my first keeper

hey everyone,
this is what was left from the second litter,
2.2
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...4/DSCN1359.jpg
0.2
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...4/DSCN1350.jpg
1.1 so you can see the difference in color
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...4/DSCN1353.jpg
and finally the female that we've decided to keep
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...4/DSCN1352.jpg
thanks for looking.

baby rats are far too cute

That lightest hooded one is a champagne. They are so cute when they are that size.

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

That lightest hooded one is a champagne. They are so cute when they are that size.

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Thank you for clearing that up. What are the darker ones then? they are cute when that small.

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Originally Posted by ed4281

baby rats are far too cute

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Yes they are, my wife wants to keep them all...LOL

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Originally Posted by jben

Thank you for clearing that up. What are the darker ones then? they are cute when that small.


Yes they are, my wife wants to keep them all...LOL

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Such cute little creatures. I guess that's why I can't pull myself to feed live or breed feeder rats anymore.

By the way, the dark one is a Mink. :)

how old?

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Originally Posted by suzuki4life

how old?

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3 weeks.

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Originally Posted by jben

3 weeks.

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should be on the verge of weaning. Eyes should be open.

Mine look like that in their second week.

what is their diet?

She opened her eyes yesterday (monday). I feed them Mazuri Rodent Feed, the store does not carry the 6F.

They look a tiny bit small, but nothing severe. I'd add scraps around the house to your females diet. Making a cereal/dry noodle mix and feed them chicken bones, eggs, mealworms, high quality dog food, etc, will help. All of these are good for fattening and some are great for the protein, which mommy ratties need.

All in all, they look pretty chubby. If she had a large litter or she's a first time mommy, that could also be why they are on the smaller size.

I can't wait until I start breeding rats, seems so much more convinient.

Very cute little rat, I'm sure there will be more keepers as you go:D

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

I can't wait until I start breeding rats, seems so much more convinient.

Very cute little rat, I'm sure there will be more keepers as you go:D

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Thanks, We'll try not to keep anymore than we need, but we'll see how that goes...LOL

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Originally Posted by Michelle.C

They look a tiny bit small, but nothing severe. I'd add scraps around the house to your females diet. Making a cereal/dry noodle mix and feed them chicken bones, eggs, mealworms, high quality dog food, etc, will help. All of these are good for fattening and some are great for the protein, which mommy ratties need.

All in all, they look pretty chubby. If she had a large litter or she's a first time mommy, that could also be why they are on the smaller size.

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Thank you. This is a first time mommy, the only thing we add is carrots to the diet. I did not think that i had to add anything alse when being fed Mazuri. I'll definetely start adding more scraps. Also, i forgot to mention that this is not her litter, i gave them to her when the other first time mommy was killing them, both litters were 1 week apart so i put them together, that's another post that i had.

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Originally Posted by jben

She opened her eyes yesterday (monday). I feed them Mazuri Rodent Feed, the store does not carry the 6F.

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so what are you feeding? 9F?

weight wise they look heavy which is actually good at this point, better than the latter.

But they should have eyes open and be pretty self mobile at 3 weeks.

Now a low litter count could be the culprit. They are each getting more milk than if in a bigger litter.

I praise the effects of 6f as a feed.

complex diet is debatable....

falls back to the "are they pets or feeders" argument.

6f can and will provide everything they require their entire life.

However, variety is always a great option IF it is realistic.

I have tons of rats, literally. I even try to offer a variety by offering any acceptable tables scraps I can.

Rats LOVE fried chicken, bones and all. Bone marrow is very nutritious. Bread(stale or good, no mold!!), rice, pasta, meat etc. Offer a small amount, if they eat it then offer. Do not offer anymore than will be consume very quickly. You don't want anything near your chages that will draw mold or insects.

The pictures don't really tell the exact colors but that light colored one looks more like a beige to me, but only time will tell once she darkens out. Also that darker one could be a cocoa hooded. If that female you have now turns out to get darker over time she is a beige, but in some pictures she does look like a champange, but just wait till she grows up. You need to add a rex to your group, they are co-dom and you get a bunch of curly thick haired rats.

