so last night before we went to bed, i went to oil the ASF wheels cause they were squeaking pretty badly. and to my dismay, there was a dead rat, that had been completely turned inside out and eaten. even MORE to my dismay, it was the male in my 3 month old 1.4 breeding colony. they should have been breeding in about another month, maybe a little more. so needless to say, i was pretty disappointed. i couldn't figure out why they would cannibalize him, they had lots of food, and a full water bottle. so we went to bed.

this morning, i look in, and see ANOTHER dead rat, again turned inside out and eaten. i checked on the others, and they felt a little weird, their fur looked a bit off, and it was as if they were a little stiffer than usual. so i thought, great, they're all gonna die and i have NO idea why! then i decided to check their water bottle. lo and behold, it WASN'T WORKING! no water whatsoever was coming out. i guess there was a little piece of sawdust or something jammed up inside.

and now, i feel HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!! it's all MY FAULT that these poor little ratty's went without water. in a colony of 5 rats, the water usually lasts 2-3 days. yesterday i looked in, saw that the duckie was still at the top, indicating that their water was full. i just assumed dave had filled them up yesterday while i was at work. but nope, it was full because it was jammed, and the poor little rattys died of dehydration.

on the bright side, i still have a male and female who are very established breeders, and another colony of 1.4 in another tub. in fact, the established male and female just gave birth (literally started minutes ago, is probably still poppin' them out) and it was only 30 days ago she had another litter. so at least she's reliable.

so let this be a warning to you all, i would have for it to happen to anyone else's colony in the future, CHECK THE WATER SUPPLY EVERYDAY! not just visually to make sure that the bottles are full, but make sure they are actually dispensing water!