Babies!!! Help!

Oh my (insert diety)! I went upstairs a bit ago for the first time today and alls I heard was a chorus of squeaks! I ran over and sure enough...BABIES! I don't know what to do. I guess Regina was pregnant after all. It couldn't have been Frank's babies because I haven't had Alfred for that long. I'm lost, I'm confused, this is unexpected, what do I do?

*passes out*

First of all.. relax. Rodents are good at taking care of their young. You may want to remove all other mice from the cage with the mom, because they may attack her babies, or stress her out. Mice are weaned at around 3-4 weeks.

Okay, I orignally took Alfred out but I'll take out Frank too. She won't get lonely by herself? And I was afraid of them suffocating...she's laying on them. I want to clean the tank because a bit of the chips are bloody..can I?

Okay to clarify...these are rats NOT mice correct? If you had a female exposed to males you should have been expecting this and been prepared.

At this point what you should do is remove the males and leave this new mother alone with her young. Do NOT mess with them unless there are obvious dead babies (though normally the mother rat will simply eat them or move them away from her live young). Make sure she has access to fresh water DAILY...lots of good food including extra proteins to keep her healthy as she raises them. Leave the messy bedding till tomorrow...she'll push it to the side at some point and you can just pull it out quietly.

Leave her alone with her young...do not mess around with them...she'll know what to do. Rats lay on their young to nurse. This is normal, she is NOT smothering them. Rats nurse from above or from the side (like a cat would do)...both are fine and she is keeping them fed and warm.


~~Jo~~

Mice do not get lonely. Rats will.. but not mice. Mice are territorial and sometimes kill each other.

She's just nursing them by laying on them.. trust me they're fine. Leave the bloody wood chips for now. Bothering her now is a great way to get her to eat her babies.

Okay just so I'm not confused or confusing anyone here with all this mice talk. Her sig says 1.2 Ratties so I'm safe to assume this female is a female rat?



~~Jo~~

Oh.. rats. Well, same rules apply. :)

Actually having been the world's most unsuccessful mouse breeder despite Daniel's valiant attempts to mentor me and having roaring great success with my rat breeding colony I'd have to disagree there with you April.

Mice seem to be by their nature not nearly as good at parenting as rats are. Male mice are more aggressive than male rats to each other and to their young. They seem very different to me as far as their temperment, care and breeding but perhaps that is just my take on it.

Kelly, just to let you know hon if you have two males and one female....it's 2.1 not 1.2. Best of luck with your first litter. They are really interesting creatures to watch and generally excellent with their young. I've only had one female thus far that refused to care for hers but thank goodness I had another nursing female who adopted that litter as her own.


~~Jo~~

Yes you are right Jo.. I just meant that my instructions should work well for rats too (ie leaving her alone)

Just to clarify, mice and rat breeding is NOT the same thing. Mice and rats both have different requirements as well as personalities/behavior and you have to deal with both accordingly. If you treat mice like you would rats, they will get stressed out and will eat their young. Rats, on the other hand, do better when separated singly into their own, small(5-10 gallon) cage or large critter keeper. It keeps them in closer proximity to their babies, and even new, inexperienced moms do better this way.

What are you feeding the rats? They need a good quality diet containing grains, fruits, nuts, and a good protein source such as a HIGH quality dog food(Wellness Senior, Nutro Senior, etc). Whatever dog food you get, it needs to have a protein % of less than 20%, or the rats will come down with protein sensitivity issues(scabbies underneath chin, on sides and scratching alot). If you do a source for rat food mix here, I have written a good recipe for a mix that will provide everything your rats will need. In addition, you need a good source of lab blocks to provide the essential nutrients that the mix may not provide. Mazuri, Purina or Harlan Teklad. You can do a search around the internet and find a good source who sells them.

Mother rats with babies are VERY protective, and you should not handle her or the babies excessively. Always remove her before messing with the babies or you may get a nasty bite(rat holds on and bites to the bone-NOT a warning bite). She needs alot of good protein while she is nursing such as cooked chicken bones, meaty table scraps, hardboiled(with shell on) or scrambled eggs, etc.

And please, if you don't want babies, and insist on keeping all 3 together, get the females spayed or get the males neutered. OR the best situation would be to get the female another FEMALE friend(after your female has weaned her litter, of course), and keep them separated at ALL TIMES.

Hope this has helped a bit and if you need any other assistance, just let us know. :)