Had a nursing momma mouse pass away on me suddenly (suspecting Dystocia) less than 24 hours after giving birth… unfortunately she was the only current nursing female in my colony, the rest had already weaned off their most recent litters.
I don’t have the heart to cull these guys and I have no snakes small enough to take them anymore so I’m going to play momma and try to give these little ones a fighting chance. So far they are doing good and are eating a mix of plain yogurt and goats milk from a thin paint brush so I have at least a little hope
I’ve successfully raised rats from hairless Pinkies before so thats another thing I can hope for in success for these babies.
If you have a really good momma you might be able to have a nursing rat help out too.
I got a rattie mom to take on 4 rescued hamster pinkies when the mom started cannibalizing the others. I rolled them in the nest bedding to make them smell more like the rat’s babies and then put them in the cage. She took them to the nest and they were raised with the rattie kids.
Either way, I hope it works out for you! They’re so tiny it can make feedings difficult
So far feeding them has been ok, I don’t have any nursing rats right now either colder weather has slowed them down on breeding along with the female who birthed and passed being out of my breeding cycle by a few weeks.
I do have 2 female rats in breeding bins but they are still with the male and I haven’t confirmed pregnancy with them.
But the babies have held up pretty good so far, if they make it past tonight my hopes for them will be better. I just gotta sacrifice a few hours of sleep lol
Oh my goodness Christina! They are truly Pink mice! How precious of you to try to save them! If they make it are you going to feed them off when they grow out? I would be tempted to try and find them pet homes, But I’m kinda sentimental that way!
Years ago my vet neutered my pet male mouse so he could have a female pet mouse mate. Call me crazy but I AM crazy! About certain things though!
Aww, poor little jellybeans. Good of you to try to give them a chance, I hope they continue to eat and do well for you! I would think that hand-rearing them could potentially make them into really nice pets if they make it.
@caron When I was a kid, my parents paid to have two of my male rats neutered so I could keep them in a big coed cage with two females. You’re not that crazy (or at least if you are, you’re in good company).
I did unfortunately lose a baby during the night, but I was suspectful of it from the beginning so its not a devastating loss.
The other 7 are doing great though, very lively and wiggly for how young they are lol. Some of them already have some fight and attitude in them when it comes to feeding.
Feeding them a mix of plain yogurt and goats milk diluted with water every 2 hours around the clock (0.3ml per baby). Keeping them on a heating pad at 100°F. Cleaning them and getting them to go to the bathroom after every feeding and in between feedings.
I found a foster momma for the babies, another one of my females had a very small litter so she was able to take them in. I didn’t even realize I had another pregnant female and the small litter may be why, but she’s taken the orphans in well reguardless!
They’re all doing well and now that they have a proper momma I’m sure their survival chances will skyrocket.
Aww, yay! Good timing on that surprise litter, and the fact that it’s a small litter is also pretty serendipitous. Hopefully the foster mom will have plenty of milk for all the little ones, and now you can leave the heavy lifting to her and finally be able to sleep and, y’know, live your life without having to drop everything every couple hours to feed baby mice.
Wow! Kudos to you for attempting what seems like an impossible feat! I’m glad you’ll get a proper night’s sleep now that they have a surrogate momma to feed them. You’ll have to post update pics once they get their fuzz.
