big problem, please help

I went to feed my rats this morning, and all was good until I got to my last female, she has 6 babies that are almost weaned with her. I looked in her tub and I saw her laying on her back with her mouth open with her babies huddled around her in the corner of the tub. I was horrified, certain she was dead. I took the lid off the tub and took her out, and she started to move. I put her back down. She was INSANELY skinny, and her spine appears to be abnormally curved. I poured a pile of food from her dish infront of her face but she didn't eat any. She is tan coloured with red eyes. Her eyes are NOT red anymore, they are orange-brown now. I have no idea what happened, I haven't been neglecting my rats, she was absolutely fine yesterday. I suspect that maybe her pups have stolen all the food from her and she hasnt gotten any? I think she is beyond vet care, should I euthanize her in my co2 chamber?

I'm sorry but it takes some time to become that skinny, and especially a female with pups should be given a more specific diet and be watched over carefully.... My rats at 24/7 food in front of them.

My rats also have 24/7 food infront of them, I see them everyday, she was not like this yesterday. She is a fairly skinny and small female to begin with, now shes extra skinny.

nevermind...she just passed away. :tears:

So sorry to hear it. Sometimes we tread a fine line between not disturbing a new snake or a new mommy rat, and making certain to check them thoroughly.
If she was already thin, it was probably easy to miss the weight loss that would herald a problem.

im sorry to hear that. it sounds like there was nothing you could do. :hug:

Sorry to hear that. Are the babies doing good enough to thrive on their own?

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Originally Posted by Entropy

Sorry to hear that. Are the babies doing good enough to thrive on their own?

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yes they should be ok

Did the water get plugged at all?
If the rats dont have water, they will not eat. Also, keep those weaners away from your colony and follow regular qt for them.
In case it was a bad case of some disease, you dont want that spreading...

That sounds like dehydration to me. Check all the water bottles or water sippers for clogs.

I like to add another bottle to the tub when there is a bunch of weans so there is a little less fighting for water.

I breed my own rats too and have had this happen on occasion. Good healthy female with babies, access to food and water 24/7 who turns up really skinny.

Her I whack and toss, the babies are fed off. Don't need those genes in the pool.

It doesn't happen often but it does happen. Some are just not good at motherhood.

You do have to watch the smaller built females when their litters are getting close to weaning age, especially if she's got a decent size litter with her. They'll hog the water bottle but then nurse as much off her as possible so without careful management some of these females run down fast. Usually if I have a newer female or one that's not as big and sturdy as some of them, I'll use her litter to feed from when I need pinks or fuzzies or foster some of them off to another female that can more easily handle big demanding pups.