20 babies

[juddb]

I cant believe that one of my female rats threw me exactly 20 little babies this morning. :eek: Has anyone ever had a litter this big before? I will post pics when i get home tonight, my roommate should be taking pictures as we speak. Crazy

[rabernet]

I had 19 from one, and I kept two of her sons and one of her daughters. Her daughter's first litter was 14, so she might throw some bigger ones later. Congratulations!

[lord jackel]

Wow...that is great. I would be saving all the females for future breeders if I were you.

[juddb]

Wow...that is great. I would be saving all the females for future breeders if I were you.

Yeah thats what i was thinking too. Maybe not all of them, but the cutest ones for my girlfriend , she would be proud. But man last night that poor girl looked like a softball. She is normally snappy as all hell but she was letting me scratch her behind the ears and everything.

[frankykeno]

That is a really good litter! Was it her first? If she easily births that many, I'd agree a good idea to keep a few of her best daughters back for future breeding stock. You might want to foster off some of that large litter though to another nursing female who has a smaller litter if one is available. That's a lot of work for one momma rat. If you can't foster any, then just make sure she's got tons of good food and a full water bottle at all times. When she's done raising them, a good long rest before re-breeding will keep her in top shape and popping out those impressive litters.