# Gema's litter



## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Last night my Albino Dumbo Gema had 8 little babies, I've never had a litter of rattie babes before so I'm going in a little blind, Here are a few pictures, all of the babies eyes look black underneath their lids but I'm not sure if that means they won't be albino or not, I guess it will be a while before we will be able to tell if they are going to be dumbos or not also. Here are the pictures. Any info/advice is welcome


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## rattiesalem24 (Feb 21, 2010)

Aww, they are so cute! Do you know who/what the father looks like?


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

She was dumped with a Dumbo male that is a black hooded with the black trailing down his back and some on his belly. I'm assuming that he is the dad but since she was already pregnant I really have no clue.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

The babies all look fat and healthy! Looks like momma is doing a good job! And beautiful pics, I love their extremely full little bellies!! ;D


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

I'll try to get pictures for ya'll everyday when I check on them, I got a pretty bad bite from mom when I was checking on them earlier so I'm trying to give her some space she was really sweet until about a week ago lol so I'm sure its just her being hormonal and protective


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Yeah prob just hormones... try get her to come out of the cage then she should be okay. I always take mom out (even though my girls don't mind me touching them) and let them play with their old cage mates while I handle and check the babies.


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## Spoonrat (Sep 23, 2010)

Aww bless, they look like fat little sausages  Can't wait to see more photos as they grow!


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

I took her out yesterday to take those pictures and just let her chill in a smaller tank. I can't really give her company b/c she is still in quarantine from the others since I've only had her a little over 2 weeks. I guess now I'll be waiting until the babies are weaned to introduce her to the others


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Well, I'm not great at the sexing thing on such small babes but it looks as if its 6 girls and 2 boys which is great for me since the larger cage I have with small spacing will do good for all the females as soon as their weaned, if its only the 2 boys they will most likely end up in the 30g tank until they are big enough to go in with the boys. Here are some pictures from a few minutes ago.


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## Faye302 (Oct 1, 2010)

Oh my goodness! What cute little chunky-monkeys.  EEEEEEEE!


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Adorable, I see at least a few dumbos...

Is that orange baby that color in person?


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## SimplySomeone (Oct 29, 2010)

ema-leigh said:


> Is that orange baby that color in person?


I was wondering the same thing.


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

It does look a little lighter in person but not that orange. I'm pretty sure they are all dumbo though a few of their ears are already sticking out a bit and they are cute. When I went to look a few minutes ago one was trying to nurse on its litter mate's ear lol. They all seem fat and healthy though. She seems to be a good momma so far  She didn't try to bite me any today either


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Yeah looking at the pic, I see lots and lots of dumbos lol. Just keep an eye on that baby. Turning yellowish can indicate kidney problems (jaundice)... or he/she may just be a fawn or something? 

What color is mom?


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Mom is PEW or albino. I'm assuming the dumbo she was dumped with was the dad so he is a black hooded. When I take pictures of the babies later I'll get pictures of Mom and Dad also.


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

This is probably the last pictures for a while, Gema is not handling the stress of having me handle her babies very well esp when I handled her to get pictures of her today also, She attacked me and got me pretty good on my hand and also accidently got one of her babies. I put a little bit of flour on it to make the bleeding stop and she cleaned it up so I think it will be okay I'm just going to give her some space for a few days to get her to relax. If anyone else has any Ideas let me know she was really sweet up until about a week before having the babies so I'm hoping she will mellow out soon. Here are the pictures I took today.


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## Elizabethm (Sep 10, 2010)

wait so you bought the dad too along with the mom!!!!????. i must ask why you bought a male and a female at the same time

also i see lots of dumbo's. id love a dumbo but im at my limit with a surprise litter of 11. i used to have a double rex dumbo but my vet was beating around the bush on like 4 diagnosis before she finally died and charged me a massive vet bill. someday when i get a bigger set-up i will get a couple dumbos but not until that time


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

I didn't buy either of them, My friend owns our local pets store and they were dumped off their in a box a few weeks ago and she called me. I have the two of them(separated) and pair of standard females(one of which was given to me sick with an abscess) the other was purchased to be her cage mate, and 2 dumbo rex hairless boys that came from a rescue group. I have a large cage with small bar spacing that all the females will go into and a large ferret cage and a large guinea pig/rabbit cage so I'll have plenty of room for the 6 adults I have and the 8 babies if I decide to keep them all.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

They are cute, defiantly should be an all dumbo litter! Mom is defiantly just being hormonal, just give her a little extra space and be careful when handling her (red eyes = practically blind) It looks like all the babies have black eyes and will end up being black bubs.


