What the.......

[jben]

Hey everyone, I don't know what the heck happened but the second mama, Sierra gave birth today and out of 13 the are only 3 ALIVE! the first mama, Remy stole 2 of them which i'm problably glad she did and Sierra has only 1 under her care right now. So i'm wondering, did Sierra kill the other 10 or could they have just died from too many, i mean i was really excited because she was HUGE. What do you guys and gals think?

[KRK Exotics]

Well if you know there were 13 of them then obviously you got to see them. Were they alive when you saw them or were they already all dead? I'm no expert but I would bet that if the momma killed them it would have been as she was eating them and you would have never known they were there. I would bet they were still born.

What was the time line on this, how long a period of time?

[jben]

They dead ones are still in there with her. I did see her give birth but i wasn't sure if they were alive but i did not see any movement from the babies. I know that the mama ate one of them because the head was missing and the other mama finished it. i saw her with the first one at around 12ish am, then my wife called me a while ago telling me that 10 are dead. so the first mama has 4 of her own and 2 from the new mama, the new mama has 1 alive and the others are dead, some scattered around and some under her.

[TnT Reptiles]

Generally it's a good idea to keep prego moms by themselves. Females will tend to fight over the babies , usually by having a tug-o-war with them. This could be the cause of their death. Although sometimes some females just aren't good moms and will eat the babies for no apparent reason.

I produce about 2000 rats a month and sometimes it happens. I would say I have about 1 in a 100 kill their babies.

Don't sweat it and just keep at it.

[jben]

i thought it was OK to keep 2 mamas together in one tub? i feel like i'm just having bad luck.

[TnT Reptiles]

i thought it was OK to keep 2 mamas together in one tub? i feel like i'm just having bad luck.

Sometimes they are fine and sometimes not. Just depends on the 2 girls. If you have room to keep them separate I would suggest it. I think you will find you'll have better luck.

[jben]

Trevor thank you so much for your quick replys and much needed help. I could be wrong but i did not see them fight over the babies but obviously they did because the other mama ended up with 2 babies from the other. i do have the space to separate them but how about the male, is he ok to stay with the mamas? i have a 1.3 colony with a 3 tub rack so i will put one female in each tub.

[Jeremy78]

Hey jben. I wouldn't split them up just yet. A lot of problems can come from this. How long has the colony been established? Have you ever noticed any fighting before? Is this her first litter?
When the have babies sometimes it's best just to leave them be for a few days after thy have them. You disturbing them could cause stress. I know that my mice when they have litters they have a "community pile". They just all have there babies in the same spot and all lay down on em at the same time. I've also heard of rats doing this aswell.

[jben]

Hey Jeremy, I've had them for about a month and a half. They have never fought before that I've seen and this is their first litter. The most i've disturbed them was by just looking at them but that's about it. each mama has her own corner in the tub. i'll wait to move them then because i don't want to lose any more feeders. thanks for your help.

[Jeremy78]

Hey Jeremy, I've had them for about a month and a half. They have never fought before that I've seen and this is their first litter. The most i've disturbed them was by just looking at them but that's about it. each mama has her own corner in the tub. i'll wait to move them then because i don't want to lose any more feeders. thanks for your help.

Jben, you've got an established colony don't wreck it lol. Lots and lots of people have problems with there first litters. Search it on the forums.
If I were u I'd count my losses with this first litter and let em have another. Keep your 1.3 in the tub and let them try again.
If you split em chances are you'll have to reestablish the colony and that could take a while.
Sounds like your doing everything right. And sometimes the babies won't move, maybe there not dead . I'd just leave em be for a day or two only bug em for food and water.
Good luck!!! Jeremy.