# watch us grow!



## kahlua

As I posted a couple of nights ago when I joined, I just unoficially rescued 3 rats...2 females and a male. Two days later..the female is gracing us with lots of babies!

Here are the first pics:



























So far there are 8 babies. I'm not sure if she's done yet or not. She is being a great mom and taking good care of them, which I am relieved about, the last couple of weeks have been SO stressful on the poor girl. 

I will post lots of pics as they grow so keep checking back :lol:


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## Vixie

*WOW* she's _beautiful_! I love that color!

Adorable little pinkies!


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## JennieLove

Awww! What a good momma you have there.  Can't wait to see what all the babies look like later on down the road.


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## Sara_C

Aaw they're so tiny! Have you thought about putting some nesting material in for mum and babies, or a nesting box? Fabric's normally better for nesting material than tissue. Ideally nothing string-y or with holes in, an old cut-up fleece maybe? Make sure you remember to give her plenty of protien, such as egg and dog food too, she's got a lot of mouths to feed 

Thanks for keeping us all updated, i can't wait for more pics!


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## kahlua

I gave her some nesting stuff last night...she made a nice nest in one corner but proceeded to not use it  She insists on laying on the glass. The white stuff in there is half white carefresh and half brown. I know it's not ideal for babies but it's the only thing I could find on short notice 

I did give her some chicken earlier...or I should say I tried, she is not very interested in food right now 

I don't want to stress her out by trying to force things on her so I just left a small piece in there and if she eats it I'll put more in.


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## Sara_C

Aw bless her  Well i guess mum knows best - at least it's there is she decides they need it! Carefresh should be okay, i don't know what else you should use but it'd be my bedding of choice - it's pretty soft and it's not going to get stuck anywhere. Kudos to you for staying so calm, i'd be flapping about all over the place!!! 

I'm sure she'll give in and tear herself away from her babies when the yummy chicken smell gets too much to resist


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## OhBugger.

aww, I love your babies!
the mum's got a real great color. very beautiful.


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## kahlua

Well, it looks like the final count is 8. So a nice smallish litter!

I was a little worried about her because she absolutely refused to leave her babies for a second, even to eat or drink, so I moved her to the far corner of the cage and blocked her way back for a minute and then left her alone..and it seemed to snap her out of it. She just finished rebuilding her nest and ate a little too.

I could just sit and watch them for hours.


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## 2manyrats

Yeah, she's a pretty one. I wonder what the dad looks like?

I love watching the babies grow. I've been present from birth to weaning on 3 litters now, and it's just such a cool process. My favorite part is when they get to the nibbly stage, and when you stick your hand in, they all attach themselves to it. Oh, and when they get to the uber-playful uncontainable stage. Ah, babies... makes me want to make friends with a breeder.


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## kahlua

lost one baby yesterday  not sure what happened, he had a belly full of milk, I think he might have just crawled a little too far away from the nest and gotten too cold  poor guy

But the others are doing well, getting big and fat  I can't wait till they get some hair so I can see what colors we've got!


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## 2manyrats

Sorry to hear you lost one. How many boys & girls? Have you counted dark v. light eyes?


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## Poppyseed

She's such a pretty color!


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## Sara_C

Aw, i'm sorry to hear you lost one  hopefully the others will keep getting nice and fat though, and you'll have happy healthy babies when they get older


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## kahlua

Well I can't say I'm an expert at sexing them so young - but I did a quick check and it looks like 3 girls 4 boys. 

I can't tell eye color yet, or coat color. At the moment their eyes all look the same! But they don't seem super dark, and I am thinking she had at least some with ruby eyes, so I think they just haven't started to really show through yet. But they are only 3 1/2 days so hopefully soon!
They crawl around like mad now when i take them out - they remind me of salamanders I used to catch as a kid!

The momma is getting better about me handling them. She's never tried to bite but I've tried not to give her a chance to! I used to have to pry her off the nest but now after I uncover it, she moves away and lets me check them out. But I feel so bad, she ends up building another HUGE nest, piling all the bedding from the cage on top of the babies and I have to dig them out when I want to look at them LOL
And then after I dig it up she goes and builds a brand new nest! Poor girl!

Once their colors start showing up I'll get some new pics! I can't wait to see what they look like..if I knew for sure what the dad looked like I'd have a better idea, but I don't  It could have been the fawn male, but it just as likely could have been a different rat. I know they didn't have them for too long at the farm. So it will be fun to see what colors we got!


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## Forensic

It will be very interesting to see what colors there are!

I've seen some pics with little pinkies with dark areas where they grow in black... would it be safe to say black isn't an option or does that all happen later? :lol: So much to learn...


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## kahlua

I'm not sure if the black would show up yet..I would give it another 2-3 days before I say no blacks for sure. I only ever had one other rat litter, and that was many years ago..so I don't remember exactly when you could tell if they were blacks  But from what I've read on the web color starts to show up around day 4. So maybe when I wake up in the morning they will have grown some fuzz overnight!


