HELP!! THREE BABIES DEAD.

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T

Tarah

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2009
Messages
2,081
Location
Nova Scotia, Canada
I went to check on the little ones again today (as i do on a daily-or-so basis) and picked up a little one to find she was dead. Her ribs were showing and her little belly was all caved in. At that point i only counted 9 babies including the dead one. So i called Joeys father down because i was already traumatized by the dead little one in my hand. When he unrolled the fleece blanket, he found the other two little ones dead.

Is there anything i can do to ensure no other little ones pass away? What is the ideal thing for them to be in (tissue box, igloo, etc..) I need to do something, i don't want to lose anymore babies. :cry4: :cry3:

RIP my three little babes, i'm sorry your lives were cut so short.. :sad3:
 
I have no idea. They are so young. PM Lilspaz68. She might be able to give you some insight. Do the other babies have milk bellies? You will be able to see a white stripe across their tummies.
 
Very, very sorry ...

Mom should have access to a good quality lab block and water at all times. You can suppliment her diet by giving her baby cereal (mixed with soy baby formula, ensure, or water) once or twice a day, daily vegs such as peas, and occassional bits of cooked eggs.

The better mom eats, the better babies will.

You need to give mom lots of nesting material that dioes not contain threads as threads can get wrapped around little necks and limbs. Mom will keep babies burried to keep them warm.

We used carefresh as bedding when our babies were small.
Joanne provided Jazzy with a cardboard box (flaps on top so she could open it to peek inside) with a hole in the side for Jazzy to get in and out. She gave Jazzy lots of paper to use for nest building.
 
I am sorry to hear of your little ones. Within the first days is when you will lose some wee ones that aren't truly healthy. Just remember that you cannot see them from the inside so they may look healthy but may not be able to survive.

((hugs))
 
SQ said:
Mom should have access to a good quality lab block and water at all times. You can suppliment her diet by giving her baby cereal (mixed with soy baby formula, ensure, or water) once or twice a day, daily vegs such as peas, and occassional bits of cooked eggs.

The better mom eats, the better babies will.

You need to give mom lots of nesting material that dioes not contain threads as threads can get wrapped around little necks and limbs. Mom will keep babies burried to keep them warm.

We used carefresh as bedding when our babies were small.
Joanne provided Jazzy with a cardboard box (flaps on top so she could open it to peek inside) with a hole in the side for Jazzy to get in and out. She gave Jazzy lots of paper to use for nest building.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice SQ, i'll definatly feed here this way.

Two of the babies looked squat on their undersides, so i'm thinking they might have been on the bottom of the pile and got smothered*. The other little girl who passed was REALLY tiny compared to the others, and was always kind of curled up. I'm thinking she was the runt. :sad3:
 
Sometimes young babies die .... they might have something wrong with them, might get lost/separated from mom and the others, and accidents sometimes happen.

I hope the info previously posted will be helpful.
There are a lot of posts of moms and litters growing up on this forum.
Reading those posts may be helpful ... they are certainly interesting ...

Hope mom and the remaining babies do ok.
 
Harlan, Oxbow regal rat or Living World/Hagen extrusian hamster block are good.

A good quality lab block is usually 80% of a rat's diet with the other 20% being daily vegs, a bit of fruit and occassional treats such as oatmeal, unsalted pumkin seeds etc.
 
So sorry to hear about the babies. That must be so difficult. breakthenight went through a similar experience recently (see her thread about Rowan's babies). It is painful to see the little ones not make it, but usually there is nothing that could be done. Looks like you've got access to lots of good advice now, which should help you feel more confident in supporting the mama rat.
 
I'm so sorry she lost some :( But, it is unfortunately a part of life. Hopefully the remainder of the babies stay big and strong and grow grow grow.
 
Is Momma drinking? I lost a baby because Momma wasn't keeping her fluids up to milk.
 
Ohhhh yes, she's drinking like it's the end of the world. :laugh4:

The remainding babies are doing really really good, as far as i can tell. They all have milkbands, and are growing more and more every day. They pretty much have color now too. :happydance:
 
Jo, i'm soooooooo glad they're doing okay! I worry about having another one pass away on me, but seeing they're doing better and better every day really makes it easier to enjoy the little ones!
I cant wait until they start getting some fur :heart:
 

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