Tiny little pups <3

[NovelNerd]

This was not an expected litter. I have a sort of off silvermane female that her color isn’t just right but decided to try out. She must have been pregnant when I got her, and the litter is very small (her first). I keep records of my rat’s breeding so I guess these will be a bit off. I thought her tummy was a little round the other day, but it wasn’t a big bump so decided it was just my imagination. She will be getting some scrambled eggs in the morning. Her pups are a bit small, still even unexpected it’s exciting.

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[TheBeatlesPkmnFan42]

Awww, they're so small!

[melodys_angel]

I expect pictures as they grow up *sagenod*

[NovelNerd]

Yeah they start out about the size of the tip of your pinky and their skin is see through more or less. The first few days you look for a milk band to make sure mom is feeding them properly which is you can see the milk in their stomach. These guys are smaller than normal, so I’ll have to watch them, but she is feeding them so at least that part is good. Here is something cool though. All the others you can see black dots from their eyes since like I said the skin is transparent. This one here looks like it has no eyes but that’s because the eyes are either pink or ruby.

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I’ll have to look at the babies to determine what their father was now since it’s a mystery dad. I can at least assume with this he might have been one of the Burmese males she had or Siamese because of the red eyes. Black is dominant and my female isna black silvermane dumbo. But my friend also had a very strange Marten pop up in her silvermane line a few months ago since somewhere in there it was deep down the line. It could be a Marten but this one has light skin with no pigments, so I’m looking at a recessive gene here and is probably from the dad.

[Carrehz]

aaaa omg, they're so cute!!!

[NovelNerd]

I have two Marten girls that look like they will pop in the next week or so which is exciting. I’m also picking up a better silvermane boy next week.

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Two different boys, I’ll take home the more friendly and nicer built of the two since of course the plan is to improve the lines. Both have a nice even color though. My female is a poor silvermane. The silver only showed up on her stomach and sides. Silvermane though for some reason has been a less friendly line and my friends lines started out skittish and have improved. I took this gel because she is so friendly like I was handling her pups and holding her too which is a good sign. MA (maternal aggression)  is from genetics and can result in aggressive rats so this mom is a good mom with a good personality to pass on.

Here is mom, she is standing funny since the pups are nursing
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I got some Greek yogurt for her, cat food, and eggs for protein. Small amounts to help with the weight since I hadn’t been prepping her for carrying babies I’ll make up for it now.

This one is my agouti Marten she has color on her backside I’ll get pictures later. She is bred to my platinum Marten male. She should have babies soon. Scruffing is normal so what I’m doing isn’t hurting her. In theory really well bred rats will tuck their limbs when scruffed. She is a new line I’m not as familiar with and unfortunately she throws her legs out, but she doesn’t have a fit or panic so that’s a good sign. She is a pretty nice rat and had babies before I got her. I’m only planning two litters with her before I retire her with my pet females that I take to school on and off that the kids get to play with.

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Let me see if I have a picture of dad. This one is old he is a much bigger guy now but a platinum (think like a grey blue it’s made by blue + mink or blue + chocolate)
My male
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Marten can give the coat a bit of a marble effect and make it look different. The big thing about them is the red eyes. They are colors that don’t typically have the ruby eye color. I’ve heard them be called Red Eyes Devils a lot. My agouti female is bred to him and I have a black red eyes Marten female bred to one of my Burmese males. Red eyes are recessive so have to stick to other red eyes to keep it going.


I’ll also be pairing an agouti rex male with one of my black self females
A blue marble Burmese male and female (love these lines they are my sweetest ones and the best at school)
An agouti marble Wheaton with my Burmese male (subject to Chan age). This line is one my friend just started and they are not aggressive but skittish, so I’m experimenting to improve the disposition. I took the nicest female and I’m picking a male to pair her with but also keep the color
A Siamese Harley with my black Harley/dwarf carrier
And my black rex male with some of my black self females.

