prego

[Drew87]

Hey everyone ok so i started up my colony, there doing well but my question is i have 1 male 4 females, would it be ok to put lets say 2 females together that are about to give birth? and let them raise the puts up in the same tub

[Mikkla]

I keep up to tree females in the same tub with there pinks and I never had any babies die.

[MeMe]

some people do...I don't.

I keep mine seperated.

It is easier to identify problems.

[munding]

i keep 3 females in 1 tub. saw one this morning eating a pink.

[Drew87]

Eating it ???????? wow what causes this ?

[littleindiangirl]

Eating it ???????? wow what causes this ?

The most likely reasons are: birth defects, pup was DOA, severely stressed mother, mother regaining nutrition after birth (meaning she is not physically fit to raise a litter), other rats culling litter.

[munding]

The most likely reasons are: birth defects, pup was DOA, severely stressed mother, mother regaining nutrition after birth (meaning she is not physically fit to raise a litter), other rats culling litter.

yep. connie and frankykeno were the one who told me this. so i just leave them alone. but if they eat the whole litter,then i feed them off. to a burmese.

[Drew87]

well im pretty sure mine are healthy so they better not eat there litters other wise they will have a date with my BLOOD PYTHON haha, but my TOT should be popping here soon soo ill keep everyone posted!

[marmie]

I don't keep mine together because I've had a tug-o-war with a baby and it wasn't pretty. The baby actually survived with a huge tear on his back and it made me sick. I felt horrible and now I try pull the mama's out the week they are scheduled to deliver.

[littleindiangirl]

well im pretty sure mine are healthy so they better not eat there litters other wise they will have a date with my BLOOD PYTHON haha, but my TOT should be popping here soon soo ill keep everyone posted!

If you do decide to put them together to nurse, know that communal nesting appears to not be their first choice and some mothers just don't do well with it. It is a huge stress to not only be nursing, but to have to deal with the other females in the tub. Other females may steal the babies from other mothers, resulting in a tug of war or back and forth carrying of babies. This can be quite detrimental to the health of all animals involved.

Also, some mothers may not nurse, leaving the duties to the rest of the females in the tub, adding more strain on their bodies.

It's harder to identify the source of problems when there are multiple adults involved. Most notedly, genetic defects.

Some females may feel the need to cannibalize the litters. First time mothers aren't used to what they are doing, and are being completely motivated by a bunch of hormones running through their body.

If a female has a first litter and destroys it, best to give her a second chance in a tub on her own. If she continues to destroy the litter, best that she not breed anymore.

I don't condone communal nesting, but rather have mothers raise the pups by themselves. I know some people put litters and mothers together once the pups are 2 weeks old, running around, this seems safer to me.