Rats: Day one to thirty

Ok, so I was inspired by the mouse count and tracking, so I figured I'd do it with the rats. I have a momma rat that gave birth on Monday, so Wednesday (when this pic was taken) was day 3. I will update these every day, like the other thread, as a reference source for everyone.

This litter started as 7, but was dwindled to 5 on the first day, which is where we are now...enjoy!

Day 3: There appears to be some tiny hair growth, it's evident in the pic, but not when looking at them in real life. They are clearly showing their hooded patterns now, too. They are the result of a tan hooded and a charcoal hooded rat. They should be good little pups...

http://thesnakedude.com/30/3.jpg

:OYou only got 5!!! My pair, whom I`ve aptly named "Hillbilly" and "Ma Kettle" (cause hillbilly keeps ma barefoot and very pregnant!!!:rolleye2:) started out with 10, which the next batch grew to 12, and the next went to 15!!! I`m waiting to see how many the next batch will be!! Ya Want ANY!!!??? Their`re eating me outta house an` home!!! Cute littles 4-legged food items as they are, my snakes can`t eat them fast enough!! I even had to give away the first brood to a local pet shop just to cut down on the food intake!!! If it`s pictures you want, I can send you all you need!!!:D

I'd love to take some off your hands, haha. We started out with 7...the thing is, these weren't my rats. I went to a local pet shop to buy some feeders and I was looking for some breeder females, but they didnt have any. The only one they had was a large female that had just given birth the day before, and here she is...So, I bought the female and they threw in the 5 babes, for the same price. I figured I could care for them better than they could.

That's the story!

Day 2:Well, it looks like the little runt underneath everybody in the first pic is no longer with us...I could tell he was a little underdeveloped...I think he must've gotten eaten by the mom today. Anyway, here are the pics. Not much difference, a little darker pigmentation, maybe a tad more size...

EDIT: actually, comparing the two side by side, there is a decent amount of color difference between the two. They are growing pretty rapidly now.

http://thesnakedude.com/30/4.jpg

Day 5: Bigger, darker and yummier...errr...the pink is starting to fade from the dark areas of the two...they are growing substantially in size everyday.

http://thesnakedude.com/30/5.jpg

bro ur momma's a killer! I had a mom who'd birth 19 kiddies, but she started to remake the nest and burried them! the first litter was 19 and 12 made it, the second was 18 and 15 made it, and the 3rd litter was 22 and only 1 did it! I had to feed her, wich was kinda sad cuz she was a good pet :'(