# pics of monty`s babies and nesta`s *lots of new ones*



## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

this morning was the first time i seen monty since she had her bubs, she`s still her lively self always grooming and wanting to play. she didn`t mind me being near the babies, in fact she was grooming me while my hand was near them.  

i didn`t want to touch them or the nest though even though she was fine with it, from a rough look there seems to be more than 10 and the majority seem to be takin after momma. i managed to get a pic from outside the house they`re in, i can see a milk band on 1 of the babies and all appear to be fine and she`s doing such a good job, i`m so proud of her!!

this was taken earlier this morning (sorry if it turns out huge, photobucket`s being weird with me)


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## Buggzter (Feb 13, 2008)

*Re: pics of monty`s babies*

I'm so glad everything is going well! Those eepers will take alot outa Monty, so make sure you give her extra love and (HEALTHY) treats! I can hardly wait to see them as they grow up.


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## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

*Re: pics of monty`s babies*

yeah she`s been getting lots of love and attention, i`m actually pleasantly surprised at how well she`s coping considering it`s her first litter. when she leaves the nest now she`s started pulling a towel into the door of the house which i`m assuming she does to keep the heat in for the babies (i could be wrong though). i`ll try to post up-to-date pics as i get them, but for now i don`t want to disturb any of them until i feel monty has bonded enough with them


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## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

*Re: pics of monty`s babies*

i was just feeding motny there when she ran out of the nest with a baby still attached to her, she knocked it off and took some food then ran back to the nest leaving it so i had to pick it up to place it back, when i did this i noticed a red mark on it`s head, i`m not sure if this is normal or not so thought i`d ask here and see what other people though. anyhow here`s the pic


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## Buggzter (Feb 13, 2008)

*Re: pics of monty`s babies*

I of course don't KNOW, but...

It may just be a small hematoma that will become a bruise, or it might be a birthmark - humans can have bright red birthmarks that are nothing else.

If the mark doesn't get bigger, swell, or burst, and the baby has a milk-filled belly all the time, don't worry about it too much. I don't see why it would hurt the baby. But, remember, I am NOT an expert on baby rats! 8O I hope they do great!


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## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

*Re: pics of monty`s babies*

here`s some updated pics of the babies, they`re now 6 days old and i still can`t work out which is male and female!!! but they are very cute


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## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

*Re: pics of monty`s babies*

oh and here`s a really short vid of the babies squirming about, it`s really bad quality because of my phone but it`s still cute!


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## Buggzter (Feb 13, 2008)

*Re: pics of monty`s babies*

AWWWWW!!!

How is the one with the head-spot problem?

And here's how to tell boys from girls: if you look right where the base of the tail is, you can see how far apart the "pee" and "poop" holes are - in the boys, they are farther apart to make room for the testicles. When they are about 2 weeks old and have their baby fur, you can see nipples on the females - if you have a hard time telling for now, at least you can absolutely tell then! Just remember: boys will have a belly button in the center just like females, and it looks like a nipple at first - but girls have nipples on the SIDES of the belly, not the middle.  

Have fun with the wiggle worms!


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## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

*Re: pics of monty`s babies*

well i can`t seem to find the one with the spot anymore so i`m assuming it`s all cleared up 

thanks, yeah i tried using that method but to me they all look the same, gonna be another week before i can tell i think but i`m so happy with them right now (even if i am losing sleep with all the noise lol)


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## Buggzter (Feb 13, 2008)

*Re: pics of monty`s babies*

 The baby noises take a little while to get used to, but you'll get used to them.

And as for sexing, all you can do is take ONE, and pick up every single other one until you find one different. Apparently, you should be able to tell by 3-4 days, but I was able to tell EASILY at one week. Then around 2 weeks the nipples start to form, and at 3 weeks about they are starting to be covered again. At that point, you have to wait until you can see the outside evidence of the boys... *cough*... :wink: For me, by about 7 days old my boys were all significantly bigger than the girls - more aggressive, I suppose... The girls were completely fine, just not as big. No matter what, you have a chance to really enjoy some fun stuff coming up - just wait until they start being able to HEAR their mommy running away from them (they'll chase her if they're hungry), or when their eyes open - it's even worse for her then! ENJOY it while it lasts.


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## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

these are the latest pics of monty`s babies, they`re now 10 days old and looking really healthy 

all together:









the girls (i think):









the boys:









and these are nesta`s babies, they`re 7 days old and this is the first time i`ve seen them....










the runt:









the girls:









the boys:









sorry there`s so many, they`re just so cute i went a bit snap happy 
i have 23 altogether and as far as i can tell there`s 12 girls and 11 boys!


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## phineas_r (Apr 20, 2008)

Aww, I love wiggly babies. Take as many pictures as you can, they grow up so fast. Sniffle.


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## Buggzter (Feb 13, 2008)

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are SOOOO cute, and they DO grow WAY to fast for their own good... or rather, for us!