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## kahlua

Well they were 6 days old today! I do see some fuzz but it's impossible for me to tell what color  
They all look the same, and I don't see any markings yet.


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## Poppyseed

dawww!!!! SOCUTE!!! *steals* >_>


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## OnlyOno

oh man, i just want to put them all in my mouth. i don't know why i always want to do that to cute stuff. i snorgle puppy ears and feet too.  and sometimes picasso gets chomped on a little.


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## DonnaK

OnlyOno said:


> oh man, i just want to put them all in my mouth. i don't know why i always want to do that to cute stuff.


Because they remind you of Peeps? :lol:


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## OnlyOno

haha, have i already mentioned how much i love peeps? because i do. lol.


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## Ashadeen

The mother is stunning! A very lovely topaz  Thinking about a rat nap 8) 

You should expect rather agoutis then black, but they look like neither, their skin would be darker.

Keep posting pics!!! :wink:


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## twitch

well it looks like they all have pink or ruby eyes. and if i remember right they should be showing pigment by now so i think you have a litter of PEWs or beiges. can't wait to see the next set of pictures though. i'm really enjoying watching them grow.


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## kahlua

The babies are 10 days old today. Their fur is so velvety soft, and they are starting to try to groom themselves, and falling over when they do - SO CUTE!

It's still hard to tell what color they all are. Sometimes a couple look lighter, maybe beige, but I think it may just be the lighting playing tricks on me! Most (if not all) are fawns, I think. And I think I can make out some berkshire markings on their feet but there's still no hair on the bellies yet so can't I see for sure yet.

Here they are  Sorry if they're huge pics!


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## twitch

aww.. look at all those fuzbutts! this so doesn't help my GGMR right now.... they're very cute


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## DonnaK

Oh my gosh!! They're so cute!


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## fallinstar

kahlua where do you live? those babies are so sweet!


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## Poppyseed

Beautiful babies! They are going to be GORGEOUS *Steals*


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## Stephanie

aaaaawwww i so need to stop looking at adorable pictures of ratties LoL


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## Starghoti

Ow Ow the Pain!!
I want one (or 3) SOOOO bad.
They are gorgeous!


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## 2manyrats

Those are going to be some interesting markings on the ones that look like they have bands on the butts.


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## kahlua

hehe i think those bands are just their fur shining in the flash. they are very shiny 

fallinstar - I am in the USA  NJ to be exact


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## OnlyOno

OMG i love their colors! i have officially decided that i am a sucker for fawnish and ruby-eyed ratties. if they were dumbo i would just have to keel over and die. have you sexed any of them yet? WHY MUST YOU ALL BE SO FAR AWAY FROM ME?! :'(


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## Rachel-Phantom

Adorable. The ratty who seems to be running away in the third picture looks as though he/she might be a Himalayan. The nose looks dark, which is what happened with my Himi. He was beige and white when he was very little then his nose got gradually darker still it was deep chocolate. 

Your babies are soo adorable.


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## Ashadeen

Rachel-Phantom said:


> Adorable. The ratty who seems to be running away in the third picture looks as though he/she might be a Himalayan. The nose looks dark, which is what happened with my Himi. He was beige and white when he was very little then his nose got gradually darker still it was deep chocolate.


Sorry, but do we look at the same pics?! :? 
Since I cannot see any himis or beige/buff ones. 8O 

They are all topaz (or fawn how it is called in the USA) like their beautiful mother. A topaz/fawn is genetically an agouti with the red eyes dilution allel (A-rr). 

Anyway a himi would not show its points before the moult, which happens around the 6. or 7. week, until then it looks like a PEW (pink eyed white).
And a beige is not as orangy as these babies.


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## kahlua

Well - the 2nd female had her babies a few hours ago!

I haven't gotten a head count yet. I think I counted at least 10, but I'm not positive and a couple look like they might be stillborn. I don't want to bother her yet, since they are so new so I'll get a full count tomorrow. The ones I can see have full bellies so I'm content to let her bond for tonight 

The first litter is getting SO big - it's amazing to compare the new babies with the 2 week old ones...the new ones are about the size of the older ones heads! The older ones haven't opened their eyes quite yet, but I am hoping they do tomorrow (their 2 week birthday). I switched them to my small 3 level wire cage the day before yesterday. I wanted to wait till their eyes were open, but the beige was getting so fat, and I really wanted to get her into the aquarium. But they're all doing fine.

I'll get pics of both litters tonight or tomorrow I promise


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## fallinstar

awwww


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## kahlua

Ok - here are the girls:










the boys:










And the new momma (soo cute!)









It looks like there were 12 babies, but 2 were stillborn  So right now there are 10.


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## DarkDesires814

If we could set up some sort of ratty train I would insist on taking at least one of the little ratlets. The new cage has given me a bad case of ggmr


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## fallinstar

awww so cute! i need more rats!


