# Rat in labor- 16 babies so far!!!



## FinneganandRemy (Sep 25, 2017)

One of the 8 females I rescued recently ended up being VERY pregnant. I didn’t notice till I got them home and I called the previous owner and all she said was “we let them have supervised playtime with our males sometime, so I guess it is possible she’s pregnant but not likely” 0.0 I was shocked at the ignorance. I’ve had pregnant foster moms before so I knew how to take care of her. She started showing signs of labor this morning so I left her be and tonight I found her in labor so I stayed somewhat close to make sure everything went smoothly. I gave her a few pieces of chicken and some yogurt to give her some energy back since she seemed to be taking a break and I could quickly get a headcount while she was off the pile. I counted AT LEAST 16!! Can she even handle this many? I don’t even know if she’s done.


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## FinneganandRemy (Sep 25, 2017)

The official count is 15 not 16. I hope this poor girl can handle this many babies


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## Steffy (Oct 6, 2017)

Oh wow, that's amazing! I've read that rat mothers may split up the litter if they have more than 12 babies, as they only(!) have 12 teatsso wouldn't be able to feed them all at the same time. They would then go back and forth between the two nests to look after all babies.
I hope she'll be able to cope, too!


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## Phoene (Dec 21, 2017)

Keep us updated as to how they are all doing!


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## FinneganandRemy (Sep 25, 2017)

Moms taking care of them and everyone has milk babies. I put the babies who had significantly smaller milk bands on the top of the pile. These babies are SO tiny but I guess it’s because of the size of the litter. One of the babies is so tiny she looks like a newborn mouse! On the plus side, I can keep a couple babies and I have a few friends and relatives who have rats that are willing to take some in 6 weeks. Is anyone near upstate ny by any chance?


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## Blur Of Fuzz (Jan 31, 2018)

Congrats on such a successful litter! If I had seen this post sooner, I would have volunteered to adopt some babies. Hope you've found them all successful homes!


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