# My rat had babies i need to ask a few ?'s......



## JoshDeMott2010 (Aug 25, 2007)

I do kno how to feed her. Should i pull bloody paper towels out of nest. What steps to clean her. she is very nippy and drew blood 1day before giving birth. How do i handle babies without stressing the mom out? 
And how do i clean the bloody nesting stuff out of nest without getting bit or ruining there bed. If the blood wont hurt let me kno. all babies lived and i think there is over 13. Plz give me tips and answer some of those ?'s thanks guys-Josh


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## Matt (Jun 14, 2007)

Just leave a bowl of food in the normal spot of the cage...She will get up evey now and then.

Just change the litter in a few days they usually mix it up a little when rebuilding the nest so its ok.

We usually dont hold the babies for a while. Also, if we touch one, we usually touch all of them so that they all smell the same.
(Because a Breeding pair we used to have.)

If you mess up the nest, she will just rebuild it. so it doesnt matter. just dont make her work to much tonight.

Blood wont hurt for now, Just change it in a few days.

Hope this Helps.

Also, I know all this because I deal with it all the time.


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

Well Im happy that all the babies came out fine. I never had to deal with babies, but Im sure someone with experiance with this will help ya all they can. 

The only thing I can suggest is getting your rats fixed...

Good Luck and I hope all works out.


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## Kimmiekins (Apr 14, 2007)

Matt - Rats do NOT eat or abandon babies who smell like humans. Some rodents do (hamsters and the like), rats do not. It is fine to handle baby rats right after birth (some OR all) and in fact, the more you handle them, the more social they will be.

I respect that you have a family "business", but that is false information, even if your family has been raising feeders for years.

way2kewl4u_92 - I must've missed that you had a pregnant rat, I thought there was discussion of breeding, but you did breed then? Anyway:

(I couldn't tell if you meant you DID know about food or didn't, so I'll say this anyway) Feed mama extra protein in addition to her normal food. Give her things like egg (scrambled is what we usually do), chicken, beans (I've found lots of moms like chickpeas!), soy milk... Things that will help her milk supply and keep her energy up.

She will be happy to have short times away from the babies. You can tempt her out with some food and put her in your "playground" or wherever she runs usually. While she's doing that, you can check the babies, clean the cage, etc. Check for milk bands on the babies to insure they're getting enough milk. don't leave them alone for too long for the first few weeks, as the babies feed often (about 18 hours or so a day).

With a larger litter, she may separate them into groups for feedings. Don't be alarmed if she does.

It's a up to you id you want to change the bloody litter. I suppose there isn't much harm in keeping it for now, though I wouldn't keep it too long. If it's particularly messy, there's no harm in changing the entire bedding, or removing the worst pieces and supplying more.


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## Matt (Jun 14, 2007)

Whatever, Everytime we touch a baby rat we usually just place our hand over all of them because our first breeders ate the babie after we held just one. But they didnt do it as they got older.


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## Kimmiekins (Apr 14, 2007)

Well, that's extremely unusual then. They may have been very stressed or something.

I can find many sources backing up that rats can and SHOULD be handled from day one, if you'd like.


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## Matt (Jun 14, 2007)

I dont really give a Care. All I know is that Were the ones breeding them and The way we do it all the rats turn out fine. We only have 3 Femles that DONT like to be touched and everyone else are social. and they werent held from day one.

Sorry for trying to give the guy(or girl) some information on somehting that he has never done before. I was just trying to help out.

I will just leave the Breeding info to you then.


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## Kimmiekins (Apr 14, 2007)

Whoa, whoa. Relax, there's no reason to get in a huff. If I said something harshly, I certainly didn't mean to. I just wanted to say, that generally, handling the babies is pretty important, and that scent on babies with rats isn't like some other rodents.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Matt said:


> I dont really give a Care. All I know is that Were the ones breeding them and The way we do it all the rats turn out fine. We only have 3 Femles that DONT like to be touched and everyone else are social. and they werent held from day one.


I handled my Bronlings a few hours after birth and every day afterwards. Regular breeders handle them every day almost from birth. The babies are considered hand-raised then, and I have never seen a baby that is hand-raised not like to be touched. Unless there's an actual mental/neurological issue involved.



Matt said:


> I will just leave the Breeding info to you then.


OK.


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## Matt (Jun 14, 2007)

Kimmiekins said:


> I just wanted to say, that generally, handling the babies is pretty important, and that scent on babies with rats isn't like some other rodents.


It is important and we handle ours about 3 to 4 days after birth.
The only reason I say touch one touch all is that we had that one female who we had problems with and some rodents WILL eat the babies if they smell wrong.

I know a few people who have hand raised ratties who dont like being messed with.


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## twilight (Apr 20, 2007)

Good information has been givin, opinions have been stated. Lets leave it at that, no need to go on. =]

I would like to repeat an important question though; Was this a planned litter?


