HELP, MY RAT IS EATING HER BABIES!

[renki]

hun you can not blame yourself. I dont know much about the rodent department but from what I understand is there arent many vets that know how to deal with rodents. So being as they are so small price goes up.
Do you know who the father was? Could he have been closely related the the mother like a father or brother to her and he got a hold of her? This could lead, as I said, to problems. Sickly, problems along with others. I ran into a sick couple who bred dogs wrongly. They were really inbreeding their dogs like crazy. We had just met a couple that just got together and the guy was inbreeding his dogs bad. The gf knew it was wrong but we couldnt talk any sence into him. Well his female was bred with her brother and she had a large litter of pups...11 if I can remember right...it was a large number... well...all but 2 died...because the inbreeding was that bad.
Though it is understandable that you didnt know. I havent done rogents so I dont know how they work.

[kimsmarkin]

I am not entirely sure, but I tried, I think you would be able to separate them ... for a shorter time. It says to separate them 4 1 / 2, but I am not sure. Just trying to help. I think it would be nice, but if she eats them.

[mybubbles]

maybe the reason why the mom is doing this is because she's frightened... rabbits will eat their babies when they feel threatened- they think that the baby rabbits'll be safer in her stomach
so if you want to fix the problem, i recommend doing your utmost to keep it dark, quiet, and un-threatening

[renki]

maybe the reason why the mom is doing this is because she's frightened... rabbits will eat their babies when they feel threatened- they think that the baby rabbits'll be safer in her stomach
so if you want to fix the problem, i recommend doing your utmost to keep it dark, quiet, and un-threatening

So true
Friend bred rabbits and that happened. then heard of a guy talking about his son and his friend causing problems and his bunny ate the babys

[WinterSkyWolf]

hun you can not blame yourself. I dont know much about the rodent department but from what I understand is there arent many vets that know how to deal with rodents. So being as they are so small price goes up.
Do you know who the father was? Could he have been closely related the the mother like a father or brother to her and he got a hold of her? This could lead, as I said, to problems. Sickly, problems along with others. I ran into a sick couple who bred dogs wrongly. They were really inbreeding their dogs like crazy. We had just met a couple that just got together and the guy was inbreeding his dogs bad. The gf knew it was wrong but we couldnt talk any sence into him. Well his female was bred with her brother and she had a large litter of pups...11 if I can remember right...it was a large number... well...all but 2 died...because the inbreeding was that bad.
Though it is understandable that you didnt know. I havent done rogents so I dont know how they work.

You know what, you probably are right. I got the mother from the pet store and she was already pregnant when i bought her. She probably bred with her brother or something and thats probably why the babies died. I feel better now

[Kaedian]

Rats do not eat their babies if they feel threatened like hamsters and rabbits. Especially not at 3 weeks when the babies are fully furred and exploring on their own. The babies most likely had megacolon and died of that. It's particularly common in pet shop rats in Northern America and Canada.

You said they stopped eating and became weak, did their bellies look bloated? Did they or their mother have any white markings on their faces like a blaze or headspot? Idiot pet shops have a habit of breeding 'high whites' in the hopes of making 'beautiful' markings on rats, when the same gene carries megacolon, which can have devastating results.

The mother will have eaten them to clean up the nest and hide the evidence so to speak, so that no predators pick up the scent of dead flesh. It is nothing to do with you touching or handling them and it looks like something that just couldn't be helped. I'm sorry you had to see it though Hope momma rat's okay.


Who was it who said they separate female babies from the mother so she's on her own? Why? That's not particularly fair to the mother to be used as a breeding machine and not even allowed any company.

[Aura]

please do not listen to Crescanda...

Crescanda there are reasons of why these rats are dieing.....mothers leave their babys when they become of age in all animals...you may not want to believe it but it is true.

Cats run off their young, and so do dogs....male lions run off the male offspring the mother has had so that he does not take over the pride. All animal run off their young. My grandpa has a mom cat and a dad cat that he has been un able to get...Mom cat has kittens but keeps daddy cat away. After the babys become of age and she is getting ready to have new kittens she runs them off. Seeing as the rats are confined mom rat does what she has to to keep herself alive and read when there is a new set coming.

