Breeding rats???

[Hayley411]

I am just starting to breed rats. Had my first litter born yesterday. Unfortunantly momma seemed to have a really hard time. She only had two babies and then bled alot for three hours or so. There was blood everywhere. Both babies died during the night. Is this common for a first litter? Or should I be concerned about breeding her again? I just don't know what is normal. I've bred all kinds of other small rodents and have never seen that amount of blood from a birth before. This sounds wierd being on a feeder forum and all but this rat is my favorite. She was a pet before a breeder and I would rather just keep her as such if breeding her again will be dangerous for her.

Any insight is appreciated...

[suzuki4life]

how old is the rat?

and it sounds like you bothered her a lot during a very stressful time (or you wouldn't know so much about the situation). YOU CAN NOT BOTHER ANIMALS AWHILE THEY GIVE BIRTH.

[PghBall]

Could just be the first time jitters. I had one female that I was all but ready to give up with. Her first couple of litters were scattered all over the tub and all perished. I tried her one more time and she is now giving me healthy litters and being a great momma. As for the blood, how much is alot of blood? Maybe she didn't eat the placenta etc and that was the reason for it? I don't normally bother my pregos unless I need to give them food/water or change the bedding. So I've rarely witnessed them giving birth. The one time I did, I just turned off the light and went back upstairs to let her do her thing.

[Courtney281]

how old is the rat?

and it sounds like you bothered her a lot during a very stressful time (or you wouldn't know so much about the situation). YOU CAN NOT BOTHER ANIMALS AWHILE THEY GIVE BIRTH.

It doesnt take a lot to figure out what happened from a birth. Im sure they probably just saw the dead babies and all the blood the next morning. I agree you shouldn't bother animals while birthing, but don't assume and accuse and yell at someone if you don't know the whole situation. Just my 2 cents.

Anyway, Im sorry she had such a hard time. I had a momma rat give birth to 4 dead babies and bleed a lot. So I gave her some time off and she is now giving me great litters and is such a good mommy. If she makes it through this ordeal and you decide to breed her again, just make sure you give her a least a few weeks before breeding her. Good luck

[Hayley411]

Maybe I should have expained a bit more clearly. Lylah is 6 months old. I did not bother her while she was giving birth. Really she decided to give birth at the wrong time. It was cleaning day. I breed feeder/fancy mice for sale to reptile owners and petshops. I currently have somewhere around 400 breeder mice. 1.4 in each bin plus the resulting babies. So anyways I noticed her giving birth but just kept cleaning. It took me awhile to clean out the shed and in all that time I did keep an eye on her. She was in a tank so no need to bother her at all. She gave birth to two babies early on and then bled for quite a while. Bright red blood. As to how much...the nest was covered in it. Her food dish was smeared with it. There were bloody foot prints on the side of the tank. Not to mention the spots of blood all over the cage bedding. The babies were alive and squeeking when I got done and went inside. But in the morning when I went out to feed they were dead.

The reason I was concerned is that I have never really seen blood with the mice.
Just wondering if wether this was common for a first rat litter. Not really concerned about the lose of the babies as I assume just like with mice it's common to loose a first litter.

Hope that clears it up.
So do you think it would be fine to breed her again after say a month off?

[suzuki4life]

6 months old and assumed first litter. Yes not uncommon for first to be a small litter. Also not uncommon for females to kill their first litter if it is small. However, you are disturbing your animal knowingly during a very stressful time. Your best bet would have been to use a towel to create a blind and let nature take its place. Very possible the outcome would have been the same. But stressing the naimal with your presence is never good.

[suzuki4life]

It doesnt take a lot to figure out what happened from a birth. Im sure they probably just saw the dead babies and all the blood the next morning. I agree you shouldn't bother animals while birthing, but don't assume and accuse and yell at someone if you don't know the whole situation. Just my 2 cents.

You need to read the post before commenting.

She CLEARLY states she interacted with the rat enough to see a "blood window" of three hours+. That means she continously interacted with them to know a start and stop point. Nothing was assumed, it was stated. Unlike your post here.

[Hayley411]

Well like I said Lylah is a pet. I have had her since she was 4 weeks old. She has not been raised in a rack. She lives in a Martin's cage with hammocks and wheels. I spend hours in the shed everyday. She is very very used to people and activity. I've cleaned 2x a week for as long as I have had her. I really don't think that me cleaning cages in the same room caused her extreme stress.

I did not come on her to be slammed. I am not going to post on this thread anymore, I refuse to argue. I know I did nothing wrong. I am a good owner and really do take very good care of my animals. My rats are spoiled.

[suzuki4life]

You repeatedly use the phrase "I know" and yet you came here to ask questions.

What you received was far from a "slam".

What you have is a wild animal that tolerates you. You are applying human characteristics to the animal and believing it now has accepted you in some way. MANY animals can interact with humans easily. I have had caiman and many snakes through that people claimed "puppy tame" and I would NEVER dream of turning my back on them. Why? Because they are all wild creatures that follow instincts and nature. Because of the instincts and nature stuff like this and sometimes worse, happens.

If your rat is in an aquarium you need to rethink that you are giving it the best possible conditions because you are not. Wire cages are MUCH MUCH better for rodents than any tank ever will be. Breeders use racks because they are better than tanks AND they are much easier on the breeder.

If you want help and answers, many people including myself will be happy to help you out. But you must accept the truth. The rat is a wild animal and you will make mistakes that many of us have already made ourselves.

[Wh00h0069]

It sounds like she had difficulties birthing to me. They will bleed, but not near as much as you are saying she did. I would wait at least a month before trying her again, and keep a good eye on her. I have had a lot of females die on me while having difficulties giving birth.

BTW, if you do not like what a poster is posting, you can always put them on the ignore list. Just an FYI.