Cannible Rats?!

[Bellabob]

One of my females just had 13 babies. They were doing good, all the other momas taking care of them, and I go to check on them the next morning and there is absolute CARNAGE. Babies ripped completley in half, blood on the sides of the tub, some of the babies were flattened out (bones broken). Some even had their bellies slit open and their organs EATEN!

Now theres onyl 4 left out of 13. They don't look too good, and I don't expect them to live long.

Why do rats do this? I knew that rats cannablize sometimes, but I didn't expect it.

[heathers*bps]

I'm not positive as to why they do it, but sometimes our rats do it when they don't get enough protein. They might eat each other if they aren't feed enough. We had that happen when we went on vacation and our neighbor was neglecting to feed our rats properly.

Sorry to hear about the babies

[CoolioTiffany]

I read somewhere that female rats will eat their babies if they have a lack of protein or if they have too many babies. But since there were nursing mothers together, I don't think 13 babies would be too much of a problem at all.

I couldn't imagine how much of a gory crime scene that had to have looked like .

[RichsBallPythons]

Not enough water, low quality food and or not enough of it. Female was stressed out and body took a hit, so she ate to replenish herself.

If this is her first time doing this, give it ONE more shot. If it happens again then time to replace them, it happens to the best of us once in a while

[mastaxaph]

I fear this

What you feeding them actually what's their container look like. What kind of feed. If its none of that could be space, or maybe.its the first time I Duno. A lot of factors

[youbeyouibei]

Sorry to hear that happened to you. I had a first-time female who dropped a litter of 7 and ate/killed all of them earlier this week as well. One of my other females, also a first-time mom, had a litter of 9 and is raising them just fine. Exact same conditions, setup, food type, water, etc. I don't know why they do it...could be any of the factors people already mentioned or something else entirely. Like Rich said, I'd say give her at least one more try before you write her off as a loss. Hope the remaining babies pull through for you and things work out better than they started. Good luck!

[Rhasputin]

What are you feeding?

[Bellabob]

These rats have had MANY litters together without any problems. This is the first time this has happened.

I feed Ol'e Roy dog food mixed with some sunflower seeds. I sometimes give them biscuts, fresh greens, etc. They have been on this kind of diet since March of last year without any problems. They are nice and plump, and when they have litters, they have BIG litters. I had one that had 21 babies.

Right now they are in sterillite tubs with big sqaures cut out on the sides with quarter inch mesh covering them. My father and I are going to build a nice big 6 tub rack for them this month.

I ALWAYS make sure they have clean water at all times. I check on them multiple times everyday, and change their bedding twice a week.

If theres anything more I can do to make them happier please tell me.

Thanks.

[RichsBallPythons]

Retire them, Their wore out and its taking a toll on their bodies.

I retire females once they hit 1-1.5 years old

[Bellabob]

Retire them, Their wore out and its taking a toll on their bodies.

I retire females once they hit 1-1.5 years old

there are 4 rats in the tub. 2 I'm def going to retire, but the other 2 are actually quite young and can still keep going on.

Right now I'm starting to hold off on the breeding because my freezer is full.

So what do I do with them? I don't want to euthanize them. Maybe try and sell them as pets?