Re: Having some problems.
Seems like a fairly small litter. Most of the reasons moms kill the babies are
1. She feels they are unsafe
2. Lack of milk production
3. They are sick
I'm sure there are a few more but these are the main ones I have experienced
Re: Having some problems.
Have you touched them at all? That could have something to do with it, also is she in the tank alone? Other then that I'd consider what Jake said.
Re: Having some problems.
What are you feeding them?
Re: Having some problems.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Holbeird
Have you touched them at all? That could have something to do with it, also is she in the tank alone? Other then that I'd consider what Jake said.
Nope ive never touched them, the only other rat in with her is the male.
Re: Having some problems.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tmlowe5704
What are you feeding them?
I use Harlan-Teklad rodent block.
Re: Having some problems.
When I bred rats I would cover the fronts of the cage with black paper to give her a more secure habitat. I've never had any mothers eat their young though, so I might be of no help. There is a really good rat diet recipe here some where. It is a really good one for breeder rats to be on too. I'll see if I can find it.
Re: Having some problems.
Re: Having some problems.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jim020cricket
When I bred rats I would cover the fronts of the cage with black paper to give her a more secure habitat. I've never had any mothers eat their young though, so I might be of no help.
They are on a rack so I dont know if I can cover anything up. The odd thing is they were fine for the first 3 weeks and last night but today all but one were dead. I think this was her first litter, does a first litter have anything to do with that?
Re: Having some problems.
Quote:
Originally Posted by worldcupkeeper
They are on a rack so I dont know if I can cover anything up. The odd thing is they were fine for the first 3 weeks and last night but today all but one were dead. I think this was her first litter, does a first litter have anything to do with that?
Possible yes.
Re: Having some problems.
It could be the male or female felt the area of the rack tub was not enough for them and the growing offspring and "removed" the competition. It could be the male trying to rebreed the female and turning on the nursing young (not very common though). Your scent on the young should not be a problem, most rats aren't nervous that way like mice are. Were the young appropriately sized for age? Healthy looking, active, etc?
Re: Having some problems.
Quote:
Originally Posted by frankykeno
It could be the male or female felt the area of the rack tub was not enough for them and the growing offspring and "removed" the competition. It could be the male trying to rebreed the female and turning on the nursing young (not very common though). Your scent on the young should not be a problem, most rats aren't nervous that way like mice are. Were the young appropriately sized for age? Healthy looking, active, etc?
The tubs are the concrete mixing tubs from lowes.
They were born a couple days after I brought them home. So that would have made them 16 days old. They all had fur but were really small, all they did was pretty much stay in the nest and nurse on the mom.
Re: Having some problems.
Oh so she was preggo when you got her? Likely she wasn't in the best condition then. Usually by 16 days they are running around quite a bit as they are busy pups then and will chase the mom down to nurse from her. That they stayed in the nest at that age so quietly would concern me that they just weren't all that healthy to begin with.