[QUOTE=suzuki4life;1328905]so what are you feeding? 9F?

weight wise they look heavy which is actually good at this point, better than the latter.

But they should have eyes open and be pretty self mobile at 3 weeks.

Now a low litter count could be the culprit. They are each getting more milk than if in a bigger litter.

I praise the effects of 6f as a feed.

QUOTE]
Thanks for your advice. Actually they made 3 weeks on Monday and they are walking around with eyes open, and below you can see the Mazuri feed that i buy them
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...4/DSCN0820.jpg
another question, do you separate the babies at 3 weeks?

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Originally Posted by steveboos

The pictures don't really tell the exact colors but that light colored one looks more like a beige to me, but only time will tell once she darkens out. Also that darker one could be a cocoa hooded. If that female you have now turns out to get darker over time she is a beige, but in some pictures she does look like a champange, but just wait till she grows up. You need to add a rex to your group, they are co-dom and you get a bunch of curly thick haired rats.

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Thanks. I would have to look into a rex.

on 6F I can wean and sell at 3-3`1/2 weeks...on zeigler its takes over 4 weeks.


if their eyes are open, toss in a few nuggets of food near the babies. If they take interest and start eating they are ready to be weaned....


weaning time depends on what size you want....

if you want them big, separate moms individually into nursing tubs and let them wean the babies themselves (normally 5-6 weeks)


mother's milk will make them grow about as fast as you can get them to grow.

I've got some nice rex (het dumbo) males.

They're only about 4 weeks old, but if you want one you just need to pick him up. Free of charge bro.

Let me know! I'm just over the Burlington Bristol bridge.

I know its a long way to travel for a rat, but I have traveled further to pick one up LMAO!

Gary...you're Manx male is about 6 weeks away from pounding his het daughters. I will keep you in the loop to let you know what I get!

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Originally Posted by tomfromtheshade

I've got some nice rex (het dumbo) males.

They're only about 4 weeks old, but if you want one you just need to pick him up. Free of charge bro.

Let me know! I'm just over the Burlington Bristol bridge.

I know its a long way to travel for a rat, but I have traveled further to pick one up LMAO!

Gary...you're Manx male is about 6 weeks away from pounding his het daughters. I will keep you in the loop to let you know what I get!

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Thanks alot Tom, I'll PM you.

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Originally Posted by tomfromtheshade

I've got some nice rex (het dumbo) males.

They're only about 4 weeks old, but if you want one you just need to pick him up. Free of charge bro.

Let me know! I'm just over the Burlington Bristol bridge.

I know its a long way to travel for a rat, but I have traveled further to pick one up LMAO!

Gary...you're Manx male is about 6 weeks away from pounding his het daughters. I will keep you in the loop to let you know what I get!

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I bet the first litter they don't produce a single Manx stubby....


I am betting it is not a simple recessive, it is a triple recessive.

OMG I want a mink!!! All I get are aguoties, blacks, and fawns :(

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Originally Posted by jben

Thanks, We'll try not to keep anymore than we need, but we'll see how that goes...LOL

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I've been trying that for months :rofl: I'm OK about not keeping a ton, but there seems to be one that I always want to keep back. I'm not doing terrible, I only have 7 female breeders now. Although, there are two females from my newest litter that I want to keep, and a male :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by SlitherinSisters

I've been trying that for months :rofl: I'm OK about not keeping a ton, but there seems to be one that I always want to keep back. I'm not doing terrible, I only have 7 female breeders now. Although, there are two females from my newest litter that I want to keep, and a male :rolleyes:

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I hate to say it but you're in denial, you need some help...LOL i'm only joking. :rofl:

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Originally Posted by jben

I hate to say it but you're in denial, you need some help...LOL i'm only joking. :rofl:

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:8: Yeah I do!!! I'm in desperate need of building some new racks! :rofl:

I just read through your whole thread and realized you had a food debate going on :P I wanted to add that I feed the same Mazuri, but I also offer Purina Dog Chow at all times. I used to only give it to the prego/nursing moms, but I give it to everyone now. I felt bad for the cute little boy rats :P I've been feeding Purina for 2 years now with no issues. In fact I have one male that is 3 years old and one female that is 3 years old. The rest are under a year. Those two were the only ones from my last colony that didn't get wiped out from some **** pet store disease.

