# Babies now what?



## knixon22 (Dec 1, 2013)

Hello Everyone,

I adopted a girl about two weeks ago. Last night I came home to 10 Babies! Everything I have read tells me to handle babies as soon as the mom will let me. My husband is telling me I'm going to cause her to eat her babies or reject them. (he grew up raising hamsters) Am I right in handling them to check for milk bands and to make sure everything looks good? Any advice is welcome!


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

I would tempt her to the door of the cage and lift her out, pop her in a carrier with food, then handle the babies. If she wont leave the nest leave her be, a few days to settle wont hurt the babies but if she will come out its a good idea to check and remove any dead babies. Mum is very unlikley to eat or kill any babies that arent dead or broken in some way, rats make excellent mums and normally dont seem to mind about humans handling there babies, however doing it in front of them can stress them out in the first few weeks. Also whilst the babies dont have fur they will loose heat fast so handle quickly and keep them warm on a heat pad or snuggled in a fleece hat whilst away from mum. They should only be away for a few mins max at first, slowly building up. Around 10 to 14 days is when they really start to notice you and they become little rats as there eyes open, this is when handling becomes more important, before then its just getting them used to the smell and touch of humans.


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