# Hairless Litter



## buggsly (Dec 30, 2012)

Hi there everyone..I'm new to this site and I just got two rats about 4 days ago. I got them from a pet store, unaware of how risky it is to buy from a pet store. shortly after bringing them home I noticed that Rizzo, the hairless of the two, was much rounder than the other.I looked around online and on this forum and came to realize that she had a very high possibility of being pregnant. so I separated the two, and put some shredded paper towel in her cage to see if she would nest with it. the next morning all of the towel was inside her igloo and it was clear she was nesting.you could also see And feel the babies inside her. yesterday night before I had to leave to go out of friendly little brother told me there were pink things in her cage and when I went and checked on her there were 5 little babies in her nest she made. there ended up being 7 total.

as you can imagine I was worried that she would be unable to care for them because I had read that hairless rats made bad moms. well with all of the updates I've been given she is feeding them well and they've all survived so far and I hope it continues to be that way. 

I am out of town for the week unfortunately so my mom and roommate are caring for her. I am new to this And can use any advice you all have for me.it'd be greatly appreciated. thank you. c:


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

have you put her in a bin cage or aquarium?

Make sure to keep her protein and calories up, scrambled eggs and sardines will do, along with more nuts and seeds.

I would read up on how to take care of orphans, try to keep pedialyte on hand along with soy baby formula and/or goat milk (for the baby forumla you want it in a powdered form, goat milk you can typically find at the store or at a health or organic store).

This is a series done on mice but it can work on rats

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNX2byHbppM

But if she is doing fine so far, I wouldn't worry too much, but it is a possibility that you might have to supplement the babies with formula if she isn't feeding them properly. Make sure they all have healthy milk bands.


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## buggsly (Dec 30, 2012)

No she's in a regular cage with a kind of deep bottom but I fear they'll get out once they start moving more. I didn't know she should've been in a cage like that until she had already had them. it's not okay to move her now, right?


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

you can still try to move her if she trust you.

If not you can try to wrap 1/4 inch hardware cloth around the bars Just in case.


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

She may be a different kind of hairless, e.g. a double rex, in which case she won't have the lactation problems that can be associated. I use a barred cage as my birthing cage and never had an issue, however the bar spacing is small, 8mm so no chance or rats getting out, if yours is as small you won't need to move her. If you do then take mum out and put her in a carrier, then move the nest, babies and as much bedding as possible across. Then put mum back with a towel over the new cage, it should help her settle faster.


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## buggsly (Dec 30, 2012)

okay, thanks.  Also, is there a topic or site that explains the growth of the babies and at what stages they will begin to open their eyes and move and such? It'd be greatly appreciated to know.


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

Here you go http://www.afrma.org/babyratdevdaily.htm

The only thing is that it's best to wean at 5 weeks, not 6 weeks.

Here is also one on Sexing (scroll down a bit for rats)

http://www.afrma.org/sexing101.htm

Typically they open their eyes between 12 and 16 days, normal being between 13 and 15 days, it depends on the litter size and other factors.


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## buggsly (Dec 30, 2012)

Great, thanks so much. c: That will help me a lot.


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## buggsly (Dec 30, 2012)

Here's a picture of them at 4 days old. Turns out there are nine and not seven. All are healthy and none have died. Rizzo is feeding them well too. I'm pretty sure that this was a hairless x hairless(or mock hairless) litter, because when I got her she was in with two other rats and one was a male. But they do grow a bit of hair and then lose it if they're hairless right?


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

Yes Hairless rats typically will gain a bit of hair then loose all of it at around 3 to 4 weeks old.

Looks like you got 4 hoodeds, 2 berkshires, and 3 Albinos.  Looks like the hoodeds and Berkshires are all blacks.


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## buggsly (Dec 30, 2012)

So it turns out that they are not so hairless after all..And they are four weeks old now. 
But, I have one more question someone can hopefully answer; I have another female rat that was originally with mom but when she had the babies I separated them. When is it okay to put her back with Rizzo? Is it okay to do so now, since the babies are bigger/eating food on their own/etc.? Or will the other rat try to harm them, and should I wait until they've gone to new homes(other than the one I'm keeping)?
Thanks for any answers I receive.


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

Since hairless is a recessive gene that means their dad was a normal rat who didn't carry it, reason they aren't hairless  (oh and pictures?)

How old is the other female's litter? If you can tell them apart and you know that Rizzo won't harm her babies, then you can.

wait, when did the other female become pregnant? or did I miss something in the original post?


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## buggsly (Dec 30, 2012)

Oh, no. The other rat isn't pregnant. I was just wondering if and when its okay for me to put her back with Rizzo and with the babies in the other cage. I'm worried that she may harm Rizzo's babies. 
And I'll post some pictures soon.  The ones I already have aren't that great.


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

I would give it a week, until there about 5 weeks old. Then try her with mum and babies somewhere neutral, if that goes well keep them supervised in a small cage for a while, then try them in a larger cage. Some are fine and make amazing aunts, some dont care for it at all.


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## buggsly (Dec 30, 2012)

So I figured out today that there is a single Dumbo boy in the litter, which is awesome.  His ears are bigger and droopier than the rest. Here's a few pictures of them now:































Not sure if I said this already, but there's 1 Champagne male, 2 beige females, 1 black hooded female, 2 black berk females, and 3 black hooded males(1 of which is a dumbo).


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## Gannyaan (Dec 7, 2012)

Wow they are adorable! Sounds like you're caring well for them! Thanks for the update 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Maiden (Mar 9, 2012)

They are so cute ^-^ I hope you find them homes!


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## phatdaddy (Feb 3, 2013)

I love e new litter of ratties, nothings cooler than waking to the soft noises they make. As said keep her on plenty of protein and give her extra love. keep the cage spotless too.


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## Possum Rat (Dec 30, 2012)

Is the momma having any trouble producing milk ?


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## Eden10 (Aug 11, 2012)

I believe I may have mentioned it to you Possum, but I never brought it up in a mean way...thats what I had heard from a lot of people & just passed the info on as something to consider...maybe its just a rumor about them being bad mamas?
I'm glad this litter turned out to be healthy & happy anyways, I hope they all find wonderful loving homes...unless you are keeping them all? ;D


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## Possum Rat (Dec 30, 2012)

Eden10 said:


> I believe I may have mentioned it to you Possum, but I never brought it up in a mean way...thats what I had heard from a lot of people & just passed the info on as something to consider...maybe its just a rumor about them being bad mamas?
> I'm glad this litter turned out to be healthy & happy anyways, I hope they all find wonderful loving homes...unless you are keeping them all? ;D


no no, you are great Eden, nothing to do with you sweetie. You and a few others, I have loved communicating with & will miss ya'll. Keep it real !!


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## buggsly (Dec 30, 2012)

Haha, thanks. I'd love to keep them all but sadly can't, lol. Two have already gone to new homes, and I'm keeping a male, and there is a couple coming this weekend to take maybe two or three females. And my boyfriend wants the dumbo male, so I'll only have 2 or three left to find homes for, which is good. 
And they are 6 weeks old now and all weaned, but Rizzo didn't seem to have any problems lactating, although I did fear the worst in the beginning. She did start to wean them at about 2 1/2 weeks though, not sure if that's early or not.


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