Some people say it's bad to give them dog food because they aren't "meat eaters", although I would like to point out they are omnivores :rolleyes: Anyway.... Other people say to only feed high quality dog food, well that does have meat in it. Long story short, Purina is not high quality dog for for those who think it is, but it's a good rat food addition! The first five ingredients are grains and by-products=bones/feathers/feet/heads of chickens all blended up. Lovely I know, but that's your chicken bones :D I would never feed that crap to my dogs, but to rats, sure! It's funny because once they pick out all the dog food they beg me for more. It took me forever to figure out what they were asking me for, but that was it!

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Originally Posted by SlitherinSisters

I just read through your whole thread and realized you had a food debate going on :P I wanted to add that I feed the same Mazuri, but I also offer Purina Dog Chow at all times. I used to only give it to the prego/nursing moms, but I give it to everyone now. I felt bad for the cute little boy rats :P I've been feeding Purina for 2 years now with no issues. In fact I have one male that is 3 years old and one female that is 3 years old. The rest are under a year. Those two were the only ones from my last colony that didn't get wiped out from some **** pet store disease.

Some people say it's bad to give them dog food because they aren't "meat eaters", although I would like to point out they are omnivores :rolleyes: Anyway.... Other people say to only feed high quality dog food, well that does have meat in it. Long story short, Purina is not high quality dog for for those who think it is, but it's a good rat food addition! The first five ingredients are grains and by-products=bones/feathers/feet/heads of chickens all blended up. Lovely I know, but that's your chicken bones :D I would never feed that crap to my dogs, but to rats, sure! It's funny because once they pick out all the dog food they beg me for more. It took me forever to figure out what they were asking me for, but that was it!

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Thanks Stephanie,
I have been thinking alot about their diet, and have been adding more scraps to their diet. Gary (suzuki) is right, that litter shown was very small compared to my first one, i'm having second thoughts on keeping the holdback female, she's so small for her age, she'll be 4 weeks on monday and she's only 25g, i fed off her siblings. the first litter i had were about 45g by the 3rd week, but the second litter(pics on this thread) were not with their mom, i took them away from their mom and placed them with the mom that had the first litter so that could be the reason why they were so small. i will start adding dog food to their diet. i know all about dog chow, we had a dog and would never feed her that crap. Thank you so much for your advice.

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Originally Posted by jben

Thanks Stephani,
I have been thinking alot about their diet, and have been giving them more scraps. Gary (suzuki) is right, that litter shown was very small compared to my first one, i'm having second thoughts on keeping the holdback female, she's so small for her age, she'll be 4 weeks on monday and she's only 25g, i fed off her siblings. the first litter i had were about 45g by the 3rd week, but the second litter(pics on this thread) were not with their mom, i took them away from their mom and placed them with the mom that had the first litter so that could be the reason why they were so small. i will start adding dog food to their diet. i know all about dog chow, we had a dog and would never feed her that crap. Thank you

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Yeah, I'm betting that's why they were small.

I've spent hours reading the ingredients list of every dog/cat food at Walmart and pet stores. It drives my fiance nuts whenever I walk through the pet food aisle :rofl: Purina seemed like the best of the worst at Walmart-considering price-for rats.

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Originally Posted by SlitherinSisters

Purina seemed like the best of the worst at Walmart-considering price-for rats.

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haha...i like that, i just wish dog owners knew that. i'll pick some up for the ratties the next time there.

Holy crap those things are cute!

they are all sleeping haha very cute tho.

Awww I love your hold back, that's gonna make one pretty adult :gj: