# Bailey just gave birth



## Rat_Fink (Apr 2, 2007)

To 12 pinklets. None dead, everything looks fine as of yet. They all have milk in their bellies.

A few concerns though. I put toilet paper in there and now it's stuck to five of the babies, I can't get it off without them squeeing so what should I do? just let it naturally come off?

Also. Bailey seems REALLY hyper, even before I got up to look at the cage. She's jumping around the cage even stepping on her babies. She'll just run across them and i'll hear this loud squeaking noise. Should I be concerned? 

She also trys to make a "bed" but she goes under the covers and just flings her babies everywhere lol but doesn't seem to care, so I have to go collect them and put them back and then she does it again.


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## Wench (Apr 5, 2007)

It sounds like your ratty is a little overexcited about having given birth, and maybe a little bit confused. If they have milk bands, it should be fine, nursing means she understands that they are her kittens. 

The toilet paper won't cause them any harm unless it's scented or contains extra oils, just leave it as long as nothing is tangled around necks or extremities. 

If she is bounding around a lot and running over them you can take her out for some exercise with you, just don't take her away from them for too long. 

Just a few questions: 

Is this her first litter?
Do you have homes lined up for your kittens?
Was it a planned pregnancy?
How old is she?

As for tossing her babies around, a lot of mommies will be nervous, and they'll drag their babies from one end of the nest to the other, trying to find somewhere safe to keep them. Make sure she is in a single level enclosure kept away from other ratties.


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## Rat_Fink (Apr 2, 2007)

Yes this is her first litter
Not as of yet
Nope
3-4 months old

She's a weirdo, as soon as I stick my hand in start cleaning and fixing the nest she calms down. I've rearranged the one leveled cage so that she doesn't step on them as much and it's a little easier for her to nurse them.

I've also giving her a second helping of food and gave her some egg which she liked.

I'm hoping she'll go to bed soon.


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## Rat_Fink (Apr 2, 2007)

Oh and also, her nipples are really red and bleeding. I gather this is normal? or should I be worried?

**update
She just flung them around again lol, i'm just worried about it because when I touch them to put them back they seem really cold.


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## Wench (Apr 5, 2007)

Okay, I'll save the reprimands that you're probably already expecting for last.

I have never heard of rats having red or bleeding nipples after birth, but I'm new to rats myself, so I won't tell you whether it is normal or abnormal.

Try the Rats Rule forum at http://www.goosemoose.com - they have a very active board and someone who has been through many pregnancies will probably be able to give you accurate advice very quickly. 

As for the reprimand, how did she end up pregnant? Have you been keeping unaltered bucks and does together or is she a petstore pregnancy? Do you know of rescues in your area willing to take them off your hands? Do you have enough cages and food to take care of them when they get older if you cannot find a rescue or foster homes for them?

Do you have a vet you can see if anything goes wrong? Where is the nest located? It should be in a warm, quiet area of the house out of direct light.


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## Rat_Fink (Apr 2, 2007)

She's a petstore rat, and no I do not have bucks. I was told the male rats and females were kept seperatly, obviously not.

I haven't found any rescues yet, I don't even know where to start.

I have two medium multi level cages that i'll be able to house them in for a while, but not forever.

I do have a vet if anything goes wrong, about half an hour away in a car.

They are fine now, they're all together in their nest and they are warm - and Bailey just nursed them again. The cage is on a shelf, away from direct light and in a quiet area.


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## 2manyrats (Apr 10, 2007)

The doe that gave birth to my girls had some similar issues. She was "hyper" - a.k.a. uninterested in nursing. Her 17 babies were always cold, and never had huge milk bellies. She was given fleece for her nest, which helped a lot. I think a heating pad for reptiles was put under her nest. She also never separated them into two piles, like the other does I've seen with huge litters. At least with 12 she's got the same number of nipples as babies!

Because she was so hyper, and would jump up from nursing after a few minutes, her nipples also bled sometimes. The babies would hang on as she ran around, and no doubt hungry little teeth were causing the punctures. I think my friend put vitamin E in soybean oil on her nipples, but I'm not recommending that because my friend didn't check to see if that would harm the babies.

Also, the toilet paper will come off by itself. I've seen a couple people make the mistake of giving tissues or paper towels and they *always* get stuck. 

The suggestion to go to Goosemoose is a good one - there are a lot of experienced people there. However, make sure you highlight that it was an accidental pregnancy due to the petstore's negligence, or you will get lots of irate flames.


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## reachthestars (Feb 27, 2007)

I would be cautious about putting a heating pad under the babies - if they get too warm they can't move away. i second what 2manyrats said about the bleeding nipples, most likely it's because she moves away while the babies are still trying to nurse. You seem to be doing a good job keeping her as quiet as possible, now it's just up to her to mellow out. 

As a nursing mom she'll need extra protein. Things like scrambled eggs can help with that.

Also, does she have a cagemate? If not you might want to concider keeping on of her girls, as rats do best in pairs (or more )


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## Rat_Fink (Apr 2, 2007)

Yes that's probably why her nipples are bleeding. She'll be nursing and i'll go into the bedroom and she'll automatically run up to the cage so I can play with her and take her out, all the while her babies are still hanging on dropping off here and there.

I bought some more fabric and covered the whole cage in it, which should prevent heat being drawn out by the plastic bottom (it's a one level wire cage.) Which seems to have solved the problem because they are very warm.

Their bellies are always filled with milk and she seems to be nursing them quite often.

She is also getting proper food, I have her on high quality dog food, which i've mixed with flax cereal and dried brown pasta and other stuff. I also give her a bit of chicken every so often or some walnuts/almonds. She's nibbling on baked yam at the moment.

I would keep her other cage mate with her but it just doesn't work, they fight over eachother's food and I don't want to risk any fights, and she doesn't eat outside of her cage unless it's by her babies. I'll have to put them together when she isn't nursing anymore.

Anyhoo, that's about it. I've posted on some rescue sites, and a local petstore is allowing me to post stuff on their bulletin board. I'm going to include pictures of them too.


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

where are you located?


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## Rat_Fink (Apr 2, 2007)

Vancouver BC


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## 2manyrats (Apr 10, 2007)

reachthestars said:


> Also, does she have a cagemate? If not you might want to concider keeping on of her girls, as rats do best in pairs (or more )



I thought that it was best to separate pregnant females out from any cagemates, because nursing moms are so territorial and sometimes viscious?


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## reachthestars (Feb 27, 2007)

Yup, I ment for after the babies are weaned .


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

2manyrats said:


> reachthestars said:
> 
> 
> > Also, does she have a cagemate? If not you might want to concider keeping on of her girls, as rats do best in pairs (or more )
> ...


Sometimes(and personally I've found it to be most times) keeping a familiar female in with the nursing doe helps with the workload. The friend will babysit for a little bit while the mother goes off and has a break. Much like sisters.

Most breeders won't take the risk, but, it's just an idea.


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## reachthestars (Feb 27, 2007)

I personally know of two does kept like that. The one with the older litter killed to other female. Not worth the risk IMHO.


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

reachthestars said:


> I personally know of two does kept like that. The one with the older litter killed to other female. Not worth the risk IMHO.


I've seen that behavior when I studied wolves.

The 'alpha' female forbid any submissives to bear pups, and whenever they did she would either kill the mother and take the pup, or cast the mother from the pack and still take the pup.

I think it was leadership issues. -shrug-

And what I was saying was the female you leave in with her is *not* pregnant nor nursing a litter of her own.


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