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## ladylady

Wow what a fab colour


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## Inesita

Aw, how cute!


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## kahlua

Here are some pics of the babies at 20 days.




























The other litter is doing great, they are a week old today. It looks like 8 girls and 2 boys..but I might be wrong..


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## Strike2

Very sweet.


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## fallinstar

yet again awww


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## 2manyrats

awww, i love that age... the point where you stick your hand in and suddenly you have 20 rats chomping down.

and their colors are so pretty. i love fawn/beige rats so much. my friends used to make fun of me for using mine as a fashion accessory, because I'd always carry her around with me and she'd match the tones of my clothing. (not on purpose, I just wear colors in that family a lot)


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## kahlua

here are some new pics of the babies. Here is the second litter, at 13 days




















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Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
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It looks like there are 8 girls and 2 boys for sure. There is one hooded and the rest looks like selfs or berks. Five seem to be fawns and 5 beiges, although there is one I'm not sure about. She looks lighter than the other beiges but not nearly as orange as the fawns. Here she is with oen of the beiges.









Any ideas about the color?

The first litter is doing great, I will be weaning them this weekend. Someone will be picking two girls up on Friday. Hopefully I can find homes for the rest but if not they'll stay here with me.


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## mnic001

Awww, so cute! Any chance I could get two of the girls up in Boston? If I had a car I would totally come get them.


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## ladylady

kahlua I viewed apge source and blatently knicked your post I hope thats ok-check it your on the myspace link below


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## Sara_C

I think those are possibly the most beautiful babies i have ever seen  I wish i lived closer, i'd definately snap up one of those boys!


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## kahlua

mnic001 - I wouldn't mind driving an hour or so to place these guys but I don't think I could drive all the way up to Boston  Sorry

ladylady - thanks for the myspace post. I just realized I didn't put my contact info with any of that stuff. My e-mail is [email protected] if you could post that as a way to contact me. Thanks


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## ladylady

Im gona post this on the adoption thread as well-
carefull with your email, spam bots can go through, publicly view pages and find your address, wouldnt worry if its not your main one tho, i have a email just for stuff like this so I dosnt matter if I have to close it


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## twitch

a platinum baby maybe? its difficult to tell until the color fully matures. it'll be interesting to see in any case


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## mnic001

Hey Kahlua, there's a good chance I'll be in Manhattan next weekend (if not, possibly the weekend after?). If I haven't found any rats by then, how far are you from New York?


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## Forensic

I don't think her babies would be old enough to take next weekend. :?


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## mnic001

I guess not, they'd only be 4 weeks old 

Well, I actually have an open invitation to go there any time I want, so I could postpone another week (or go back again- even better). I guess it all depends on whether Kahlua can even meet me in New York in the first place. 

As things currently stand, I should be in the city on the 26th and 27th. Let me know.


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## kahlua

The 2nd litter won't be ready til the 30th, but if you wanted to take boys there are still 4 from the first litter.

I'm about an hour from Manhattan depending on traffic. But to be honest - I have never actually driving IN the city myself and would probably get in about a dozen accidents! But if you could meet me somewhere outside the city I would have no problem with it LOL


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## mnic001

In that case I might consider postponing the trip by another week. I mean, look at those pictures- so cute. Would I definitely be able to get two females? 

As I side note I'm going to point out that I'll still be actively searching for rats in the meantime so I may end up finding some before then.

Edit: No chance I could get you to give the cuties up a few days early?


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## OhBugger.

ooh! such beauties! 
I loove the white and fawn one. 
If I wasn't so far away, I would definitely steal a couple.
but I cant.


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## kahlua

There are 8 girls in the 2nd litter so yes there should be two for you  I really don't know how important a couple of days with mom would be. Anyone know if it's ok to wean a couple of days early?

Since you can't commit 100% yet I will PM (or e-mail if you want to PM me your address) you if I suddenly get a lot of interest in the girls. But so far it's been pretty quiet! It looks like the hooded girl might have a home but that's it so far.


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## Forensic

I would think the longer spent with Mom, the better, for immunity and socialization, but I'm certainly no expert. :lol:


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## twitch

depends. how old are the babies going to be when you plan to let them leave. i wouldn't let them go a day before 4 weeks personally as that's normally the age that most of the weaning has finished. but i would prefer 5 weeks for the socialization with mom. though if they were going to home with older rats and were being placed with them immediately (well intros started right away-no QT) then i wouldn't mind letting them go before 5 weeks. when i had my litters i didn't let them go until they were almost 8 weeks (though that was mostly because i was treating everyone for mites and had to wait for the babies to get older to be able to medicate them--i had a wellness exam done at 4 weeks for the entire litters of 24, its how i found the mite problem)


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## mnic001

Hey Kahlua, looks like I found two rats a little closer to home. I wish I could have one of your fawn babies, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. If anyone from Massachusetts picks any of these sweet girls up, I would still love to take one in.


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