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## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

i just done another count there and there only seems to be 21 babies now, i counted about 3 times ot be sure, it`s only been a week since i last had them out and they`re all 2 weeks now, is it normal for them to be eaten at a week old?? i`m kinda concerned about what happened ot the other 2 now.

got lots of pics, managed to sex most of them but there`s still a few i`m unsure of. i have 8 agouti, 4 black self, 3 black berks, 1 little silvery colored one and 3 i`m not sure of exactly although i think they could be siamese, i`ll post pics and see if anyone can help me with that later


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## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

right so here`s the new pics, some of them are 17 days old and some are 14 days in these...

agouti









black berks









black self









siamese? i dunno someone help me out please









silvery one, not too sure what color she`d be called either


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

OH MY GOODNESS THEY ARE JUST SO FREAKIN CUTE. 

i love that one berkie baby that is leaning up and forward. so adventurous! congrats to healthy babies!

click!:


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## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

thanks!!!
yeah i`m not looking forward to parting with them, i think i`ve already chosen out a couple i`m going to keep which are mostly the runts hah i love how tiny they are


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## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

this was taken just an hour ago, there was 4 babies all cramed into that bowl but i wasn`t quick enough, still super cute though


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## illmithra (Apr 15, 2008)

awww. they're so cute!


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## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

this is the first pic i managed to get of monty with her babies, she`s basically looking after all 20 of them now since nesta has shown little to no interest and only occasionally cleans them then runs off, but once monty gets tired she dumps them all in nesta`s house so i guess they`re both helping each other


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## Buggzter (Feb 13, 2008)

Poor Monty! She looks so tired... But, even one momma can take care of 20, tho she'd need TONS of extra good foods and gallons/liters of water for production of all that milk! Poor girl. But Nesta is likely helping out at night more than you think... And if not, it's only another couple weeks and after that a nice period of recovery and rest for them both! Just give them tons of good food and love - they'll be fine.


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## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

oh she gets plenty of everything and i think both mommas have been a lot more content since they were put back together. monty`s out roaming just now getting to know my other girls better, in fact she`s leaping around like crazy haha seems so happy to be getting some well earned playtime 

*edit* i forgot to mention the bubs aren`t feeding off monty as much anyway, they seem to love munching down on the 'big ratty' foods, they have got so much more lively and independant since i moved them into the jenny cage


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## Buggzter (Feb 13, 2008)

yay!  My rescue pack is all eating big food and only snacking off Momma a couple times per day. THey LOVE the high-protein foods I'm trying to give to Momma! It's just so much fund with the eeppers...


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## illmithra (Apr 15, 2008)

aww, she really does look worn out. lol. poor girl.


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## VioletRooster (Apr 11, 2008)

aw i love that last picture! what a good momma!


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## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

she really is so good with them 
i`m just quite worried atm since another one of the siamese runts is looking very weak and feels cold to touch, i seen her lying just outside the nest, i`ve put her in with the others for now but is there anything else i can do??


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## Buggzter (Feb 13, 2008)

How is everything going, especially with that runt? Sometimes, the momma just puts them off because there is something wrong with them and they won't survive no matter what she does - tho sometimes it's not on purpose. YOu did all you could, I think - maybe rubbing gently and letting your warm breath on them would help, but I don't really know. Let us know what's happening!


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## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

unfortunately just hours after i posted that the runt passed on 
the rest of the bubs are doing great though even the other runt that was left! i`m watching them just now as the play fight and tumble in a ball down the ramp and also annoy the life out of nesta by using her tail as a swing haha it`s been great watching them the past few days, last night one little one hid inside a bowl and when the other went to get food she jumped out and scared the living daylights out of him hahah it`s hard to believe how big they`ve got already, i`ll try to get some updated pics but they`re just so dam fast!

i`m just glad all the rest seem to be happy and healthy, i`ve decided on a couple i`m going to keep but rehoming is going to be hard, especially when i look and see those huuuuuuge dumbo ears, my heart melts lol


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## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

i managed ot get some pics of the lazy bums in their nest (during their 5 mins sleep for the day lol) they`re practically all the same but with different ratty poses so i couldn`t choose a fav.....









seems like everyone loves the camera haha









bit calmer now









i just loved the little poser at the front there, she`s such a cutie!









the siamese runt is in the background of this one, i have 3 siamese left now and they`re all looking really healthy


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## illmithra (Apr 15, 2008)

aww they're so inquisitive and cute! 

i love the siamese, i've always wanted one.


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## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

yeah i`ve totally fallen head over heals for them, they do the cutest things EVER!!!
i`m keeping that little siamese runt, i`ve already named her custard


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## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

the first 2 of my boys are going to a new home today, i`ll be so sad to see them go. i know they`re goign to a good home though, the woman is buying them as a surprise birthday gift for her 13 year old who was devastated by the loss of her 4 year old rat so i`m sure it`ll be a lovely surprise for her and the little girl makes all her own cage accessories etc so i`m sure they`ll be very well looked after and loved


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## Buggzter (Feb 13, 2008)

YAY!!! for good homes, tho BOOO!!!! for ratties leaving...  well, kinda... Too many babies can be annoying... :wink: 

How is everyone else doing? Good luck with them, Melon!


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## melon (Mar 27, 2008)

all the other babies are good, they seem to have grown super fast as now when i look at them they look huge to me lol although the runt is still kinda small but eating well and climbing around attention seeking like crazy hah


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