TANSTAAFL*

... unless you're a reptile. ;)

Biscuit, one of our breeder rats, gave birth to a litter of kittens overnight, 4 days after we moved her into the "birthing suite." :lol: She built a great little nest in there, so we really couldn't get a good look without disturbing her, but I saw one baby and Jess saw 4 and we heard lots of squeaking. So that's at least 4 meals I don't have to buy from a vendor.





*TANSTAAFL = There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch (for those who aren't familiar with the acronym)

well congrats on that, i think im goin to start breeding rats!

Thanks! It's certainly more cost-effective than buying the rats singly, either alive or frozen, that's for sure. Smulkin told me a little while ago that two of his and Smynx's rats gave birth last night, too, so I guess it was a good night for it. :)

Good show! A couple of ours decided they'd both drop pups within an hour of each other - upping the rodent population by 16-20 (havent had a good peek yet either). I am afraid I might have had something to do with it since I had to remove them briefly to clean cages and the upending and reloaction might have expedited labor or something. All that high-pitched mewling just warms the cockles in your heart doesnt it?

:checking my heart for cockles ... : :P
The mewling is how I knew there were babies. I heard them when I went in Jess' room to wake her up this morning. Better her room than mine for all that squeaking! ;)

AWWW, rat babies!! Congrats all around!

Thanks! Looks like we got 9, once she let us get a peek at them.

Yay Marla! I remember back when you were posting about starting a breeding colony. I geuss you're there now. congRATS :)

How do rats have kittens?

Quote:

---

Biscuit, one of our breeder rats, gave birth to a litter of kittens overnight

---

Rat babies are usually refered to as "kittens" or "pups".

Oh,I didnt know.Thanks.

Thanks, Gin! Not only did Biscuit have her litter, but one of the other two females looks ready to burst and we suspect the other is pregnant too, as well as the mouse. Because we took out the males to give the girls a break, every one of our cages is occupied right now. At least once they're weaned, we should be able to put the babies from different litters together by sex until they're the right size to put down.