They're here !! Mama and now only 2 growing babies

[SQ]

The little mama Molly (keeping her name if she knows it, otherwise thinking of Eve) and her 3 babies arrived!

Molly seems very relaxed, curious, and not at all bothered by her 4 hour trip

a 4 day old baby

eating baby cereal

three babies in the bedding

cage is a bit bare without hammocks ... will look better in several weeks when the babies are older and hammocks go up
There are two water bottles, but they are on the open door.

 

[SQ]

I'm a little concerned.
Molly doesn't seem very concerned about her babies.
She is friendly, hasn't bitten me, and only nursed once for a very short few minutes.

I'm used to rescue mamas who attack to defend their babies, hide them under bedding and don't want humans to bother them.
Hoping that Molly is just used to having litter after litter after litter ....
Hoping that Molly is a really great mama.

We are four days old

 

[Godmother]

Sweet mama & babies! :heart: If you ever need a home for a couple of girls.....

Not surprising that Molly is a bit blasé about motherhood, after being a breeder rat. But once she settles in with you I bet she will be fine.

 

[Joanne]

Awww, they're so young! Glad you have them now.

 

[xxchelle]

Whenever mommas seem uninterested in babies here, what works for us is putting them in a smaller cage so that their focus can be on nursing. Have you tried that?

Molly is absolutely gorgeous. She could just be settling in, too. I'm sure her past few days have been really stressful

I'm glad you got them, Holly!

 

[hopefloats]

wow they are so tiny~ I love watching pictures of them grow, it is amazing how fast it happens

 

[Joanne]

Interesting one is so much bigger than the other two.

 

[lizmo1221]

Interesting one is so much bigger than the other two.

When I had the Land Before Time litter here the three girls (two in particular), were at least 50% larger than the two boys... as long as they were still plump (which they all were), I didn't worry too much about it. With only five babies, I knew there was more than enough milk to go around.

 

[SQ]

Thanks Chelle, I hadn't as I don't have any small cages .... I donated hamster cages past rescues were in, to the SPCA
Tried a small box but she ignored babies and focused on trying to dig her way out :sad3:
Babies are now in a smaller container with bedding .... she seems to be taking an interest ... I hope ....

Aaron - largest baby, dark eyes, going to be a hoodie, no milk belly
something seems to be stuck on his mouth
boy?

Sarah - skinny and small, light eyes, no milk belly ... bruise on her head?
girl?

Moses - skinny and small, light eyes, has a milk belly
boy?

Mom is out of the nest now .... will try to find a small cage.

 

[lilspaz68]

The babies looks normal to me...I would imagine that she had a full-size litter and some died off? Not sure of Miss Molly's story. :/

Give her time to settle in.

 

[SQ]

Story is here: posting.php?mode=edit&f=56&p=296938
Wanted to get all babies and mama before they ended up at the pet store, etc
She said she was going to charge $10 for Molly and her babies .... so I'm thinking the pet store she has been using.
They were given free to me.

Thanks lilspaz68, I'll give her more time.
I've been worried over the lack of milk bellies and mom's lack of interest in the babies.
On Friday I was told that she had 3 babies that were two days old.
I'm thinking small litter due to constant breeding, but you may be right.
It hasn't been easy to get info. I wasn't completely sure this was going to happen until they actually arrived.

I thought Molly would be older, over one year anyway, as I was told that she was given a break from breeding last year.
She doesn't seem like an older girl to me.

 

[jorats]

I was going to suggest a smaller cage as well.
But I remember one of our mamas did that too and I panicked but she went back and took care of the kids eventually.

 

[lizmo1221]

I know when I had Kelly here she got really distracted with all the smells, sounds, etc when she was in the same room as my rats... kind of ignored her little ones as well. When I moved her to my bedroom to be on her own, she settled down and focused more on her babies. Maybe there are too many interesting distractions where Molly is right now?

 

[mamarat]

So glad they are with you. Momma is gorgeous.

 

[SQ]

Put mama, babies, bedding, baby cereal and blocks into a small cat carrier.
Water bottle on the door.
Things seem to be going better.

Yes, I imagine that Molly has been distracted, large cage and lots of new smells and noises.
Plus Racheal hanging off the bars of her cage snorting at Molly for awhile.
I don't have the option of another room but the cat carrier seems to be working well.

Thanks for all the comments and ideas.

 

[Godmother]

Glad it is going better. It is nerve-wracking to have a mom and babies, wondering if they will be OK after all the stress of travel and whatever happened to them before.

 

[SQ]

We have milk bellies ! :joy:

Opened the cat carrier door so Molly (Eve?) can get out are explore her cage some more.
Largest baby no longer has whatever it was on his mouth. :thumbup:

 

[jorats]

That's great!!!! They are going to be gorgeous cause mom sure is.

 

[SQ]

Just keep your fingers crossed that she isn't pregnant.
Yes, mom is beautiful .... but then, I've never met a rattie that wasn't. LOL

I'm very very happy !!!
Milk Bellies !!! Yeagh!!

 

[Moon]

Molly is just beautiful!!! Hopefully she's more in-tune with the babies now.