Rats Are Dying...

[Lobo_Reptiles]

I found one of Regina's babies dead yesterday. I didn't know why so I stuck him in the freezer and cleaned the enclosure out thoroughly. This morning 2 more were dead and one of Frank's babies had died too. Does anyone know what this could be? They always have food and water so I know they aren't starving or anything. I always make sure they are living in sanitary conditions. All of my hard work is dying off before they're big enough >_<

[snakebitten69]

how many baby did mother rat have? i have notice that if rats have more them 12 babys a few will die becouse mother will not feed them all! she dose not have enought nipps! and the runt will not fight for the food! i had one die last litter outof 18babys one mother had 5 and the other 13

[Lobo_Reptiles]

Regina's babies have already been weaned. But that may be true for Frank's. Her litter was 10, so maybe it was just one of the runts. But still, they are only a week away from being weaned too. They've already starting eating food and drinking water. Doesn't make sense.

[Jeanne]

Well, possibly, if they are dying so close to being weaned, it may be a mega colon problem. Mega colon shows up in rats who have just been weaned newly or are starting to eat normal foods. Mega colon is genetic. Sometimes mega colon shows up rather late also... google mega colon and you will find plenty of info... or maybe Becky will come along and give you plenty of info. It may not be the problem, but it is a possibility.

[Lobo_Reptiles]

Update:3 more of Frank's babies have died. And one was eaten completely. The only thing that was left was a bit of fur. Sick...

I read on mega colon, but Frank's babies are Alfred's and Regina's are somebody elses. Frank's babies aren't weaned yet and are only about 3 weeks old. I don't think this is it. I'm afraid to feed them to my snakes. I've frozen the dead ones just in case. Gah, this is depressing.

[SatanicIntention]

After the babies are weaned, or in the process of being weaned, do you notice them not gaining weight, having a rough haircoat, not very active, having runny stools that smell bad?

What are they eating? Are they getting a good, well-rounded diet and not just lab blocks? If they are eating just lab blocks, what brand? Do they get any grains such as the ones I specified in my rat food mix?

Is the mom rat stressed in any way? The baby may have died and the mom would have eaten it afterwards. It happens alot if a cagemate dies, or they may just bury him/her.

Do you have a male in with either of them? Back to back breeding isn't a good thing anyway and is very stressful on their bodies, resulting in longer gestation time and smaller litters/smaller babies. Have you had their feces checked for parasites? Sometimes an overload of intestinal parasites can cause the rats to become so anemic that they can die.

Hope some of those suggestions help, and I hope we can figure out what is wrong. It does sound like megacolon though, especially if some are dying off after they are weaned or close to be. 98% of the time it starts happening when the babies start eating solid food.

[Lobo_Reptiles]

They seem to be a fair weight, not underweight, and their poo is definitely normal. That's why I didn't think it could megacolon because their poo is normal and they don't seem underweight. I dunno, if it is megacolon what should I do? And are they ok to feed to the snakes?

They get fed your rattie diet, with lab blocks included and sometimes I mix it up a bit with what they get. Alfred is kept seperate from the females until 2 weeks after their babies are weaned.

[frankykeno]

Oh Kelly what rotten luck to have this happen in both litters. I can't think of what could be going on here. Just more questions to try and nail down what it might be.


What caging are both litters and their mothers in? What bedding? Exactly how old are both litters and have you had any loss of young in either litter prior to these events? Are the dead ones just laying there or is their evidence of them being cannabalized or killed by their mother (I did see you mentioned finding parts of one...ick!)? It's very odd for rat females to kill their young once they've survived birth (at least in my limited experience) unless something is driving the female is cull her own litter. Figuring out what that cause is, is all I can think of. Personally until I knew what was up I wouldn't feed the dead ones but that's just me being my usually over-cautious self.

Just to confirm...each female is in her own enclosure with just her own litter (or what is left of it)? Are you seeing good mothering behaviours from these females (nursing, cleaning, licking the rat babies bottoms, etc.)? Are these two females acting oddly (more nervous, nippy, depressed or ill looking)?

So sorry for all the questions but something might click in one of the many rat breeders on the forum that could at least give you some idea why this has happened.

Here's a link I have on megacolon with pics and so forth. Wondering though if it was megacolon what the chances are you'd get it in both litters from different fathers bred to two seperate females? You said I think that the rats seem to be pooping but have a look at the megacolon pics and see if they resemble the dead ones at all.

http://ratguide.com/health/digestive/megacolon.php


~~Jo~~

[Lobo_Reptiles]

-They are all on aspen shavings in 10 gallon aquariums.
-Frank's litter is 3 weeks and Regina's is about 4 1/2 weeks.
-In Regina's only one had been eaten by his fellow cagemates (just his head). The other two I just found dead. In Frank's one had been eaten completely and the other 3 were just dead.
-The females are with their own litter. Frank doesn't really do anything except sleep with her litter. All the other times she is sitting on a perch I made for her to try to cull her craziness. But she doesn't look ill. She may be depressed because she is sitting away from them. Regina is ok, but her babies are weaned.

I looked at the pics of megacolon, but this honestly doesn't look it. There is no bulging, no malnutrition or slow growth. The little guys just look like they dropped dead, like they're sleeping. I'm unsure what to do because I'm nearly positive it isn't megacolon.

[JLC]

Is it possible that some sort of chemical fumes got into the room? Enough to make the babies really sick, but not so much that it would kill adult rats? Has there been an exterminator in the house? Or something unusual got burned nearby? Anything at all sprayed near those cages? Or any other source you could think of for something toxic getting into the air? Or maybe ambient temperatures dropped too low and the babies didn't fare as well as the adults? I'm just thinking that from everything I've read, it sounds like some sort of environmental problem.