Re: Rats dying from miscarriages
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Don
Are you feeding Mazuri? Could you possibly be feeding some of the recalled food?
I'm feeding Kent Rodent Diet. It's definitely not the best food, but I that is what I have been feeding for the past several years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
KLMuller
I have read that first time mothers over a year are more susceptible to problems during labor. Massaging on the belly between the legs can sometimes dislodge a pup if it is stuck or manipulate one back so the other can get threw (rats uterus is a Y shape two babies can get stuck in the middle), I have saved two females using massage. I have lost a few where massage doesn't work. The best luck I have had is only breeding females from 4 months to about 18 months, and giving them 2 weeks from when I pull babies till I put them back in with male, to just relax.
Most of these girls have had several litters. I've wondered about messaging them because I can tell which ones are about to die from labor complications. I might try that the next time I see that happening.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Reddog
Where are you keeping them and what are the temps? Normally they stop breeding when its hot like this but if you do get a pregnant female and as hot as its been the last few weeks they will usually die when they are almost full term...heat index here is like 109
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2
They are in the basement so the temps aren't a problem. The highest it gets in the room they are in is 75 thanks to all the heat tape I have running in the snake racks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Spookitie
Your breeding them too old.
I thought people that breed rats for pets typically will retire females after they reach 1 or 2 years old.
A quick google search actually confirmed this. As they age, labor really becomes dangerous for them.
IMO 1 year old is a young mother, 2 is definitely older, but I don't think too old. I just had a female who is 5 months shy of 3 years old give me a healthy litter of 6. Breeding them past 2 years does come with complications, but my older females rarely have problems. It's the females between 1 and 2 that are having problems and that doesn't make sense to me. I do know what people say you should and shouldn't do when you care/breed for rats, but I do what I find works. People say you shouldn't keep them on pine, that's all I use and my rats live to be 3+ years old with no tumors, so I'm going to keep using it. The birthing complications are the only problem I've run into thus far.
