Freakin' Rodents.......

[Mitch21]

One of my females had her first litter Friday morning. I didn't get a good look but I'm assuming there were about 10 babies. Throughout Friday, and over the weekend, I would continually see one of two new dead babies that she tossed out of the nest. Needless to say, slowly and gradually all the babies are now dead. She, along with the other female and the male, seemed to be doing a great job mothering the babies. But it just seemed like every so often a baby got buried under the bedding, or there would simply be a dead baby on the outskirts of the nest...

I feed Mazuri lab block. They have plenty of room, a wheel, things to chew.

Any thoughts? Do you think that was more or less do to this being her first litter? Or do you think there are other issues at hand?


Thanks!

[Wild Bill]

Do you strictly feed Mazuri? If so I would try to give them a good bird seed mixture also, maybe even some cheerios. I found the ASF rats need more than just the rodent food.

[Midwest Morphs]

i had the same thing last week a litter of about 12 got eaten and it was also the first for her.

[Mitch21]

Maybe it's just a "first litter" issue then...

Like I said, the colony seemed like they took care of the babies well... It just so happens that every few hours I would see another one of two babies that looked dead and were kicked out of the nest.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

can't offer much help on this. Simply because I haven't seen it in my colonies.

No need to feed anything but the mazuri 6f that you are already feeding. How old were they when you got them? what is your setup? Just list all your details and I am sure we can find the problem.


Mike

[Mitch21]

They're in a 58qt tub like I've seen many people keep them in. I feed Mazuri lab block and sometimes(rarely) supplement with some hamster seed food. They have a metal wheel which they use CONSTANTLY. They have a PVC U-pipe in the tub that they use for chewing and hiding. I used to keep a tupperware bowl up-side down for a hide but once the babies were born, they actually flipped the bowl and dragged it to a corner and never used it again. And the bedding is pine pellets with a mix of cypress.

The same female looks VERY pregnant already!! I don't know if this is because she just had her litter last Friday or if she actually is preggo again...

[Mike Cavanaugh]

cypress???? don't know if it has anything to do with this particular problem, but early on I was told that cypress was a big no-no with rodents. Way too much moisture retention....

[frankykeno]

Bill!!! It's great to see you back around these parts LOL.

Do you strictly feed Mazuri? If so I would try to give them a good bird seed mixture also, maybe even some cheerios. I found the ASF rats need more than just the rodent food.

Personally I also include wild bird seed mix in my ASF feed. They get some cat kibble, wild bird seed mix, a bit of hog chow, small dry cereals and the occasional treat of fresh greens. Seems to work fine for my bunch.

If this colony has just started producing young than sometimes you'll see issues like this. Just watch them closely to see if they settle in and the litter losses stop. If not, and you believe they have developed a nasty habit of destroying litter then I'd personally feed them all off and start over. Do doublecheck that you don't have another adult male in there. Sometimes a male will appear female and get accidentally placed into a breeding group. Multiple males can destroy litters and fight for breeding rights so check to make sure you don't have a "surprise" extra male in there.

You also might want to give them more or bigger hiding areas (even things like old kleenex boxes, etc. work well). It may be a dominance or space issue between the breeding females so sometimes giving them more room to hide their litters alleviates issues amongst the females who seem to have a very definiate dominance/pecking order.

[Wild Bill]

Bill!!! It's great to see you back around these parts LOL.

Hi Joanna!!! Been gone for awhile and I hardly recognise anyone. LOL

[frankykeno]

Hi Joanna!!! Been gone for awhile and I hardly recognise anyone. LOL

The place has really grown in leaps and bounds this past year! Well glad to see you back. Pull up a chair and stick around will ya.