DO seperate them because soon you are going to be inbreeding and the babys will come out with health problems...or mom will get rid of them for you

I don't think you quite understand.
The mother rat doesn't seem to be 'getting rid' of her babies, she is merely eating their dead bodies.
Also, if her babies are not old enough to be seperated, then they will die from the seperation. Since they are old enough, many pet shop rats carry diseases and are not bred well, so it could be that.

[BassKitten]

Hey there!! Your Rat is eating her babies? That is very strange. It seem unlikley to me that a mother rat would eat here own babies but there are rare cases. Here are some causes why your mother rat may be eating her babies:
Are you feeding your rat plenty of food? If not she may eat her babies.
Is her cage very clean? If not this can cause stress in a mother rat and sick or dead babies.
Do you have a male rat sharing the cage? Male rats are extremely teritorial and are likley to eat their own young!
Does your rat have a private and clean nest? Exposed babies also cause stress in a mother rat.
Is there another female rat sharing the cage? Usually a female rat will help a mother rat by putting the babies back in the nest and keeping gaurd when the mother eats or drinks. The mother may not appreciate the help so separate them if possible.
Are you handling the babies a lot? If so this again can cause stress in the mother.

Hope this helps!!!

Love Musiclover331

[renki]

please do not listen to Crescanda...

Crescanda there are reasons of why these rats are dieing.....mothers leave their babys when they become of age in all animals...you may not want to believe it but it is true.

Cats run off their young, and so do dogs....male lions run off the male offspring the mother has had so that he does not take over the pride. All animal run off their young. My grandpa has a mom cat and a dad cat that he has been un able to get...Mom cat has kittens but keeps daddy cat away. After the babys become of age and she is getting ready to have new kittens she runs them off. Seeing as the rats are confined mom rat does what she has to to keep herself alive and read when there is a new set coming.

DO seperate them because soon you are going to be inbreeding and the babys will come out with health problems...or mom will get rid of them for you

I don't think you quite understand.
The mother rat doesn't seem to be 'getting rid' of her babies, she is merely eating their dead bodies.
Also, if her babies are not old enough to be seperated, then they will die from the seperation. Since they are old enough, many pet shop rats carry diseases and are not bred well, so it could be that.

From what I got the babys were still some what alive. Please read my later post seeing as I did talk about inbreeding pets. Thank you
Besides if you read the babys were old enough to be taken away from the mother seeing as they were on solids.
If the baby is weak and seems like it wont make it mothers will kill the weak off in order to have the stronger ones live. They are not like us and think well if there is a will there is a way to let them live to help this baby live...nope they sit there and say well. I can try to get this baby to live but at the risk of my stronger ones getting sickly...so for a animal to be sure that she doesnt loose all her babys her main goal in just about all animals is the stronger ones that will make it

[BassKitten]

please do not listen to Crescanda...

Crescanda there are reasons of why these rats are dieing.....mothers leave their babys when they become of age in all animals...you may not want to believe it but it is true.

Cats run off their young, and so do dogs....male lions run off the male offspring the mother has had so that he does not take over the pride. All animal run off their young. My grandpa has a mom cat and a dad cat that he has been un able to get...Mom cat has kittens but keeps daddy cat away. After the babys become of age and she is getting ready to have new kittens she runs them off. Seeing as the rats are confined mom rat does what she has to to keep herself alive and read when there is a new set coming.

DO seperate them because soon you are going to be inbreeding and the babys will come out with health problems...or mom will get rid of them for you

I don't think you quite understand.
The mother rat doesn't seem to be 'getting rid' of her babies, she is merely eating their dead bodies.
Also, if her babies are not old enough to be seperated, then they will die from the seperation. Since they are old enough, many pet shop rats carry diseases and are not bred well, so it could be that.

From what I got the babys were still some what alive. Please read my later post seeing as I did talk about inbreeding pets. Thank you
Besides if you read the babys were old enough to be taken away from the mother seeing as they were on solids.
If the baby is weak and seems like it wont make it mothers will kill the weak off in order to have the stronger ones live. They are not like us and think well if there is a will there is a way to let them live to help this baby live...nope they sit there and say well. I can try to get this baby to live but at the risk of my stronger ones getting sickly...so for a animal to be sure that she doesnt loose all her babys her main goal in just about all animals is the stronger ones that will make it

oh ok. ive had a few litters of rat babies myself and currently have 3 rats that i look after ive also got a book that my gran gave me 4 xmas so if u have any q's about your adorable little squeakies(rats) dont hesitate 2 ask me!!!