Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i had a two adult females together and found one dead this morning im assuming the other killed it or it died and the other started to eat the other but the part that was missing was by her mouth and face i dont know but ive had strange things going on lately. a few weeks ago had a mom rat stop feeding her babies after they all had hair and some size to them moved all the babies out after i noticed some died and the others were being starved and than the foster mom killed them all? i have been feeding them mazuri 6f 5m30 food. i dont understand? they were also breeders for a while.

>>i had a two adult females together and found one dead this morning im assuming the other killed it or it died and the other started to eat the other but the part that was missing was by her mouth and face i dont know but ive had strange things going on lately. a few weeks ago had a mom rat stop feeding her babies after they all had hair and some size to them moved all the babies out after i noticed some died and the others were being starved and than the foster mom killed them all? i have been feeding them mazuri 6f 5m30 food. i dont understand? they were also breeders for a while.

Barring illness and if you think it is dietary. I aim for higher %s than Mazuri has. Usually I feed dog food and have for 30yrs. I did try Mazuri for a few months and had cannabalism. Mentioned it to a dealer of the feed and he said I might, shoulda supplement cat kibble when this happens. WTH? So I went back to what works.

All that said, I might suspect illness. If an adult died it could have gone downhill from there. If they are separate incidences....don't know. Unless the two girls were fighting I would doubt that one killed the other. Often they do eat corpses. Cleaning up the mess as it were.

Third possibility is visitors. I have had rats end up losing tails and feet and or dead pups and finally caught a wild relative that visited and chewed them apart through the cage.
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Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny

thanks for your reply. for sure it was not a visitor come to think about the girl that i found dead she was looking a little skinny so maybe she died and the other started to eat her. yuk!!! as far as the other mom that abandoned her babies i fed her to my biggest ball python that was a first for me feeding an adult but he handled her no problem. what kind of dog food do you use? how many breeders do you have and no problems with the dog food? heard bad things about dog food for rats. red dye etc.. thanks again!!

>>thanks for your reply. for sure it was not a visitor come to think about the girl that i found dead she was looking a little skinny so maybe she died and the other started to eat her. yuk!!! as far as the other mom that abandoned her babies i fed her to my biggest ball python that was a first for me feeding an adult but he handled her no problem. what kind of dog food do you use? how many breeders do you have and no problems with the dog food? heard bad things about dog food for rats. red dye etc.. thanks again!!

I avoid red dye (dyes of any kind) and tend to go for Dad's or Blue Seal and combine with cat food- one of TSCs right now....same 'no dyes' higher protein and I give it to the mice. Everyone gets sunflower seed, raw scratch seed, stale breakfast cereal....for variety. I don't do this as a job but it supports my hobby. I have 20 groups (1.4-1.7) of mice and 10-12 groups (1.3-1.5) of rats with the corresponding offspring. Usually equates to 100-200 rats and 200-300 mice at any given time. Though lately I have a local keeper raising a bunch of babies and buying $65 of pinks, fuzzys and a couple dozen mice and small rats each week. Nice steady income on top of the pet store buying.
In the 70s I had more mice and it was a good source of pocket money.....of course I only got 10-25 cents each then.
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Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny

sonya today i went to check on one of my prego rat she has been huge for a while she had a few still borns and when i went to pick her up she was bloodied heavy from giving birth she is still really huge whats up with that? im having zero luck with my small rat colony lately i was really hoping to see there pups so i can raise a new colony and now looks like im getting dead pups! she looks like shes in pain too dont know what to do? any advice? thanks again.

>>sonya today i went to check on one of my prego rat she has been huge for a while she had a few still borns and when i went to pick her up she was bloodied heavy from giving birth she is still really huge whats up with that? im having zero luck with my small rat colony lately i was really hoping to see there pups so i can raise a new colony and now looks like im getting dead pups! she looks like shes in pain too dont know what to do? any advice? thanks again.

She likely has more pups to deliver.
Best you can do is let her be and see if she can finish. Some HUGE moms have massive litters, hemorrhage and only some live or not. You just never know.
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Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny

sonya my rat still hasnt had anymore pups shes still fat but she had those few dead babies a few days ago and nothing else? do you think she is done? i also noticed she had a small blood bubble coming from her nose a day or two before she gave birth? thanks for your help.

>>sonya my rat still hasnt had anymore pups shes still fat but she had those few dead babies a few days ago and nothing else? do you think she is done? i also noticed she had a small blood bubble coming from her nose a day or two before she gave birth? thanks for your help.

She could have anything going on but if it is what I have seen and how I have seen it ....she has more pups and will eventually die when they die inside her and start to rot. If she is still around in a week that isn't what is going on. She could have a bunch of extra weight, she could have a tumor, she could .... I would want to see her lose weight and rebreed. Best case scenario.....hesitant to say that will happen.
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Sonya

I'm not mean. You're just a sissy.
Happy Bunny

that makes sense she probably has babies inside and she will go because she looks ill. will have to see what happens thanks for your help.