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Thanks  I'm hoping for they stay that color although a few look pretty patchy


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Just though I would let everyone know that the babies are doing great, although they look more like little piglets that baby rats lol they are so chubby they look like sausages with legs. They appear to be all black but I won't know for sure for a few more days since a few do have a patchy look to them, they also look like their feet and tummies will be white so that would make them black Berkshires right? I was wrong when I sexed them, their are 6 boys and 2 girls. I will probably try to rehome some of the boys and probably try to keep atleast 4 all together.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Considering the size of mom and dad and the origins.. I'm surprised the babies look so fat and healthy right now. Then again, younger mothers handle litters better. In Australia a lot of people will intentionally use young mothers for the healthiest bubs.. interesting huh! 

Yeah white bellies would indicate berks.. but you won't know for sure til they grow into their markings... I've had babies with big white bellies grow up to be irishes (medium white patch on chest)


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

I think its the food I feed, I started giving them my dogs puppy chow after I read the stats on the more popular lab blocks. They get as much as they want on the dry food plus various fruits and vegetables and they get a mix of dried fruit and nuts as a snack in the evenings. All of my rats are really healthy looking even though 3 out of my 6 were in pretty bad health when I got them including the mom who also gets boiled egg/chicken everyday now also  



Mazuri..
Crude Protein not less than 23%
Crude Fat not less than 6.5%
Crude fiber not more than 4.0%
Ash Not more than 8%

7001 Teklad 4% Mouse/Rat Diet
Crude Protein	25.2%
Fat (ether extract)	4.4%
Crude Fiber	3.3%
Energy Density	3.0 kcal/g
Calories from Protein	34%
Calories from Fat	13%
Calories from Carbohydrate	53%

Diamond large breed puppy chow
Crude Protein 27.0% Minimum
Crude Fat 15.0% Minimum
Crude Fiber 3.0% Maximum
Moisture 10.0% Maximum
Calcium 1.2% Minimum
Phosphorus 1.2% Maximum
Phosphorus 1.0% Minimum
Zinc 150 mg/kg Minimum
Selenium 0.4 mg/kg Minimum
Vitamin E 150 IU/kg Minimum
L-Carnitine * 30 mg/kg Minimum
Omega-6 Fatty Acids 2.2% Minimum
Omega-3 Fatty Acids 0.3% Minimum
DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid) * 0.05% Minimum

Ingredients 
Lamb, lamb meal, egg product, cracked pearled barley, millet, ground rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potato protein, oatmeal, potatoes, tomato pomace, flaxseed, natural flavor, ocean fish meal, salmon oil (source of DHA), potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-Carnitine, dried fermentation products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

The protien levels are pretty high in all of those foods, which can be quite hard on their organs if fed long term. An adult rat needs just 8-10% protien per day.


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## Bacca (Sep 12, 2010)

ahhh. hope everything goes well,


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Well crap I was just looking for something more in line with the recommended foods, I'll look into something with less today when I go to town. Thanks Ema-leigh


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Well just an update, all the babies are very fat and healthy little roly polies. I was going to take pictures today when I cleaned up the cage but I ended up bandaging my wound instead. She got a hold of my pinky and bit all the way to the bone. It hurts like ****  . I ended up switching them to the big cage today and moved my other two females to a smaller cage so that when she is on one of the lower to levels I can check in on her babies more easily. Hopefully I'll get some pictures tomorrow. The babies are all silky and black with white bellies and white tips on their tails. I'm pretty sure I'll be keeping 3 or 4 of them, most likely 2 girls and 1 or two boys just depends.


