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Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / January 2006Confirmed!
I took Jazz to the vet today, and its confirmed she is preggers! Apparently her belly is big (i dont see any changes but ok) Since I have been home ive been reading some sites about what others do when their ratbert is pregnant. Some say after the kits are born you can start feeding them kitten milk and oats, is this good for them? Also I am just curious how much veggies and meats I should be giving mom, I dont want to over feed her, yet I dont want to under feed her either. My daughter is so happy too, she said she is going to be a grandma (giggles), its so cute. While I was looking at other peoples sites I noticed that some talked about colors etc. Wonder what the babies will look like. Jazz looks like a Blue Point Siamese and Joe is pretty gosh darn cute for a baldy. I am getting mixed messages from here and my friend who used to breed rats, I am kinda hoping someone can point me in the right direction. Should I start handling the babies a few days after they are born (mother permiting) or as my friend has told me dont touch them or the mother will kill the babies? I am so confused, pls help me :( Dawn > I took Jazz to the vet today, and its confirmed she is preggers! > Apparently her belly is big (i dont see any changes but ok) Since I > have been home ive been reading some sites about what others do when > their ratbert is pregnant. Some say after the kits are born you can > start feeding them kitten milk and oats, is this good for them? As far as baby mice are concerned, you don't feed them anything, I can only presume that rats are the same, why interfere with nature? - what they need to become healthy strong young rats is rat milk, this is probably why their mums are fitted with rat milk pumps! > Also I am just curious how much veggies and meats I should be giving > mom, I dont want to over feed her, yet I dont want to under feed her > either. My daughter is so happy too, she said she is going to be a > grandma (giggles), its so cute. Mum rat will more or less stick to her normal diet, maybe slighlty more protein, a piece of boiled egg a few times per week will aid milk production but it's not imperative, she'll manage without. > While I was looking at other peoples sites I noticed that some talked > about colors etc. Wonder what the babies will look like. Jazz looks [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > (mother permiting) or as my friend has told me dont touch them or the > mother will kill the babies? I am so confused, pls help me :( I don't touch my baby mice until they have started to develop a thin coat of fur, usually around 3 - 4 days old, even then it's just a quick headcount when mum comes out for food or a stretch, I don't think it's any of my buisness really and even when I have disturbed one which has just finished birthing, she has never eaten any of the pups, the pups themselves will not recognise you nor 'get to know' you during this early time, it's far better (IMV) to leave it until they are at least 5 - 7 days old before handling, and even then only for a very short time, mum won't tollerate continual baby snatching, maybe once per day for a few minutes but that's it! >> I took Jazz to the vet today, and its confirmed she is preggers! >> Apparently her belly is big (i dont see any changes but ok) Since I [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >to become healthy strong young rats is rat milk, this is probably why their >mums are fitted with rat milk pumps! Alison at Shunamite Rats has an excellent site for rat nutrition, with a page on feeding youngsters here: http://www.shunamiterats.co.uk/nutribreed.html Cheers, Annette http://www.rattycorner.com http://www.midlandsratclub.org - for rats and their people >I took Jazz to the vet today, and its confirmed she is preggers! Apparently > her belly is big (i dont see any changes but ok) Since I have been home [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > Dawn CongRATulations! I know absolutely nothing about the care of a pregnant rat or her newborns, but I look forward to updates as the big day approaches. Instinct is a wonderful thing and I'm sure Jazz will do well! Jacqui > I took Jazz to the vet today, and its confirmed she is preggers! Apparently > her belly is big (i dont see any changes but ok) Since I have been home ive [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > Dawn Rats are truly the best moms. The babies really don't need any supplement. Mom's milk is the best. Mom can use extra protein which is to help her gain her strength back. Rats should have unlimited supply of rat blocks. The meat, I would give her a small piece of tuna, chicken, egg, cheese, once a day. Veggies should be offered everyday. For Jazz, I would say one floret of broccoli or cauliflower would be good, a 1/4 cup romaine lettuce. When I bred my two litters, I handled them the minute they were born, all depending on mom. You don't want her to go neurotic on you. So if she's ok with you then go ahead and give those babies a tiny cuddle. Mom rats will NEVER kill their babies unless she thinks they are sick or that she is too sick to care for them. If you see mom eating one of the babies, it's ok, that's how nature deals with the sick ones, the deformed ones and it will give her that extra protein she needs. I took a look at your pictures again. Jazz is a seal point siamese, she's got beautiful strong brown points. If Joe doesn't carry any siamese, your rats may all be black or agouti. Joe looks to be beige or champagne. This may give you some beige or champagne in your litter. It's really hard to tell when we don't know what the parents of Joe and Jazz are. Joanneb Owned by 15 rats Hi Joanne, Thanks for getting back to me, I do appreciate it. Joe looks like this http://www.ratsauce.com/breeds/images/hairless.jpg He wouldnt sit still long enough for me to snap a pic of him. But I do agree, its hard to tell when you dont know whos parents are whos. I dont know Jazz's parents but I do with Joe, his parents (pet store rats) were two hairlesses, Fuzz who I have on my site is a hairless rex, and Uno was the hermaphadite rat who was suppose to have no working male parts (boy was that vet wrong!). I had to give them alone with their other cage mates away at the time because my landlord had suspected it was rats chewing up the walls. Later we found out it was squirrels. The lady i rehomed them too had already moved my girls in with hers so I just left them. I got joe from the first litter that Uno and Fuzz had. Hes my sucky baby, I have him out all the time cept when we have Jazz out. Usually he is riding my shoulders or snuggling in a pocket. Jazz is slowly coming around, not sure how she will feel about me putting my hand in the cage whilst the babies are there but every day i put my hand in there just so she will get used to it. And I hope that she wont mind when they are born. I plan on keeping 1 daughter and possibly a son from this litter. I just got word that a friend of mine has found a hairless male mate for joe. So I guess I will go frm there. Thanks for the food insight, I tried the Romaine lettuce and she threw it out of the cage! Im wondering about yogurt? Today was tuna for me and my daughter so Jazz and Joe got a nice helping too. Cheers, Dawn > > I took Jazz to the vet today, and its confirmed she is preggers! Apparently > > her belly is big (i dont see any changes but ok) Since I have been home ive [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > Joanneb > Owned by 15 rats > Hi Joanne, > [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > > Dawn lol... at least she tried to dispose of it. Yogurt is ok in moderation especially if it's the 0% kind, no sugar, no fat. Joanne Owned by 15 rats |
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