Question

[BigKenjDogg]

I've heard that people have had problems with growths on their rodents when trying to breed them? How do you avoid this?

[Aaron]

Keep their cage clean and don't put in anything that has sharp edges or could otherwise nick them. When you replace the litter, wash everything with disinfectant. You basically don't want them getting hurt and getting an infection. I've only kept rats as solitary pets, so I'm not sure if theres anything else to look out for when they are in a group.

[Smulkin]

One thing to keep in mind on rats - although they are less inclined towards cannabalistic agression (think I used to play lead guitar for them) stress can induce it, be it lack of food/water, unsanitary conditions - or as it seems in my case a towering german shepherd prowling the room. Litter #1 came off no hitches and they all went for a good Sumatran cause. Litter #2 disappeared one day and the only problem I can attribute it to was Freya (our shepherd) repeatedly playing peek-a-boo with em (SHE thinks of em as buddies but I imagine they were terrified).

[SatanicIntention]

Rats in particular can be VERY prone to cancer, malignant or benign. It is usually in the salivary glands or mammary tumors, but can turn into an all out lymphatic cancer. Not fun. Also, inbreeding can be a cause for growths or other abnormalities, so use the same pairs, or one dad for the same mom rodents and no breeding moms to sons or dads to daughters, LoL ... And yes, as Smulkin said, there can be cannibalization of the babies if stress is involved, so try to keep the cage(s) as quiet as possible. Also, if you're pretty money-conscious, you really don't have to disinfect the cage with anything special, just soap and water works, or a little bleach, just be sure to rinse REALLY well. I usually just put the cage in the bathtub, spray it with water, get some soap and rinse. Hope this helped a little.