# Rat Litter!!! Help!!!



## NewlyRats (Mar 30, 2011)

Ok I just literally found out a minute ago that my female rat gave birth. I had no idea she was pregnant and now she is in a cloth tunnel with a bunch of babies. It's a tunnel hanging in the middle of the cage and there are spots of blood on it so I'm assuming she just gave birth today. My big worry is if the male will do anything to her or the babies. Please help and give me some advice. I need to know if I should move the male rat out to another cage or move the babies out of the tunnel or something. The cage is a large 3 level ferret cage and I don't want these babies growing up with levels to fall off of.
I'm not a breeder and this is a total mistake so any advice is warmly welcomed. Thank you.


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## toyxxhearts (Mar 1, 2011)

Someone else can probably offer more help but I would get a different cage set up for the mom and babies. One that the babies wont be able to get out of later and one where the mom can't put them up high. And definitely move them (or move the whole tube to the bottom of the cage you set up for them) there is a big chance of one or more getting knocked out or crawling out of the tube and falling. Hope someone else can offer some more advice soon!


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

Uhm, aside from the fact that I really want to yell at you for having a male in with a female at all, I will try to be helpful. (I mean, what did you expect would happen? They aren't going to become best friends and dance in a circle singing Kumbaya!)

Remove the female right away, she may already be pregnant again, and the male could kill the babies. You need to move the babies and mother into an aquarium or bin cage so that the babies will not fall or come out of the bars. The blood is from her giving birth and it is normal. Once she's in a baby-safe cage, give her nesting material and she will build a nest for the babies. You can just move the entire tube over, and lay it on the ground in there. Check the pups for milk bands, and then leave her alone for now. She might be bitey, so be careful when you move the tube. She also needs more protein and nutrients, so offer her some oatmeal and scrambled egg along with her normal diet.


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## NewlyRats (Mar 30, 2011)

Thank you for your advice. It was suppose to be two females and I got them from a pet store when they were really small and now they are close to full grown and I can now see that one of them is a male. I did not do this intentionally. I will definitely separate the female and her babies into a separate cage and give her some protein. What would be the best kind of nesting material to put in for mom to make a nest with?


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Shredded paper towels  They are the safest for sensitive babies.

How many did she have? Are you going to keep he father?


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## BVR.rats (Sep 17, 2009)

The biggest problem is that as soon as she finishes giving birth she will go into heat again. If the male gets near her during this time, she may already be re-bred. Males are actually usually excellent fathers and have no reason to kill their own babies - these aren't hamsters.  Still, because he WILL re-breed her, he needs to be removed immediately.

Putting her in a modified tub (http://www.dapper.com.au/articles.htm#cage) is your best option. She needs something with solid sides and no shelves, as the babies can get caught between the wires and skinned when she tries to tug them back out. Babies are also very sensitive to drafts. Shredded paper towels are an excellent bedding material, as are clean fleece strips. Never use any cloth that "threads" like terrycloth or cotton, as the little threads can get wrapped around limbs and cut into them very quickly.

Offering your mama a few treats like liver or oysters to help build up their iron and copper after the labor is a good idea, but most rats do not require much supplementing and should be able to cope with feeding her litter as long as she is fed regularly with a high quality diet. It never hurts to offer some rich treats like baby food, spinach and eggs in moderation though


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## NewlyRats (Mar 30, 2011)

Ok I definitely have a lot of paper towel around the house. I do plan on keeping the father since he has incredible personality and at the moment he sits on a level of the cage and just watches Mia feed the babies and he doesn't interfere and he's a wonderful pet as well. I could never get rid of either of them. I did buy a separate cage for mom and babies. I'm going to transfer them tomorrow since it hasn't been 24 hours yet since the babies were born. I got some carefresh bedding thats really soft and hopefully everything works out. Does anyone know about neutering rats and what thats like in terms of cost or risks? I don't want to keep them separate forever since they love each other and they hate being separated.


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## BVR.rats (Sep 17, 2009)

Is the new cage for the mother and litter wire? Wire cages are not appropriate for pinkies for reasons outlined above. I am not just trying to be unreasonable, I have seen babies get injured this way.

Neutering the father is probably your best option. The major danger is the anesthesia, some rats simply don't do well with it, and some clinics don't have really good protocols that allow them to keep the rat just-under while they work. An experience exotics vet should be something you have anyway, and they'll probably be able to do a neuter for you.


