eating members of a litter??

Hey guys,

One of my females gave birth a week or so ago. I haven't been watching them too closely as I have close to 100 ASF to tend to as well lol But when I changed out the bedding the last time, the litter pop was 9. Today I checked on them to see how they were coming along, and there are 4 missing.. the nest only has 5 fuzzies in it now. Will the parents eat the babies if they die off? i just think its weird that I've lost half the litter..

I once had a rabbit that would kill and eat her babies every time. Animals can be strange.

Is this her first litter? She may need to be snake food.

No "Number 1 Mom" shirt for her.

hahaha! yeah it's her first litter, she seems to be fine with the babies, very protective. the other female seems to be stealing them and hiding them around the tub. Im going to cull the other female tonight and see if that helps.

cheers

Kidnapper sentenced to death!

I like your style!

If this is her first litter, I wouldn't worry to much. We recently had a first time mom that thought her kids were snacks. Same thing, each time we checked them, the litter was smaller. She wound up leaving a few that managed to survive.

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It can be a couple things, Lack of food or water and they will, yes if they die off they will eat them, if they don't have enough fat or protein in diet. Also if you have mothers fighting over babies accidents happen and then they will eat the dead babies. All things to check. And yes some people say first time mothers will do that and some will disagree. I wouldn't write her off just this instant unless you have plenty of mothers to replace her with.

We raise rats by the thousands. I can tell you there are many reasons that could have caused it. Some of them are mentioned in the previous posts. Some you may consider.
1. Mom is first timer so she does not know exactly haw to handle them and may bite too hard with the first litter.
2. If the other female is pregnant and feels the food and water is not enough to feed every one, she is very capable of killing off the other females babies. (I have seen females murder wieners in a transport tub just waiting to be placed in another rack...)

Thanks everyone for your responces.

I've been using Mazuri for their food, but I Havent put together a hopper system yet so i just go in every day and drop a handful of blocks on the bedding. I'm gonna get the hoppers put together ASAP and see if that helps! Thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by azmodane

It can be a couple things, Lack of food or water and they will, yes if they die off they will eat them, if they don't have enough fat or protein in diet. Also if you have mothers fighting over babies accidents happen and then they will eat the dead babies. All things to check. And yes some people say first time mothers will do that and some will disagree. I wouldn't write her off just this instant unless you have plenty of mothers to replace her with.

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I am using Mazuri but another breeder I was buying rats off told me that he cuts hs mazuri with puppy chow for prego and nursing mothers. He says the extra fat and protein helps them and he found he lost less babies doing this. Once they're weaned/small he says he takes them off the puppy chow and puts them on straight up mazuri. Anyone have any experience with this? I haven't been doing it but i've been wondering if it might help..

Thanks again everyone!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by decensored

Thanks everyone for your responces.

I've been using Mazuri for their food, but I Havent put together a hopper system yet so i just go in every day and drop a handful of blocks on the bedding. I'm gonna get the hoppers put together ASAP and see if that helps! Thanks



I am using Mazuri but another breeder I was buying rats off told me that he cuts hs mazuri with puppy chow for prego and nursing mothers. He says the extra fat and protein helps them and he found he lost less babies doing this. Once they're weaned/small he says he takes them off the puppy chow and puts them on straight up mazuri. Anyone have any experience with this? I haven't been doing it but i've been wondering if it might help..

Thanks again everyone!

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Be aware that some dog food can contain ingredients that can be harmful to your snake. Remember everything you put in the rat ends up in the snake. Normally it is the cheap off brand foods...but be aware.

TTM