Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Is it ok to touch my 1 day old rats if not when?


Answers:
If you're in good with your rat it should be ok, but its a better idea to wait a few days first. Rats are wonderful, loving pets, but they have a tendency to cannibalize their young if they suspect they're sick or something is wrong with them. When I was a teen, I had a rat do this with one of her babies, and we didn't even touch them.
You do want to start handling them as early as possible, though to socialize them, probably once they get their fur. Bonding with humans is VERY important, especially if you plan on adopting the babies out. Having a domestic mom that loves you helps a lot.
Here's a good link on rat reproduction/birth/weaning: http://www.ratfanclub.org/repro.html...
No! Wait about 2-3 weeks.
sure...y not?
I would at least wait a week, mom knows what shes doing :)
wait about 14 days so the parents won't eat it
No. If you have the mother, which you probably do, then you cannot touch them until they have been weaned. This is important because the mother could possibly smell your scent on them and either eat them or abandon them. Also, use a glove when you are giving them food and water, just to be safe.
Best thing would be to wait about a week, at which point you may be able to start holding the mother, if she's happy. Best to stay near the cage and leave the cage door open, so that she can go back in as she wants to.
At about 2 weeks it should be safe to hold the babies, as long as the mother has been letting you hold her. Only touch them in front of her, don't take them out of the cage.
Congrats on your baby ratties, bet they're gorgeous!
It will dapend on your mother rat. Some are very defensive of their young and some will let you touch them. I've heard that most breeders will try to handle them from birth.
I would wait until they are at least a week old because of how small baby rats are. The mother WILL NOT abandon the babies if she smells your scent on them. Once they open their eyes, you should play with them for short periods of time (5-10 minutes) as often as possible. This will adjust the babies to people and you will have friendly rats. Waiting until they are weaned to hold them is a very very bad idea because they will be harder for them to adjust to being held. It will still be easy, but holding them while they are still babies is better for both of you.
Wait about a week or so, there kinda young yet, and mommy rat might get a little upset.
I agree with "Nepherym".
I have mice, but had several rats over the years. Anyhow, with mice, we start handling at three days of age. It's important the mother doesn't see you disturb the nest or handle babies. So, we remove mom first and set her in a 'play tank' of sorts with favorite treats. We handle each pup for a few minutes, while she plays and snacks. It might work well with rats too.
These might help too:
http://www.worldofrats.com/rousbreedingf...
http://www.spoiledratten.com/raisingpups...
http://www.curiosityrats.com/ (click "info" on the left and then "breeding")
http://www.edgerats.com/faq.htm#13...
i love the dapper rat to! thedapperrat.com
but you should wait until they are weaned
oooopsie its spelled like this:
http://www.dapper.com.au/
NO DONT! WAIT ABOUT 2 1/2-3 1/2 WEEKS...OR ELSE SHE'LL EITHER ABANDON THEM OR WORSE SHE'LL
EAT THEM!!!
No no!
Definitely don't touch when they're that young; you'll get your human germs on them and their tiny little young immune systems won't be able to fight it off, and they could get sick or die. Wait at least 2-3 weeks, when they all have fur and can walk around with their eyes open. Even so, if they still wobble while walking, leave them alone. Such a giant thing like a person will most likely scare them and they'll take off running, which means they could run straight out of your hands and fall, which can hurt rodents more when they're that small.

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