Rodent issues

[Shelby]

Ok, so I bought a fancy male mouse to replace my boring white mouse. I thought that since it was a male, the female mice wouldn't attack him since I removed the albino male.

Wrong. They massacred him.. ate his brains out and buried him in the bedding.

So just now, I look in one of my rat cages and see that Sniper (my fave dumbo breeder rat) dead, and one of his male babies dead too! The baby was a runt that I hand fed when it was a pinky and he was doing great. He was a month old now at least..

The female that was with them was fine. I'm keeping her alone for a couple of days to make sure she's ok, then I'll pick her a new mate, but geez!

As if that wasn't enough, my female who just had 11 babies, some of which would be rex (my first rex litter, I was so excited!) killed them all.. or something! Absolutely no trace. No blood, no severed limbs, no nothing.

I'm puzzled and frustrated.

[mr~python]

wow seems like you got rodent problems lol, maybe its somethin goin around j/k i dont know anything about how to raise rodents so i cant help you... sorry.

[TekWarren]

I've found...and read that when introducing new mates its better to put the female in an established tub (or whatever enclosure you use) that a male has already been in for some time. Female rodents can become very aggressive when new stock is introduced into "thier" territory. This is a real big issue with gerbils, people say it isn't for rats and mice but it still can be as you have found out.

[Shelby]

Interesting.. ok.

I have had no problems like this with my rats. They scuffle a bit when I introduce new rats, but they're just figuring out the hierarchy, not trying to kill eachother.

[frankykeno]

Hey Shel, I was just thinking about that momma rat and her 11 babies. Some animals when presented with a large litter will cull some to allow the others a better chance at survival. I wonder if she started in on the weakest babies and just never stopped? Has she been successful before with a smaller litter or were these her first babies?


~~Jo~~

[Shelby]

This was her second litter. She massacred the first one too.. she did feed this second litter though, I saw milk bands on all of them.

If she does it again, I'll send her to the freezer.

[Jeanne]

This was her second litter. She massacred the first one too.. she did feed this second litter though, I saw milk bands on all of them.

If she does it again, I'll send her to the freezer.

Chances are, she will do it again. Best thing to do is retire her from breeding in whichever way you feel is best and replace her. IME, rats who do this more than once to begin with, will continue. Some rats do not make good mothers at all. I cant tell you exactly why she is doing that, because it could be just about anything triggering her to do this. Dont get too discouraged, really , cannabalism is not that common in rats IME, in fact, when I was breeding rats and mice, I saw that type of behavior in mice more often. But do look at your housing for your rats also, the biggest reason I can give you for rats to act this way is b/c of lack of room, sufficient food/water, lack of privacy or feelings of stress due to too many housed together or too close but in separate cages (females can be territorial) within view of eachother.... however, there is always that trigger you will never figure out if all else is fine.

When introducing new male mice, put your male in his own enclosure, and introduce females into his territory after he has lived in it for at least a week to get his scent in there, keeps the girls from being territorial (girls are territorial, and can be very violent). Also, if it happens your females are already pregnant by another male, and put with a different male, he will kill any babies that are not his, esp. when living communally. Same for rats, they will kill babies that are not thiers.

Was your dumbo male and his baby tore up or anything? If so, could be that the female that was with them did it, or, if he was old enough to be sexually mature (as young as 6 weeks sometimes) the 2 guys faught over breeding rights and killed eachother, this may sound silly, but rats or mice dont care if another is related to them, all they care about is being able to have breeding rights. If the males were not tore up, it boggles my mind as to whats up b/c a female was left alive.. is she ok now?

[jglass38]

This demonstrates why I have no love for rodents. They are really digusting and dirty. I can't speak for pet rats but how much better could they be? School me...

[Shelby]

Since I have no other female rats to replace the bad one, I will give her one more chance for now.

About a week before the massacre I moved my rats into lab style cages. They are nice size, and only the one pair was living in it. They are in no view of other rats. So, who knows.

The dumbo male/baby were in perfect condition. The baby was about 2.5" nose to butt.. itty bitty.

[Jeanne]

This demonstrates why I have no love for rodents. They are really digusting and dirty. I can't speak for pet rats but how much better could they be? School me...

Actually, pet rats are awesome. I prefer males to females, cause males tend to be more laid back, while females seem to want to be on the go more, but there is always the exception with females also, not all are like that. Mice are nasty~ period.... more than anything, mice smell worse than rats, not sure why, they just do. With rats, males tend to have a bit of a stronger smell than females... but really, not bad at all if their cage is kept clean. Rats are smart and very friendly. If you even decide to try to have a rat as a pet, best advice I can give you, DO NOT buy one from a pet store that does not differentiate between feeders and pets. There is a huge difference between a feeder rodent and a pet. The pets are bred for thier temperment and markings/colors/type, they are socialized very early, therefor, they see you, as thier friend and make wonderful pets. When you buy from a pet store, you really must know for sure that they do differentiate between the 2, and alot of times, thats hard to know for sure since pet shops are not all that honest. Most pet shops buy thier rats from suppliers who are selling them for pet/feeders, they are not bred for temperment or anything else, and more often than not, end up making cruddy pets who have nothing but health problems like cancer, tumors and etc.; they are just a money maker (commodity/product), and most of the time, are inbred really badly. However, if you want a really great pet rat, find a breeder, they are all over the US and other places such as Canada,etc. Breeders are the best place to get pet rats, then you are able to be sure that they are well socialized and not inbred. You see less health issues when buying from a reputable breeder because they have higher standards and dont breed rodents with apparent health issues, they also know thier lineage. Rats are super intelligent and sweet. We had over 40 at any given time when I had my rattery in full swing, they were pets first and foremost, and breeders secondly. They can learn thier names, learn to do things.... do a google search for info on pet rats, you will find lots of info.