit of white creeping up on one side though: http://i.imgur.com/ub3caVQ.jpg

Light boy, really mellow, might be a cuddly little bub as an adult: http://i.imgur.com/760Tx7f.jpg

Blaze boy, the most active, twitchy, nibbly and difficult to photograph baby!: http://i.imgur.com/9EfhN6d.jpg

Thick stripe (capped?) boy, always jumps and seems to be listening intently to everything, pretty mellow also when he's not startled: http://i.imgur.com/lmpQ0Kd.jpg

Curly (hairless) girl, pretty active and likes to roam outside the nest box. The only pigmentation she has is that splotch on her back. Anything else that looks like color is just bad lighting from the camera: http://i.imgur.com/b1mH2U5.jpg

Eye-spot stripe girl, seems calm, easy to photograph, cute little face!: http://i.imgur.com/KJlWhuK.jpg

Spotty girl, pretty adventurous!: http://i.imgur.com/PE53KuQ.jpg

Short stripe girl, the first to open her eyes! Hard to tell from the pics, but she is be pink eyed, calm demeanor: http://i.imgur.com/qZpCt5B.jpg

They're all sooooo greeeeaaaaattt. I want to keep them all. I will be heartbroken if any get MC in the next few weeks since they will definitely be eating solid foods very soon. They are figuring out how to use their teeth and nibble on absolutely everything that's near their face (poor Bijou during feeding time!). They carefully sniff everything new. We held a couple babies in front of our adult boys, and all 3 boys were very gentle and softly sniffing the babies all over. I'm thinking that when I separate the boys from the girls in a couple weeks, I will have introductions with our 3 adult boys and see what they think of the babies living with them until they find their new homes.

Some more babies have their eyes opening now, and it looks like most of them have pink eyes! I love pink eyes, I hope potential adopters do too!


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## Sugapot (Mar 3, 2013)

Cuteness galore! Think my phone will explode cause it can't handle this level of cuteness. 
Can you ship internationally? 
Just kidding - you should get loads of interest they are just adorable. 


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## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

Here are the babies at 3 full weeks of age. I'm 90% sure that light boy and spotty girl are developing MC, and I am assisting them to poop multiple times a day. Chronic constipation with large oddly shaped poops have been my only real sign so far. I will make a vet appointment soon to get their opinion and will have to make a PTS appointment down the road when they seem to begin to feel the effects of the condition.. However, all the babies, including the possible MC babies, are all very energetic and seem very happy and are eating well and growing fast.

I'm just going to guess for all their color and patterns here.


Boys:

Dark boy. Mink berkshire. Ruby eyes. 52.7g
http://i.imgur.com/xAM5wJJ.jpg

Light boy. Light (mink?) spot on back, mostly white. Pink eyes. 47g
http://i.imgur.com/amJq4OT.jpg

Blazed boy. Mink with broken blaze, and thin stripe down back. Odd eyed, one pink, one ruby. 50.3g
http://i.imgur.com/XjosXbl.jpg

Capped boy (formerly Thick Stripe). Mink cap, thick stripe down back. Odd eyed, one pink, one ruby. 49.1g
http://i.imgur.com/cUStQGR.jpg

Girls:

Hairless girl. Fluffy sparse white fur with light (mink?) splotch on back. Curly whiskers. Hair will probably start to fall out in about a week. Pink eyes. 46.5g
http://i.imgur.com/93rnqMf.jpg

Eye-spot stripe girl. Large mink patch over eye, thick stripe down back. Pink eyes. 46.5g
http://i.imgur.com/78qaVW5.jpg

Spotty girl. Mink over half of face with a few large spots down back and rump. Odd eyed, one pink, one ruby. 42.5g
http://i.imgur.com/DjuQ9ay.jpg

Short stripe girl. Short mink stripe on rump. Pink eyes. 49.8g
http://i.imgur.com/y9Rtdae.jpg


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## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

The babies are now 4 full weeks old! *Still looking for homes for Eye-spot Stripe girl, and Short Stripe girl!* Please let me know if you would be interested at all, I'm located *in California* 

