Miss Minnie(Pictures Inside)

[kristie0593]

Ok,so I took some pics of Minnie and I'm hoping some of you can could possibly tell me if she looks like a pregnant rattie.I took some pics where you can see her belly pretty good.Hope you like!

[laydeerodentzz]

yep, looks pregnant to me hun...

congrats on lil'minnie!

[mtmaughan]

Ooh, I think she looks preggers. I hope we get to see pics of some little eepers soon.

[mulder]

yeah i think she's prego too....yay babies!

[kristie0593]

yea,my parents now think she is too,she was standing up and she looked so big around her belly and i looked up prego rats earlier and she looks quite like them.we moved her into a little baby safe cage and are waiting for the babies,she's been nesting too..it's so funny to see the little place she made.thanks for your input guys.and do any of you know of any good rat sites on baby info and such?

[mtmaughan]

The Rat Guide http://ratguide.com/ has tons of good info on many subject. There are several articles about pregnancy and birth under the Breeding section.

[Cazsamps]

Oh yep defo preggers!! Yay babies!!! Congrats!

[kristie0593]

I'm so happy,Minnie had her babies last night,there's at least 7,maybe more.I had to move out to the couch they were making so much noise.They're just little pink things.Everything went smoothly I assume.She's hunched over them keeping then warm.Good thing we got her in the nursery tank yesterday.

[Vanilla_Rat]

CongRATS!
She is a pretty ratty.

Don't disturb her too much for the first day or two.Also make sure she gets extra protien and nutrients in her diet.Offer some chicken or a milkbone.

[kristie0593]

ok,thanks.i plan on getting her out later today to count the babies and take out any still borns if there are any.

[Vanilla_Rat]

Since they are so new,do not have them out for long.I personally don't touch the babies until the 2nd or 3rd day.

[mulder]

another good protein treat that vanrat once told me, is bread soaked in milk, she'll need the extra goods for nursing. congrats on the babies, i sooooo can't wait to see pics!!

[luvboyrats]

Oh wonderful congrats! She is a very cute rattie. You're going to have soo much fun now. We have recently had a litter, and they literally change every day!

Really as long as things go normally, mommy will take care of the babies for the most part. The big thing is to make sure there's lots of soft warm material for a nest (I use fleece) and plenty of water and high protein food for mommy. At this stage she will eat and drink a lot more often (nursing is thirsty work) so check the food bowl and water bottle a couple of times a day. Also I check in every now and then to make sure no one has wandered too far from the nest or burrowed down where mommy can't find them. Other than that she'll do all the work.

After about 2 or 3 days shes' going to be really tired of the wriggly little jelly beans clinging to her all the time and she'll need a break. At that point it's safe to pull her out for about 20 mins at a time and play with her a bit. Just cover the babies with something for warmth when you do.

[kristie0593]

ok,thanks so much for that info.this is my first time and my parents with having newborn babies.they're little squeakers that's for sure.around 4:30 we were able to get minnie out of the cage and count how many babies there were and if any of them were dead,so we found 12 babies all squirming around,so I'm quite happy,we plan on keeping at least 4 of the girls if there are 4 and will find homes for the other ones.

[kristie0593]

Update:I came home from school and found one of the little babies dead.So now we're down to 11 babies.Hopefully they all stay alive.