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## mopydream44 (Jun 10, 2007)

I believe he mentioned in another post it was an accident due to cage cleaning but i'm tired and I could be wrong


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

The poster had mentioned in a past post that it was an oops litter.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

JennieLove said:


> The poster had mentioned in a past post that it was an oops litter.


Yeah one of those where she let the girl play with the boys one of 3 times. 
Hopefully this "playtime" doesn't happen again.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Here is a thread of my own oops litter saga...its a long read as I was updating and taking pics every day so you can also read the development. Lots of great advice in it.  I use it as a teaching/reference tool.

http://www.goosemoose.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,118/forum,rat/topic,4010369.0


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## mopydream44 (Jun 10, 2007)

Hello way2kewl I was pretty tired when I responded last night, so I wasn't much help but now i'm awake! 

when my Penny was pregnant with her oops litter she became less nippy and more "going for the kill!" lol She was just being a good mom, and now she's back to her sweet self. 

about the paper towels. I think you'll find that they will begin to smell, and it's best to get the worst bits out. I had a rat safe room with places to explore (boxes, bins, things she could hide under) and I let her out for a bit. She was so happy to get a break that she wasn't too concerned about what I was doing. This is when I held the kittens and such. Distraction is the key


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## JoshDeMott2010 (Aug 25, 2007)

yea its an oops litter... I'm a man also ppl thanks tho : ) funny... It was pretty successful so far on my rat belle's litter and her part as a mom. What foods that i can find at grocery stores will help keep her lactating healthy and still keep her to get healthy and muscley again? : ) thanks! 


About neutering them... I wont do it... i feel it changes a pets personality and as long as i can keep them situated in gender selected cages ill be alright. 

Anyone interested on where babies are going so far. ALL AS PETS~~~

My sister is gonna take 2 on the condition she gets a nice cage and toys and makes sure they are fed and played with enough. 

My bro wants a single male rat to play with as his pet. ( He had some good memories with his last rat 2 years ago... so i'm gonna let him take care of one of the boys. ) I am making another cage at least 2ft-width and 3ft. -tall like my males cage. Then i shouldn't have anymore oops! litters. 

If you'll allow me to go off of subject for a sec... if you know any cool way to teach agility/training to better the rats and to help me stimulate all of my rats brains as i raise them to be excellent pets. If you have any ideas please let me know. i have seen a few ideas/examples i plan to fulfill in the future. also i'm on a budget and wont be able to travel more than 30miles in distance until march. Thanks everyone -Josh


*[edited a little by mod (DonnaK) for excessive abbreviations and ease of reading. 1G of the forum rules - http://www.ratforum.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=3348.html.]*


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

lilspaz68 said:


> JennieLove said:
> 
> 
> > The poster had mentioned in a past post that it was an oops litter.
> ...


Ok if this is true that you let your male and female rats "play" together, I donâ€™t think you quite understand the seriousness of the situation. Coming from someone who wants to learn, and later on breed rats, this doesnâ€™t look good on your part. 

I think that if ANYONE is going to have rats: stick with one gender, get them fixed or keep them away from each other! You let breeding happen when you let them play together and that is irresponsible.


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## mopydream44 (Jun 10, 2007)

you want to make sure she is getting plenty of protein and more fat than usual. You can feed her hard boiled eggs, plain yogurt, baby food and soy milk are some options. I make a rat soup that is tasty, and will supply some needed fat for rattie and her litter. 

~dash of peanut butter
~dash of honey
~mashed fresh banana
~soy milk

I make it as runny as soup. Peanut butter can be a choking hazard unless it is cut with a liquid.


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## JoshDeMott2010 (Aug 25, 2007)

JennieLove said:


> lilspaz68 said:
> 
> 
> > JennieLove said:
> ...



Yea about that. she was pregnant before i even wanted to think about breeding. My rats r part of my family. Belle Got Pregnant with eddie the day i bought them and got there cage together. I also dont think u understand that i do have room for more rats. I know alot of ppl that would takee very goodcare of a rat as there pet. And i put all this information together and thought maybe there is more to juss owning a rat as pet. Ex. breeding and shows so im looking into it. I kno i may look like an irresponsible idiot on the forums but when all this is said and done u will understand but that wont be for a long time 5years min. 
I have enough cages to keep my rats in gender groups so oops should become a used word in my rats room.






MopyDream44 said:


> you want to make sure she is getting plenty of protein and more fat than usual. You can feed her hard boiled eggs, plain yogurt, baby food and soy milk are some options. I make a rat soup that is tasty, and will supply some needed fat for rattie and her litter.
> 
> ~dash of peanut butter
> ~dash of honey
> ...


Thanks i have been feeding her a dry food mixture that i threw together its kind of like the food mixes rat breeders make for there rats. I also feed her a hard boiled egg every morning and scrambled eggs every now qand then.. Some wet kitty kibble seemed to satisfy her pretty well for supper every couple nights. Thanks for the info. and concerns -Josh


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## rattikins (Jun 12, 2007)

I have to admit that I'm NOT surprised that the OP had a OOPS litter :?


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## JoshDeMott2010 (Aug 25, 2007)

okay?


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