Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So Friday afternoon my rat gave birth to 13 huge and healthy babies. It was a relief because she is older (maybe 8-10 months) and this was her only litter she will ever have. I wasn't expecting so many huge babies because she never got very big. I guess looks can be deceiving. She had them cleaned and fed before I got home from work, and seems to be a good momma. I want to thank everyone for the adviced they have given, but now I have a few more questions.

She seems to move them alot. Maybe a couple of times a day. Is this normal or is she stressed out about something?

Also, I have heard if they are going to eat the babies they usually do it right after birth. How old do the babies need to be before it's not really a concern anymore? These babies are three days old now and a growing so quickly!

Thanks!
Anna

congratulations! I would say if she has made it 3 days without eating the babies you are getting past the dangerous time period. As far as her moving them a lot... are you checking on her often? Is she in a high traffic area? Try to keep her in a quiet place and only check on her about once a day, she could be a little stressed.
Good luck!
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1.3 Ball Pythons
1.0 Brooksi
0.1 Goini
0.1 Goini x Brooksi
1.1 Blairs Grey Banded
1.1 California Kings
1.0 Normal Corn
1.0 Pastel Motley Corn
0.1 Okeetee Corn
0.1 Emory Rat x Corn

I agree, if she is moving her babies alot then she isn't feeling very secure. I would put in a large box (if you don't have one in there already) to use as a nesting den and let her move her babies in there herself. Since she seems quite nervous, I would not try to look in on her or the babies for a couple days to a week, till she spends a few days without moving her babies about.

If you are checking often to make sure she isn't eating her babies, don't. You can just stand in the room near her home and listen for the squeeking of her babies feeding (should be hearing that within a few minutes of listening, at least every time I go into the room where my rat and babies are, I can hear them). This would be a good indication she hasn't eaten them all.

I would also recommend not cleaning up her cage for a week or two, maybe doing a bit of spot cleaning. If you must clean (it really is starting to smell noticeable) keep some of the old bedding around the babies to put back into her cage after cleaning. Or, just clean around her nest.

I moved her out of the kids room into my bathroom because it gets the least traffic, but we are still in there a couple of times a day. I thought since we weren't in the cage touching the babies and she's used to a lot of noise in the kids room it wouldn't bother her so much. I moved her into a smaller more private cage and while my larger cage has hides and toys I didn't think about giving her any. She has a couple of strips of an old shirt she keeps making a nest out of but a box is a wonderful idea! I can't believe I didn't think of it. I almost bought her a den the other day too.

When can we hold the babies without causing any problems? My kids are going crazy. "Mom, when can we hold the new rats?"..."Can we name one Asteroid?"..."Are they girls or boys?"...etc. How long until they open their eyes? I was thinking a week or two?

Anna

>>When can we hold the babies without causing any problems? My kids are going crazy. "Mom, when can we hold the new rats?"..."Can we name one Asteroid?"..."Are they girls or boys?"...etc. How long until they open their eyes? I was thinking a week or two?

I would go by the mom for the first two weeks. Some of mine put newborns in my hand and some bite me and escort me out. I would think that by 2 wks when they are crawling around and eyes open you can easily play with them....they are cute as bug's ears by then too. If you want you can sneak them out to handle but I personally wouldn't stress her more right now. Usually if I see a pup I know will be a pet or breeder I start handling it every day even if I have to push mom back to get it. Pretty soon the pups will meet you at the door.
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Sonya

probably the best way to handle the babies, is to take the mother out of the cage, and have somebody occupy her in another room. Then the babies can be handled gently, for a minute or two than put them back into the nest. Try not to disrupt the nest too much. After a few minutes total, bring the mother back into the cage with her babies. Maybe do this once a day, depending on how the mother reacts. If she starts moving the babies around again, then stop holding the babies completely for awhile.

Though I just had my first litter of rat babies recently myself, I have been spending very little time holding the babies, maybe a minute each day for the last two or three days. I also waited about a week before handling them at all, just to be on the safe side.

Actually, once I took your advice and gave her a nice big hide box she quit moving the babies. I couldn't stand it anymore last night and finally held a couple of the babies. It seemed like the best idea to remove the mom so I had my BF play with her for a while and I checked out the babies. I didn't realize you could already start to tell what their pattern would be. I have three that are going to be all light colored and three with hoods. The rest are all dark. I was trying to see if I could tell boys from girls but of the three I picked up I really couldn't see too much difference. Anyway, I filled mom's food dish while she was out so when we put her back she spent a minute checking on the babies and then she was busy with eating.

Thanks for all your help!
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Anna

The Zoo
Corns
1.0 Snow - Cornelius
1.1 Ghost(pastel) - Eek & Boo
0.1 Amel - Scarlet
0.1 Hypo - Nikko
0.1 Anery - Missy
0.1 Hypo Motley - Cordelia aka Cordy
Boas
0.1 Columbian (BCC) - Bella
Lizards
0.0.1 Leopard Gecko - Leo
Rats
0.1 Dumbo Agouti - Moon
1.0 Standard Black - Pluto
Cats
1.1 Siamese - Blue & Fiona
0.1 Gray DMS - Druscilla aka Dru
Horses
1.0 Thourghbred (Hunter/Jumper) - Morgan's Majesty aka Cody

You can tell the sex of the babies by the distance between the orfices. The baby females start to show nipples very early as well.

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Wade's Weptiles & Wodents