CRAP!!!!! Momma Rat Died!!!

I just started breeding my own rats. I got good stock, hand picked from Jack at SFR. Food is Native Earth. Waters are always full. Bedding is pine pellets under pine shavings. This was this girls first litter, I got her pregnant. She was looking a little thin, so I put in some Innova dog food and peanut butter. I thought she was looking better but just now found her cold. Her pups are crawlers just about to open their eyes. My problem is that I have no foster moms! Theres only one other girl whos preggo and it will be at least a few days before she pops and it's her first litter too. So, any way I could keep these guys or should I give up and just feed them? Theres a few nice ones I wanted to keep :/

That sucks. Probably just have to sacrafice that litter and feed it off, or freeze them for later. :confused:

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Originally Posted by MiamiRoyalPythons

I got her pregnant

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Maybe the other one will drop her litter before they die off?

Do not kill them, at that age if you have a few your going to keep, there are a few different ways to hand feed. If they are just shy of opening their eyes use ensure and soften up rat block. They have teeth and will survive.

Here is a few links for how to care for orphan rats... www.ratfanclub.org/orphans.html
www.fatratcentral.com
Hope these help. All my momma rats just dropped 80 pups in this last week. Had to do my research with a quickness..lol

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Originally Posted by miamiroyalpythons

i got her pregnant.

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:o

Just wanted to add that Pine shavings are very, very bad for rodent's of any type's health. That might be what did her off. :|

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Originally Posted by KTyne

Just wanted to add that Pine shavings are very, very bad for rodent's of any type's health. That might be what did her off. :|

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Aslong as the pine is kiln dried it is perfectly safe for rodents!
There are more than a few members on this site that have been raising and breeding rats for numerous years using pine shavings with no ill effects.

Kiln dried ine shavings is an awesome bedding for rats. However cedar is a death sentence.

I just don't see the point of using Pine if it has the potential to cause harm? Even if it's kiln dried I don't see how that would remove the oils from the wood ?? (When I had rats I avoided all pine like the plague so I didn't research much into it)
I haven't bred rats but I've researched breeding them extensively and have kept them but in the pet context so my knowledge is in regards to their long-term health not just making sure they grow up to be eaten by a snake or to breed babies for snake food.
I'm not trying to start anything, just pointing out the only thing that to me could have caused his momma rat to die..

*edit- it could be others things too of course, like a post-natal hematoma or some such??

kiln dried pine shavings are just fine for the ratties...

Yea I'm not worried about the pine. It's the same stuff every one and their mother is using who breed rats on a large scale. I wasnt really planning on hand raising feeders, but a few girls are really cute so I may give them a shot. I put some lab block in their nest for tonight. Hope they can nibble on that at least. I'll make the decision tomorrow wheather or not to feed them off early. Just a bummer in general.

And oh yea.. I got her pregnant lolol. My bad.

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Originally Posted by KTyne

I just don't see the point of using Pine if it has the potential to cause harm? Even if it's kiln dried I don't see how that would remove the oils from the wood ?? (When I had rats I avoided all pine like the plague so I didn't research much into it)
I haven't bred rats but I've researched breeding them extensively and have kept them but in the pet context so my knowledge is in regards to their long-term health not just making sure they grow up to be eaten by a snake or to breed babies for snake food.
I'm not trying to start anything, just pointing out the only thing that to me could have caused his momma rat to die..

*edit- it could be others things too of course, like a post-natal hematoma or some such??

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I've been breeding my own rats for 3 years straight now and have always used kiln dried pine. Never had an issue with it causing any harm to my rats. Dying of old age, yes. Some unforseen deaths, yes. But I would not in anyway associate them with the kiln dried pine I use for bedding.

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Originally Posted by KTyne

I just don't see the point of using Pine if it has the potential to cause harm? Even if it's kiln dried I don't see how that would remove the oils from the wood ?? (When I had rats I avoided all pine like the plague so I didn't research much into it)
I haven't bred rats but I've researched breeding them extensively and have kept them but in the pet context so my knowledge is in regards to their long-term health not just making sure they grow up to be eaten by a snake or to breed babies for snake food.

