14 Rat Pups

Question...
My rat gave birth to 14 pups, but she only has 10 nipples...Will they be OK? Will they all get fed? i'm worried....

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They will be fine. If you have another nursing mother with nipples to spare, you can give them to her. I regularly get litters of 11+ babies and they all seem to do fine.

Female rats tend to have 12 nipples and if the litter is too big she'll separate the babies into feeding groups. If you are worried you can always check the babies for milk bellies, they should have a white oval shape in their belly, if you see it you're good to go. Good Luck :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kendracandraw

Female rats tend to have 12 nipples and if the litter is too big she'll separate the babies into feeding groups. If you are worried you can always check the babies for milk bellies, they should have a white oval shape in their belly, if you see it you're good to go. Good Luck :)

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You are right!! No wonder I see 2 groups of pups. I thought she was abandoning a few so I put them back together. I'll just let nature take its course then. lol

My Average rat litters are 18-20 and i never separate thhem. Mom does her job and all is well.

Love the cages. My black rat has had 16 and 14 rats and I donated some the first time and have slowly been feeding them off in both litters and they have been fine.