rats

[brenttin]

hey guys my rats had 10 babys all fell through the wire and found 5 dead so i got a bowl and put the other 5 in there i walk way and came back to look if they were getting looked after and they had been biten and then thrown out sum were missing heads can any 1 help
cheers brenttin

 

[Mudimans]

have you got more than one male in there. sometimes the males will kill the young if there are more than one

 

[brenttin]

nah got 2 females and 1 male in a big cage

 

[Mudimans]

no idea. maybe they just weren't ready for kids

 

[JasonL]

and they had been biten and then thrown out sum were missing heads can any 1 help
cheers brenttin

Only JC himself could help them now.

But rats do that every now and then for many reasons like; not happy with their enclosure and nesting site, they are sick and can't look after them, they just don't want to look after them because; they aren't getting fed well, they are too hot or too cold, they are stressed.........and the list goes on.... the better you care for the rats and the more you try to meet their needs the less they will kill their offspring. Also, some individual animals are just bad parents and continue to kill their offspring, those animals are best used to fill a void in a snakes stomach.

 

[brenttin]

haha true well i have put the all in different cages cos i dont no which 1 was the mother so im hopin the other has sum very soon and to c if the other rats ur killin the or the mother but the funny thing none of them looked pregs at all

 

[Kimbully]

Make sure they have a good area to nest in. Sometimes the mums can freak out on their first litter. They also could have been sensitive to your smell after you put them back in.
Kim

 

[Australis]

Two females can be an issue, often fight over a litter.

 

[gman78]

Try to spot the fat females before they give birth and remove them in to a container by themselves.
How come they were born on wire?

 

[Snake_Whisperer]

Great thread, I lost two large weaners out of 7 last night and want to avoid losing any more. Thanks for the useful information APS'ers!

 

[rodentrancher]

I think you'd be better using a tub with a solid bottom rather than a wire bottom, or get smaller wire mesh for the bottom of the cage. Cheers Cheryl

 

[brenttin]

yea i didnt realise any of them ur preg cos they were normal and plus i have had them for a good 4 months and this is the first time they have breed and the male is always bashed up 1 time came home he couldnt open his eye so just that they were duds ,wire is easy to clean and u just pull the tray out and its clean and there not standin in there mess

 

[KaaTom]

In the past 8 days we have had 4 litters born totalling 31 bubs. 12 were born this afternoon we even got the times for all of them and we have handled the others from birth & havent had any troubles even with the female we bought the morning she gave birth from the pet shop.
I do agree though try and keep the rats on a more solid base, they arent battery hens and they are pretty clean with the right bedding

 

[first_time_owner]

eh...
Sticky tape?

hahahahahahahahahahahaha

 

[rodentrancher]

",wire is easy to clean and u just pull the tray out and its clean and there not standin in there mess "

Hmmm?? Well they are not standing in any mess if you clean em out at least once a week eh? Cheers Cheryl

 

[Aussie Python Lover]

Sometime having another female in there is an issue cause they try adopt them then they fight then the babies end up being eatin, I had a female rat who gave birth to 12 pups and then next day there were only 6 left, some females do it due to lack of vitamins from what they lost by carrying so they eat to get nutrients back or they do it cause there are to many, there are lots of reasons why they do it.

Try getting another container for the mother when she has her babies seperate her from the others until the babies are weaners thats how I have been doing it... But thats JMO, good luck

 

[brenttin]

yea i do clean the cage out every week to 2 weeks but my rats thrush the cage rip all the newspaper up and throw there food out it looks lik **** a few days after so wat do other people use for there cages and to put on the floor of the cage