# Babies are about 2 weeks old



## Mene (Mar 13, 2015)

The babies are doing well and are getting bigger. They are moving around d the cage and are trying to nibble various foods. Should I be doing something at this point? What about water? Im assuming that they don't need water yet because I do believe that mama is still nursing, albeit less. How are they even supposed to learn to drink from the bottle? Should I be worried about megacolon at this stage, as they are starting to ingest tiny bits of food? I'm freaking out. I don't want anyone to die.


----------



## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

2 weeks old is the big turning point where they should start getting exposed to lots of new things and handled often.

Water- just have water bottles low enough for them to reach. They will watch mom and copy her. Sometimes they start checking out the water bottle that young usually by 3 weeks they have it down. If you have multiple levels in your cage I'd make sure to have a water bottle on the level they spend the most time but multiple ones are always great.

Megacolon often shows up 3-4 weeks when they start eating alot more food but yeah always watch out if they are at risk.

When my babies turn 2 weeks old all the fun begins  They get daily time outside of their cage in a rat playpen. I expose them to different rooms, different sounds and smells. I make sure to fill the playpen with tons of different things and textures so they get used to it. I encourage climbing and being curious. I also start offerign them treats & veggies though they often are not that interested until 3 weeks or so.
Spend lots of time with them, carry and hold them. I like multiple short playtimes of like 15-20 mins at a time.

My last litters play. The one with more stuff is at 3 weeks.










have u sexed them all yet?

Around 3 weeks they will be eating quite a bit and by 4 weeks they are often weaned fully. No need to do anything mom will handle it.

At 5 weeks I separate the boys in their own cage.

I do not rehome until after 6 weeks. They need more from mom (& u too) then just milk! 

Some helpful links for the babies development & sexing:
http://www.afrma.org/babyratdevdaily.htm
http://tigertailrattery.weebly.com/growth-picture-journal.html
http://ratguide.com/breeding/baby_development/birth_to_weaning.php
http://www.onceuponamischief.com/p/sexing-and.html
http://mainelyratrescue.org/rattieblog2/?p=42

sexes shows at 3.5 weeks but handy for then lol


----------



## RatEmporiumToronto (Jun 10, 2015)

Two weeks is one of my favourite stages :') They will start drinking from the water bottle when they are ready, just wanted to warn against putting a dish of water in the cage and reinstate that they will catch on themselves ^.^ They will probably start nibbling on pieces of food soon but will also likely keep nursing in addition to 3-5 weeks depending which will supply all of their nutritional needs.


----------



## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

I love 2 weeks too, its when the “nest breaks” start and once there eyes are all open I start to decorate there low level birthing cage with things for them to start to learn to climb on. Mine are also trying foods at this age and if it’s a big litter they get regular wet meals that they can eat or paddle in to there mums delight! Free range is much fun too, like moonkissed I start showing them lots of new toys and things. I also start to encourage other people to meet them to help get them socialised. Water bottles they just pick up if they are low enough, though I often offer a small bottle filled with lactol (puppy milk) and maybe some vitamin powders as well as water as a treat. They also start learning veg is great, though I introduce it slowly. If you offer lots of variety at this age they will be better dealing with variety as they grow up


----------



## Mene (Mar 13, 2015)

Great information. I really appreciate all of it. I haven't sexed them yet. There are only 4 of them. Right now, they all look like girls. But, I'll keep on checking.


----------