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

All of the babies








Girlies with a an example of how their bellies look..








Boys








Little boy that Gema accidentally bit, the puncture wound on bottom is almost completely healed with the scab just barely hanging on. The top looks bad but the scab is really dry and thick and looking like its healing great.


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Please excuse my dirty nails, today is cage cleaning day


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

The babies look great, blacks are one of my fave colors. I love how dark and shiny their coats can be  The little boys head is looking okay, they heal so fast. I did have a mom accidentally grab a baby and injure her, the scar was visible whilst she was still young but after about week 5/6 you couldn't see a thing and shes doing great right now.

If only I lived closer to you


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## wagz77 (Feb 27, 2010)

They look cute. 
Wish i could take one or two off your hands. :/ ..
or three..
or four.


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## SiNi5T3R (Nov 5, 2010)

wow all black. thats cool! they are super cute. sad to see the giant scab on the other babys head.


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

They are all soo cute, I know for sure I'm going to keep both of the girls and maybe even 2 of the boys but maybe only one since I think I'm going to try to get an agouti dumbo boy....Just depends how many homes I find. Going to start posting ads for adoption in when their eyes start opening


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

*OMG Cuteness overload!!!!!*

These were all taken on day 16 























































They are doing great and starting to eat on their own now. I've been mixing them up a mash with baby cereal and giving them sunflower kernals and they love it  Sweet, cute little babies.


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## catsandscales (Oct 21, 2010)

They look great! =D I love how they all match. XD


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## blenderpie (Sep 10, 2009)

They're so adorable! I've always wanted a black rat. I don't know where you live, but I'm hoping it's not close to me or I might be tempted.


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

I'm in southwest Louisiana and they are all adorable with their cute white feet and bellies. I'm pretty sure I'm keeping 4 and my little brother is going to take 2 so that only leaves 2 boys for me to rehome and I'm going to keep them together.


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## blenderpie (Sep 10, 2009)

woo! What a relief, I'm in Pennsylvania. I'm sure you won't have much trouble rehoming such beautiful healthy little babies! Well done. 

Ps. You should tell their new home about this forum so we have a chance to see them all grow up.


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

My little cousin has a soft spot for one of the boys, I think I may see if she wants the other two boys, if not like I said I may keep them all  I'm hoping after the beginning of the year I'll be able to get a critter nation. I have a 3 story ferret cage and a large rabbit cage that my boys are currently using and a large 3 story cage for the females with smaller spacing. If I keep all the boys minus the ones my brother wants I'll have 8 males and 5 females. which isn't too bad esp since I have such a soft spot for the sweeties


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## TamSmith (Mar 1, 2010)

I don't think I've ever seen more beautiful black rats! It's killing me that you are so far from me. I've fallen in love


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Thanks  I'm soo attached they are so cute and chubby now, they look like little bear cubs lol


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

4 weeks is when you are supposed to separate the boys right? My boys have all been super agressive towards each other for the last few days(actually attaching and biting each other) They have also already had their testicles drop. I was getting worried so I pulled them out yesterday. They were born Oct 31st.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

No! 5 weeks in the dot is the time to seperate. Any earlier an you can jeopardize healthy develepment


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

I doubt your boys are being aggressive.. are they drawing blood? Babies tend to be super playful around this age. 

Yeah what Kiko said... separate at 5 weeks on the dot, their testicles drop around 3 weeks but they don't have the hormones and testosterone that adults males do yet. I find that the females carrying on nursing beyond the five week mark if they can but the boys must be removed to prevent possible pregnancy. They can go in with other adult males for additional socialization.


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

K thanks ladies I'll let them stay with there mom for another week. They are all doing better now. I think my boys where just establishing a pecking order and they are doing better now. They also LOVE their new wheel  I've been letting the boys have playtime with my other males but they pick them up and carry them around and the babies don't like that lol.


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## NickelNicole (Dec 3, 2010)

Your babies are so cute and lovely looking  Congratz!


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## Alethea (Jul 14, 2010)

Simply adorable little babies <3


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