Those are just my breeding plans for the end of summer and the fall. I’m only doing about three litters at a time, so I can focus on them. I don’t want more litters being born till these are old enough to do their temperament tests and be placed or put towards my grow out lines.

My Marten lines are new rats from a different breeder I don’t know and rule of thumb is three generations before pet homes to make sure they don’t carry any aggression in the lines. The martens will only be split between myself and my friend till we have established they are a safe pet line for the public. My poor silvermane female though comes from older lines my friend has if her babies do well temperament testing they can all go to pet homes or stay or she has one that looks like a good one to work with. I’m sticking with just three litters per lifetime per female. Sadly this one wasn’t planned so not exactly what I wanted, but if she has a better silvermane for me that would be awesome. Either way the babies look hooded or variegated with one either Siamese or PEW. Those colors are easy to home.

[Mewtwofan1]

     The babies look so cute! _{and they have tiny hands!!!!! Tiny hands on anything are adorable!}And so do all the other rats! I’m proud she is making an attempt to be a great mother and you’re helping her along. Soon, the house might be filled with three batches of tiny pups, and the sound of...squeaking I think. Again, congrats, and good luck with the other two who might become mothers soon.

[Griffin]

Itty bitty babies, eek! That's cool to know about the eyes.

All the others you can see black dots from their eyes since like I said the skin is transparent. This one here looks like it has no eyes but that’s because the eyes are either pink or ruby.

I've never had rats or handled them before but I used to have a Syrian hamster and later some gerbils. It was really fun looking at them digging tunnels in their terrarium! I've also always been fascinated by colour genetics.

[Mewtwofan1]

Itty bitty babies, eek! That's cool to know about the eyes.

All the others you can see black dots from their eyes since like I said the skin is transparent. This one here looks like it has no eyes but that’s because the eyes are either pink or ruby.

I've never had rats or handled them before but I used to have a Syrian hamster and later some gerbils. It was really fun looking at them digging tunnels in their terrarium! I've also always been fascinated by colour genetics.

     Honestly, colour genetics was the standard question we talked about in bio 30. I think I still have some of the notes somewhere if you’d want some.

[NovelNerd]

Thank you Mew, she is being a very good mother and constantly watching those babies and feeding them. I can already see a big difference in their size and the lighter baby always has a milk band showing. I’ve added photos to their Instagram

Madhatteryrattery that’s where most photos will go since it’s an easier format.

Griffin: Rats are some of the most friendly pets you can have from the rodent family. That’s if you get he right ones of course. Many time feeder rats or pet store rats aren’t as friendly or as healthy as ones from a good breeder. A good breeder will breed for temperament, health, and correct physical standards (again goes back to a healthy rat). I started having rats back in 2004, and my first rat was an aggressive rat from a feeder bin since she was my only option. I didn’t even know to get them in pairs. I still have scars on my fingers from that rat. Now breeders have seen the really big positive side of breeding healthier and calmer rats. My partner in crime rat wise she started breeding them as feeders because she runs a reptile rehabilitation and outreach program. I think she has at least fifty snakes of all sizes and different reptiles. Then she got pet lines and kinda fell in love with them. She breeds on a larger scale than I do, so I go a few times a month to help her organize and sort through her babies. She gives me some of the special project ones since while she has litters constantly from her pet and feeder lines I’m just working with pet lines and only breeding three or four females at a time. I have more time to specifically focus on small groups. We do chart our lines though as well and are working on different things with them.

I love genetics. Last year one of my students class pet rats had babies, and the science teacher and I did a guessing game with them where they did punet squares based on the traits of the babies and mom to determine the dad.

http://www.afrma.org/fancyrm.htm

That link has different colors and the labels for their squares

http://www.boardmanweb.com/rattery/geneticbasics.htm

That site has a simple break down or basic dominant and recessive rat traits. My students used it with my rat litter for their project.

[NovelNerd]

I updated pictures on their Instagram. Sadly I think one of my females absorbed her litter, but another is ready to have babies soon. Momma and babies are doing well, and I’m particularly interested to see how one little pup turns out or if the others show any Silvermane.