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The kiln drying process heats the wood up(cooking it) so it removes the majority of the moisture and phenol oils that are present in the wood.
For those of us that breed rats for feeders we want our rats to be big, healthy and well fed so they recover quickly and produce nice large litters of healthy babies. So if there was a health risk that would jeopardize this we wouldn't be using pine shavings as bedding.
BTW there are also phenol oils in aspen!

I was just reading a few nights ago about someone that raised some orphan rat pups with goat's milk and softened food successfully. They said it can be done, but it takes time and dedication. They were feeding every 2 hours to start- not sure how that coincides with other people's experiences since I am just getting back into rats after years away, but wanted to share in case it was helpful.

Best of luck!

Lauren

Ensure soaked lab block works well too. The babies can suck the "milk" out or eat the soft mushy block. Ensure won't spoil like actual milk either.

You could try putting them in with the prego, her hormones might be in effect enough for her to take care of them too, even if she doesn't nurse them, she might hover over them, wash them and such. If not, nothing lost.

The mom could have had birth complications or the peanut butter could have choked her too. Depends on how you offered the peanut butter. Sometimes moms don't make it, especially if she was thin when you got her.

I just picked up strawberry Ensure to use in case I have any rats looking thin or any reason to give meds to them. It works wonders on a rat who looks thin or worn down. The strawberry flavor is supposed to be like crack for rats... but I haven't yet tried it, only vanilla, which they also liked.

I've had no issues at all with my kiln dried pine. Pine bedding like for horses that is NOT kiln dried has a lot of the oils in it and can be an issue. The baking process removes some of the oils, so it's safe.

It's a complete fallacy that someone who is breeding for feeders doesn't care about the rats' health or condition. We want the best quality rats, in good condition so that they grow best, grow big and stay healthy so they don't lose any condition. And a lot of us just want them healthy and happy because we give a poop about the animals in general. Just because I'm growing animals that will be food doesn't mean I neglect them or abuse them. I raised chickens for the freezer and they were every bit as well treated and cared for as my "pet" chickens and breeders.

Thanks for all the help guys! I got lucky, another female dropped her first litter of 2 pinks. Didnt even know she was pregnant. So far shes accepting these pups as well so for now the're not food as of yet lol.

2 pinks? That's a tiny liter... I've had 3 rats drop babies and each dropped a minimum of 10(Medium Rats). How young are these rats and what size would you consider them? They sound small to me..

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Originally Posted by Trochu

:o

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"I got her pregnant"
lol :P

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Originally Posted by Chewy

2 pinks? That's a tiny liter... I've had 3 rats drop babies and each dropped a minimum of 10(Medium Rats). How young are these rats and what size would you consider them? They sound small to me..

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^ x2 i'm thinking from the details of the momma rat dying after her first litter and another only dropping 2 pinks, the rats in question need to br put on hold from breeding and let grow up a little longer... I had a smaller female drop a litter of 2, she ate them and then stopped eatting due to being stressed. She became food. To the op, i'm happy to hear your babies are go an a make it via the seg momma.. Good luck with them.

Update: some of the foster babies didnt make it but the rest are doing good with their foster mum. I'm kind of glad she only had two because I dont feel like these few extras are overloading her on her first litter. All the rats are large size. Another just dropped her first litter of 11 and they're doing good as well. For the mom who only dropped two, I'm going to give her another chance to up her litter numbers before throwing in the towel with her. The two current moms are both doing good too, not sure what happened to the first, and its a shame some of the pups didnt make it. I keep reminding myself they were food anyways.

She could have choked on the peanut butter... I've read on a rat forum that it's happened.

And I have to admit... I LOLed at the "I got her pregnant" :P

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Originally Posted by Trochu

:o

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:rofl: