Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Quick question...(ok maybe not)

I have 6 rat pups still in with their mom at 20 days old today (Monday). Moms (2) are due to give birth either Thursday or Friday I believe. Three of the pups are due to be raised to do another breeding set, the other three are snake food, but they need to put on a little more size. (funny thing here, actually all 6 were supposed to be snake food, but I made the mistake of letting my sucker of a husband babysit while I cleaned the cage and three of them got named :-S )

Anyways. I wondered if I could take out the then 23-24 day old pups and wean then at the 3-1/2 week mark instead of the four to make room for the 20 babies that are due at that time. Sad to say, I don't care what happenes to the mentality of the three that I'm using for snake food (cold heartless b***h that I am ), BUT I've grown fond of the other three that we're going to continue to raise. Ok I admit it, I've been holding them and playing with them every day since they've been named, figured since I couldn't kill em, I may as well make pets outta em. I know they are already eating solid food, and nursing less and less every day, but what I don't know is if taking them that soon is going to mess up their 1) growth or 2)personalities.

Needless to say, I AM NOT letting my husband babysit again.

Thanks for all the advice in advance.
-----
Chantel a.k.a. sillygirl
"I came, I saw, I adopted"

2.3.0 green anoles (Stumpy (M)), and the rest remain nameless.
2.2.0 green tree frogs (Romeo & Juliet, Bonnie & Clyde)
0.0.3 D. tinctorius (Cobalt froglets)
0.1 Anerythristic 'B' (Charcoal)corn snake (Popcorn)
0.1 Snow Corn (KandyKorn)
0.2 Amel Corns (KornSilk & KornMuffin)
0.0.1 Normal Corn (PepperKorn)
1.0 Creamsicle Corn (Kream)
0.0.1 Giant African Millipede
2.4 Domestic house cats (Bad Boy (m), Bart(m),Sasha(F),Little Bit(F),Spirit(F)
1.0 Rottweiler (Jake)
1.2 Rats (new additions with no names yet)
1.4 Mice (My step-daughter seems to think they are pets)
1.0 Husband (David, who loves all my critters too)

By 3 1/2 weeks they should be eating solid food. I would make sure they are eating solid food then you can separate them from the mother. There is nothing wrong with leaving them in with the mothers even if they have a new brood. The mothers will most likely stop nursing the older pups on their own, concentrating instead on the new babies.

Its more of a concern of space then competition in wanting to move the 6 older pups out when the new litters arrive. They are in a larger cage then before but it's still a little cramped when you look at 3 adults, 6 weanlings and 20 newborns. I know the little male is more then happy enough to stay outside the cage with us, he's grown so fond of being with us he comes and begs to be let out anytime we walk by the cage and then proceeds to lick our faces and neck and curl up in our collar and crash while making little grinding noises. Then stays with us for up to 6 hours at a time without one complaint. I know I'm a sucker.
Who ever thought I'd get attached to snake food.
-----
Chantel a.k.a. sillygirl
"I came, I saw, I adopted"

2.3.0 green anoles (Stumpy (M)), and the rest remain nameless.
2.2.0 green tree frogs (Romeo & Juliet, Bonnie & Clyde)
0.0.3 D. tinctorius (Cobalt froglets)
0.1 Anerythristic 'B' (Charcoal)corn snake (Popcorn)
0.1 Snow Corn (KandyKorn)
0.2 Amel Corns (KornSilk & KornMuffin)
0.0.1 Normal Corn (PepperKorn)
1.0 Creamsicle Corn (Kream)
0.0.1 Giant African Millipede
2.4 Domestic house cats (Bad Boy (m), Bart(m),Sasha(F),Little Bit(F),Spirit(F)
1.0 Rottweiler (Jake)
1.2 Rats (new additions with no names yet)
1.4 Mice (My step-daughter seems to think they are pets)
1.0 Husband (David, who loves all my critters too)

I have moved out weanlings at 3 1/2 weeks without any ill effect. I had the same problem 1 mom is out of sync with the other 2 and as a result I have 3 week old pups when I have 2 litters due. I haven't had any problems this way.
-----
0.2 Normal Adult ball pythons
0.2 Normal Adult ball pythons (on breeding loan)
0.1 Sub-adult
1.0 Normal ball python
1.1 Bell Line Pastel Ball pythons
1.0 Adult Het Albino Ball Python
1.0 Het Pied Ball Python
1.0 Het Carmel Ball Python
1.0 66% Het pied Ball python
0.2 50% Het albino Ball Pythons

Interested in a breeding loan? Email me....

>>Anyways. I wondered if I could take out the then 23-24 day old pups and wean then at the 3-1/2 week mark instead of the four to make room for the 20 babies that are due at that time.

If you are raising them for breeders I would be tempted to leave them in with moms just for the parenting experience. I doubt it will hurt to wean them then. I always go by the water consumption to know if babies are weaned. When the bottle is suddenly dropping a ton I know all the babies are drinking too.
-----
Sonya

Failure is not an option. It comes bundled with the software.