*last two have died* advice on Lily's new babies

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lilspaz68 said:
She may have stopped lactating or she has abandoned her babies :( Does she still have laboured breathing?
Click to expand...

She does still have the laboured breathing. I got a little herbal tea box and cut it down (like a little bed) I put the fleece in and the babies, She is lying with them now....cleaning one of them. How can I tell if she has milk? Her nipples still seem to be sticking out more than on our other girls. I hope she doesn't give up on them.

One is doing so much better then the other ( I keep calling it he), he is drinking more and I was able to get lots of poo and pee. The weaker of the two is drinking but only about three drops (but it looks like her belly is full) and I was able to get her ("her" is the weaker one) to do pee and one poo. I haven't left the room except to walk to the vets. My kids think I've abandoned them.......I wish I was close to someone that had a lactating mom and times like this I wish I drove. I've hand fed a kitten, two bunnies and have saved sooo many birds....oh and a baby mouse this past summer, not to mention a big fat toad that was going onto the road.....I am determined to save these babies.

I've had three of my own kids so waking every three hours to feed them will hopefully come naturally to me!

I will try to update later with more of whats going on.
 
I would suggest you get the mama to a vet that treats rats by tomorrow. You need to be concerned about saving her too.
If she needs to go on meds, vets will be closed soon for the holidays.
And emergency vets charge hundreds of dollars to show up, then they charge fees for whatever needs to be done.

This link gives info. re baby rats and also a feeding schedule for babies of different ages:
http://www.rmca.org/Articles/orphans.htm
 
Oh so scary, I am really praying and pulling for those two remaining babies! They are so strong, poor wee things :( We hand fed a pinkie mouse once that we found outside abandoned, the only thing we could find was goats milk (didnt know about soy) and he thrived. We used to keep him in our bra to keep him warm, and make him use the potty often. He lived to be 6 years old. I hope you have the same outcome as we did :heart:

Any more pics of babies?
 
I am so sad to say her last remaining babies did not make it through the night. I thought for sure they were going to live, they had full bellies, were peeing and pooping with my help and the one that I called the weaker one (squeeker)was doing so well!!! Even Chups (the bigger one) was looking better......their color was a nice pink. I found them under her, under the little blanket....she must have smothered them (not on purpose hopefully).

When I found them they both has little white bellies (so they must have nursed from her sometime during the night). I am trying so hard to not cry but I am so sad for Lily and for us. I wanna just choke the idiots at the pet store.....not only did the kids get to experience the miracle of birth but they also had to experience death.
 
SO sorry you've lost your little ones *hugs* it's never easy....good luck with getting the mum healthy. How's her breathing this morning?
 
Oh dear, so sorry this happened to your and your family.

It's very likely that Lily was in poor health, and didn't receive proper pre-natal care and nutrition while she was in the pet store, and her babies never really had much chance.

Is Lily alone now?

You should get her to a vet anyway, to make sure she is healthy. Most rats from pet stores are not healthy, and end up living shortened lives due to awful illnesses and respiratory distress.

Rats should always have buddies to live with. She will need a friend. But don't ever get another animal from that pet store. Contact one of the many good rescues that are on this site, and you'll be able to find a good healthy friend for Lily.
 
Thanks everyone....the support is much appreciated.

Lily is doing good, very good actually. She is in with Peaches now, and got to roam around with Max and lucky last night.

Her breathing still off but I have her on .15cc of amoxicillin as well as a homeopathic medicine. The vet that wouldn't look at her yesterday gave me a call this morning....he had a visiting friend to his office that deals with exotics! He was even nice enough to write the prescription in my name so I wouldn't have to pay full pice, only dispensing fee. It is a respiratory issue.

This whole experience has opened my eyes and will definatly be going to a rescue for our next additions (not any time soon though).
 
I"m so sorry you lost all the babies

You need to make yourself acquainted with Dr Munn at Greenwood Park. I know he's not really local for you but you could get there on public transit and that clinic is by far the best for exotics in the city. You NEED a good rat vet.
 

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