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

I think spaying is the far better option because of the health benefits. Spaying prevents mammary tumors, uterine prolapse, uterine tumors, uterine polyps, pyometra, and pituitary tumors. I may have missed some health benefits. In the average pet rat, these are far from rare occurrences. One study found over 90% of the females ended up with tumors. PT is frighteningly common as well. 

Also, while my sample size is small, I had four intact girls, three of which had uterine problems requiring they be spayed (pyometra, polyps, and an invaginated uterus that was on it's way to being fully prolapsed). I had three out of the four end up with mammary tumors well before they turned two, i have no idea how many they would have ended up with had i not spayed them, but i strongly suspect had they not been spayed when they first had girly issues i would be seeing more tumors right now. In addition, my intact girl ended up with hormone driven mammary cysts, which have also been alleviated by spaying. Oh and the four, (I have two more now but they are younger and spayed) are all under two and only two are related. 

It is a personal decision, but if I had known how common these problems are and that spaying eliminates them I would have started spaying my rats much sooner.

ETA of course a competent vet is very very important. My vet does many rat surgeries each week and has years of experience. If you do not already have a vet like that, definitely find one-you never know when an emergency will require a surgery. With a competent vet though, anesthesia is the biggest risk, and it's usually only a problem when there are underlying conditions, like a bad heart, respiratory problems, etc.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

I 100% agree with Smeysna

If I had the money to spay all 6 of my girls this very momentI would in a heartbeat but right now I am dealing with 1 rat needing tumor removal, and my dog needing X-rays and both his back legs needing surgery so it's a little lower on my roster of prioritys, and ALL my future rats will be spayed and neutered before arriving, just for the health benefits. And also because mixed gender groups are loads of fun


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## BVR.rats (Sep 17, 2009)

I tend to opt for neuters instead of spays simply because it's a much less invasive surgery and lots of pet people really dislike "goolies" on a boy rat, but you're right, the health benefits are far more for a spay than a neuter. The recovery time and risk of surgery is also higher, and usually the cost, so you have to weigh it on a personal level and do what feels right for you!


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## NewlyRats (Mar 30, 2011)

Yes the cage has bars but very small spacing that not even the pinkies could fit through right now. I will definitely look into spaying her and I do have an exotics vet because of my birds and lizard that have been to see them before. If I had the money right now I would go do it right now but all I can do is give her a separate cage for now and find the babies loving homes (when they are weaned of course) and save up until I can spay her. Sounds like the benefits outweigh the downside of the anesthetic. I'll do some research though and see which vet is the best in this area.


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

In terms of spay VS neuter, I vote spay. It really does have more benefits and they are immediatly sterile, instead of having to wait two weeks like you do with males. I have a spayed female and two intact males, and I definitly prefer spaying..I also don't mind the goolies.


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## Athena (Feb 24, 2011)

If anything you can keep a male and female baby to play with mom and dad. that way they aren't alone until you can spay mom.

After my babies opened their eyes i'd hold them up to Dad's cage so he could smell and see them, then at 3 weeks i started introductions with Dad and my other big boy. And at four and a half weeks i separated the boys and girls (mom had weaned and was no longer letting anyone suckle.) I placed the boys in with Dad and Leo and every one is still doing great. The baby boys follow the big boys around and sleep with them and try to hump them for dominance. That's pretty funny. 
Mom can stay with the girls.

Of course you'll need to make sure the cages are big enough for multiple rats until they can be adopted out.

How many babies did she have?


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## NewlyRats (Mar 30, 2011)

I moved mom and her babies over to the other cage and now the father seems lonely in his large cage. When I was transferring the babies over I counted 9 of them and they all look healthy and they all move and squeak. 

I definitely like the idea of letting the boys back in with dad once they are old enough and the girls with mom until they can be adopted out. Thanks for all the wonderful information. I would not have been able to do this without the help and advice of all of you. 

And I will definitely keep updates coming as well as pictures as much as mom lets me with her babies. Other than eggs and oatmeal what else should I offer her to eat that will help her gain some weight back and some healthy food to add to her diet?


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## Athena (Feb 24, 2011)

Boiled chicken, my kids love it. Any fresh veggies are good too. Small amounts of cheese are okay too. There's a list on the forum somewhere that has all the good and bad foods...


Make sure when you look at the babies that they have Milk Bands. A small white band across their stomach, it shows they are all eating.


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## NewlyRats (Mar 30, 2011)

She definitely likes her veggies but have never tried chicken or cheese. I'll offer her small amounts of both and see if she likes them.


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