Babies all still seem to be doing great except the possible MC babies, but their symptoms don't seem to be slowing them down yet. Everyone is very active and had some adventure time in the hallway and bathroom for two full hours last night and not one baby started to get sleepy. So much energy!

http://i.imgur.com/bewebOo.jpg - "Eye-spot Stripe girl", *Still looking for a home!*
http://i.imgur.com/OBwuXW2.jpg - "Short Stripe girl", *Still looking for a home!*
http://i.imgur.com/FiDsZG7.jpg - "Hairless girl" I will keep her, but still haven't decided on a name. Any suggestions? ;D She is just so adorably ugly <3 (does anyone else think she looks a little like a baby armadillo? hehe)
http://i.imgur.com/AxpQKPa.jpg - "Miss Mouse"/Spotty girl. She is so dainty and little she could easily be mistaken for a fancy mouse. I suspect she has megacolon and I've been assisting her to poop for almost two weeks now, but she can still occasionally go on her own and doesn't seem slowed down by it yet. I would rather avoid her going through the stress of a new home, and will keep her to help her until it's time for her to be PTS when her condition starts to make her unhappy. She is still playful and active though so there's no reason to cut her life short, she doesn't seem to be in any pain at all. 

http://i.imgur.com/PPEx7RS.jpg - "Capped boy" Will be going to his new home this Sunday with his brother Blaze boy, yay!!!
http://i.imgur.com/Zii0HZO.jpg - "Blaze boy" Will be going home this Sunday with his brother Capped boy!!! The awesome Eden10 will be taking these two brothers home, and I couldn't be more excited for them to have found such a good home! 
http://i.imgur.com/8MNN0jv.jpg - "Berkshire/Dark boy" We will keep him and he will live with our adult boys when he's big enough. We plan to get Bijou and Hairless girl fixed later on and hopefully they can all live together in the DCN 
http://i.imgur.com/wEIFYSF.jpg - "Charlie/Charles" Light boy. My favorite baby. He's always been the cuddliest and calmest baby out of them all, and I love PEW (he has a small smudge on his back, but is otherwise all white). I always wanted a cuddly baby. He also most likely has megacolon. I will be keeping him and taking care of him and his possible MC sister until the time comes to PTS. He seems to be more effected by his condition than his sister, but he is still active, playful, and happy and only seems like he's in a little bit of pain/uncomfortable when I'm helping him go potty. I may buy a curve tipped syringe and try enemas for him soon.


I will separate the boys from the girls on Sunday after Capped boy and Blaze boy go to their new home. They will be 4 and a half weeks old then. Some people were saying they are fine until 5 weeks old, but since their huevos are coming down pretty quickly now I don't want to be too risky. They've all also learned to hump each other sometimes when play attacking their siblings and I don't want that to be more than dominance play! 
Does anyone think it would be ok to let Bijou in with the boys until they are 5 weeks old? Just about all the babies are still ravenous for momma's milk and are still eager to nurse.


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## AJ Black-Savage (Aug 6, 2013)

Grrrrrrrrr, so annoyed I live in England otherwise would have took then two pretty girls off your hands  so gutted!!! Xxxxxxxxx


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## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

I wish you could!! You seem like you'd be a good rat home for the babies! I'll have to ask my friend if she'll be visiting her family anytime soon in Essex and see if the babies can hitch a ride! heheh (just kidding xD)


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## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

Blaze boy and Capped boy went home yesterday!! I'm really happy, it seems like they will have a really good home with Eden10! 

Eye-spot Stripe girl and Short Stripe girl are still available and looking for homes!! I've had a couple inquiries through petfinder/North Star Rescue listing but haven't heard from either in about half a day. I'd love to find a forum member to adopt them out to instead though! Please message me if you might be interested ;D


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## Laylicorn (Aug 14, 2013)

They have beautiful colors, I would adopt one if I had room (and didn't live in PA).


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## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

Laylicorn said:


> They have beautiful colors, I would adopt one if I had room (and didn't live in PA).


They really are pretty 

I'm still not sure what color they technically are, and their eye color throws me off when looking up "breed standard" colors. All have pink eyes and one has ruby eyes.
I think they might be Mink or Dove. But they could just be plain beige, though I don't really think so. I wish I knew! lol


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