Really weird baby...

[EvergladesExotics]

There -is- evidence of suffering. . . Just from the photos. You can see it is extremely malnourished and under developed, and has some kind of severe eye deformity, which you have no comprehension of, that could be causing it extreme pain, or be evidence of other internal deformities which are resulting in it's extreme failure to thrive. That ASF is very very sick.

So in your opinion a runt puppy or say a puppy born with a leg deformity is automatically suffering and should be culled? I appreciate your concern but like I said, the little one is doing much better, has grown, and its eyes look normal now, they are not deformed. There is NO evidence of suffering. It is doing well with it's new litter. I will post some pictures for those interesed soon.

[Xotik]

So in your opinion a runt puppy or say a puppy born with a leg deformity is automatically suffering and should be culled? I appreciate your concern but like I said, the little one is doing much better, has grown, and its eyes look normal now, they are not deformed. There is NO evidence of suffering. It is doing well with it's new litter. I will post some pictures for those interesed soon.

I have to agree. As long as it is thriving, and not sitting in a corner shaking, I say keep it up. To be honest - it's kinda cute...

[EvergladesExotics]

I'm trying not to get attached to it, it is after all supposed to be a feeder. But yes, it is doing very well right now. If I thought it wasnt, I would have fed it off.

[Rhasputin]

So in your opinion a runt puppy or say a puppy born with a leg deformity is automatically suffering and should be culled? I appreciate your concern but like I said, the little one is doing much better, has grown, and its eyes look normal now, they are not deformed. There is NO evidence of suffering. It is doing well with it's new litter. I will post some pictures for those interesed soon.

You are putting words in my mouth, I said nothing about a leg deformity, or a puppy at all.

A runt rodent is by definition, suffering. A runt in the rodent world to this calliber is sometimes called a 'peanut'. It is an extreme version of runting. The animal in question is far far FAR behind it's syblings in growth, because something is very very wrong with it. It is malnourished, under developed, and on top of all the normal runt symptoms, it has a severe eye deformity.
You can deny it all you want, but a starving, under developed, DEFORMED, baby animal isa suffering animal.

Rodents naturally do not show illness. It is safe to assume that by the time you see the pain on a rodent clearly, it is going to die in the next 24 to 48 hours.

[EvergladesExotics]

If a runt rodent is by definition suffering, then why are we breeding dwarf rats? When they popped up in the litters, they appear to be runts. So why have we kept them and held them back to breed? Like I said previously, this baby is not suffering. It's eyes are normal, activity is normal, and nursing is normal. I don't know where you got the obsurd idea that it is starving. I stated in my first post that is behaving and nursing normally and again, like I said, it is not deformed. I know plenty well about rodent health and veterinary services. I went to veterinary technician school and have worked in several vet clinics. In addition to that, I have kept all sorts of rodent species from the time I was a child. Believe it or not, when you are not directly in the situation, you may not always be right.

[Rhasputin]

You can say it's not suffering as many times as you want. It doesn't change the fact that it's underdeveloped and malnourished.

Dwarf rats are not runts, and do not present as such. They are not runts bred to runts, they are rats with a dwarfism gene that makes them small. Not malnourished, not under developed.

You can see that it's starving by looking at it. It's the 'runt' because it is not getting enough nutrition to properly nourish it's body and grow. That's what being a 'runt' in this case means.

[EvergladesExotics]

Yes. I know the genetics of rats. If you would pay attention to what I have been saying at all you would know that it is growing and catching up quickly.

[carlisleishere]

Can we get a new picture of it to see how it's doing? I think that going by the older picture isn't really helping. I just want the ASF not to be suffering, whether it be by naturally improving or culling. I think a new picture would help determine that.

[Xotik]

Can we get a new picture of it to see how it's doing? I think that going by the older picture isn't really helping. I just want the ASF not to be suffering, whether it be by naturally improving or culling. I think a new picture would help determine that.

123.
I would love to see how the baby is thriving now

[reptilegirl07]

I'd really like to see new photos of this baby