Meet my new girls: more than I bargained for!

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Godmother

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2007
Messages
12,058
Location
New Brunswick (central)
I have been down to three rats since January, and I have found that six is about right for me. Any less, and the colony feels sad. Any more, and I find the illnesses and vet bills too much to handle.

So I decided to add three girls to my gang. I'd felt so guilty that I had not been able to get to Moncton to adopt the girls there. Between illness and snowstorms, I didn't get there and suddenly the girls were off the web site.

So I looked on the local SPCAs-- no girls. I checked kijiji and, lo and behold, an ad for someone who'd had a pet store surprise litter and had three girls left. She said that she'd separated the girls from their brothers at five weeks.

The three girls have been with me since Monday night, and they are eleven weeks old. I weighed them: Macey 192g, Gardenia 162 g, and Wellie 146 g. I had them downstairs in the Martins playpen, so that we'd be near to them and so that I could prep the 695 for them in the rat room.

Tonight I took the girls up to their 695, then came down to clean up the playpen. Good thing I did that right away. I found two very young babies where Wellie had been spending most of her time. They had good milk bellies and they chirped loudly. I took them upstairs and could tell from behavior that Wellie was indeed the mama.

I'm sure that I've been told that the mama and babes should be separated from the other adults, so I divided the cage with Wellie on the bottom level. I had a little box with clean paper towel and I put the babes in there. Wellie was having none of that. She transferred them to the clean litter box. So I gave her some cloth and more paper towel and she made them a nest in the litter box.

So now I have eight rats, and a big dilemma: the other two girls are looking symmetrically round in a way that makes me sure that they are pregnant, too. Tomorrow evening I will weigh them and keep track daily.

This explains why I heard squeaking on Friday night and yet didn't see anyone doing power grooming. Those little eepers must have been born Friday when I was at work. How could a 146g rat have two babies???

I'm rambling now. Had planned an early night, but have been wide awake since the discovery of those little ones.

Any advice for me? I've never been in this situation.
 
This is Gardenia (Denie), named by my niece because she is all white.


:cuss: (Why did Tapatalk overwrite The second photo instead of keeping both???)

The other two are black Berks. Macey has a black tummy with two white spots, and Wellie has a white tummy.

image.jpg
 
Oh wow. What a surprise! I remember when that happened to us... it kind of feels like a betrayal of sorts. But you'll be a great grandma to the babies. If Wellie already gave birth, the other two are not far behind. Those poor babies...so young to be giving birth already. :(
They are cuties though!
 
wow that's amazing that rats so young and so small can have babies! what a shock for you as well

wow
no advice, never been in this situation myself (anti jinx) I think I'd faint if it happened to me
 
Well, I guess you can look on the bright side - she only had two! They are so cute and tiny!!! I would never imagine those little babies could have babies... Congrats !?!?
 
OK looks like you are about to have 3 litters...how is the last girl?

If you don't have any way to separate all 3, you might as well let the 2 nursing moms live together. They know each other, just watch for the babies getting fed (no matter which mom feeds them)...

I am sorry :(
 
The third girl has bulged unbelievably since last night. She and the second mama were fighting over the paper towel scraps, so I set up a third cage for her. She will pop any time now, given that she is more obviously pregnant than the others were.

I found out from SQ that the person who adopted them to me is a breeder that SQ had tried to educate. I no longer believe a word of what I was told. The person had told me that they were a pet store surprise and hadn't been with boys for six weeks! I will soon have 15+ babies as counter-evidence.

The only good new is that the mamas know what to do. Babies are getting fed and kept warm.

I'm facing a real ethical dilemma, because I cannot manage so many rats.
 
Oh my , you definately got more than you bargained for!

That's what scares me about adopting any females .....hopefully you will be blessed that they only have a minimal amount of little ones. Those babies sure are cute though!:kisses::kisses::kisses:
 
Oh no, that is just wrong! Those poor little babies having babies! Babies are cute though - its a good thing they found their way to you.
 
It may seem overwhelming at first, but having a bunch of babies is pretty easy - mom does all the work. If you start early and put them up for adoption, posting cute pictures, hopefully you will find some homes. Right now try and look at the bright side, which is that eight babies from two girls is pretty good. There are also a lot of Maritimers on the Shack so some may be willing to take a few babies in. Deep breaths! Safe delivery to momma #3.
 
Oh boy...I almost cried when I saw how tiny those girls are and already having babies :( I can't imagine the shock you are in as well, thinking you were just getting 3 more babies and then all being pregnant...I would have a few choice words for the person who adopted them out to you haha but that is just me. I hope momma number 3 has a smooth delivery and everything works out in the end and momma and babies are all healthy!
 
I got to meet the 3 baby girls today.
Godmother bought 3 babies from a local teenage /young adult breeder who has bred many many litters in the last year, often back to back litters.
Myself and others filed formal complaints with the NBSPCA against this breeder last fall because of the way her pets were cared for.

These little girls and their babies are very fortunate that they ended up in a good home. I got to set up a cage and make 3 nest boxes :)
There is a litter of 2, a litter of 8 and the other girl may be presently giving birth. Hard to believe that such tiny baby girls could be having babies .... they may be so small because of an inadequate diet and the fact that they came from a large litter)
 
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She came out of the nest box, still well rounded, to eat and be greeted. She was a bit skittish, though, and disappeared back into her nest box.

I heard some squeaking from Wellie's nest, but she still hasn't come out. Macey's babies are eeping loudly whenever their mama is away from them.
I'm leaving my older crew downstairs in the playpen tonight so that Gardenia can give birth in peace.
 
Oh my goodness, too cute :) The black one with the white tummy looks so much like our new-ish little girl rescue. I don't really have any advice other than weigh then daily and...good luck!
 
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