New Ratties

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Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny

The biggest female, Kasper, who is an albino, is 108g, which according to the chart puts her between 6-8 weeks. We'll just say she's 6 weeks. The youngest girl is a little black with white paws, Nibble, and she weighs in at 27g so she's about 3 weeks old. The littlest is the boy. He's super sweet and his name is Monk. He is in at 25g so also about 3 weeks.

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27 grams? That must be around 2 weeks... that's tiny :) My 3 weeks are around 50-60 grams.

Well Nibble, the berkshire is definatly eating solid foods. She was the first to try what I gave them. Monk is still a little hesitant but he was definatly trying stuff out last night. Should I go to the store and get some KMR? If so, how often should I feed Nibble and Monk?

Oh and yes they came from feeder cages. Nibble and Monk came from the same cage and there was no mother rat in with them. The guy said they were weaned. I've never had a rat as young as a weanling so I didn't know.

Oh and can anyone tell me what is up with Monk's ears. They are different from Nibble's and Kasper's.

LOL, he's a dumbo. He will have ears on the side. Dumbo is recessive, so you never know, you may get some dumbo's if those girls with him are het for it.
Baby rats will start to eat hard food at 2 weeks, but arent really weaners until at least 3.
If you'd like, you can get some KMR, low/no iron and mix it in with some food to soften it up.

Maybe those rats are just small and will stay small... I have some tiny girls, momma was only 310 grams, but her kids were still around 50 grams when weaned and they have seemed to maxed out at their moms size. :)

edit:
Yea, looking at those pics again they really are only 2 weeks old with their big old heads. I think if you do the KMR mix with the dry food, they will be fine. You'll be stunned at how fast they grow from one week to the next ;)

I'll go out to the petstore and get some KMR today then. I thought he was a dumbo but I wasn't sure. My fiance asked if it was recessive so thanks for clearing that up. I am really starting to like rats. In just the short amount of time I've had Monk, I'm already getting attached to him. :D

If you keep interacting with them like that daily, they will grow attatched to you. My two pet boys LOVE coming out and playing with us. They look forward to it and are just two big hams. :D Girls are so energetic, but are just as affectionate in their own way

Kasper is really hesitant to come near you. She likes to stay with her new rat buddies and when I pick her up she squirms a lot and tries to get back to the ground. I'm going to have to work with her. Thanks for all the help with these guys. I'm heading out now to go to Petsmart to get the KMR.

Wow, those are young.. Too young to be weaned IMO.

The male DEFINITELY needs a friend, or he'll end up being a very non-social rat. They learn from their moms, brothers and sisters how to be a rat, and if he doesn't have any stimulation from others of his kind, he could easily become a rat who doesn't know how to breed. Having a friend is very important to his social and mental development, and if he doesn't get that early on, he won't know how to socialize and can end up in alot of trouble(major fights, possibly killed) if put in with other rats.

Get him a buddy! :)

He is in with the girls right now. We can get him a buddy when he moves into his own tank in about 2 weeks. Now I know to go a bit older when choosing a rat. He said they were weaned. Guess not. Oy. I'm off to the store now to get them more supplies for their tank. Any ideas on what I should get them? As far as toys to keep them stimulated, food dishes, ect?

Something to chew on lol :)

I'll get them some little rattie treats. :) And now I'm off to the store.