Saturday, August 11, 2012

Leartes and Lenore Litter 7/08/12


Siamese dumbo litter
Father: Leartes, Red-eyed Siamese dumbo
Mother: Lenore, Red-eyed Siamese dumbo
Expecting: Red-eyed dumbo Siamese

Kept Zero from this 

6/16/12
Lenore and Leartes have been paired today. Lenore wanted nothing to do with the handsome Leartes and quickly let him know. Now they are getting along fine.
7/05/12
I would like to announce that Lenore is DEFINITELY pregnant! She is extremely round and tight.  She is a petite girl so it is very easy to see her bulge. I will post a photo shortly.  I highly doubt anything happened on the 16th when I placed them together, but just in case I am putting her in the maternity tank tonight. She could be due this weekend at the earliest.
7/08/12
Babies were born at 2PM. There are 9 so far. No still borns yet.  Lenore is tending to them which is great. I always worry about the first-timers. Looks like there are 5 boys and 4 girls.
7/09/12
Babies made it through the night! They are being well fed. I have taken a bunch of photos, but need to find my camera chord. Sorry for the wait!
7/10/12
Babies are well this morning. Their ears are starting to pop out. It's very obvious they are dumbos(I'll post some pictures of the ears). Lenore has come to accept me handling them and does not seem to care anymore.  Also it appears that Ophelia may indeed be pregnant this time. I can't make any promises since she looked big last time, but this morning she looks especially round.  Such a confusing girl!
7/11/12
Their ears have popped out today! They are getting more rat-like faces, too.  Lenore is being fantastic. I find the rats that don't like me as much make the better mums. The rats that get excited to see me end up flinging babies everywhere and just want to come out and play. Not saying Lenore is mean...she's just not one of my babies so she does not have that bond.  She's more like "Whatever".  She's being very mature about this. Vriska, who was over a year old with her litter, acted like an ADD teen rat with her litter.  Look for more photos soon!
7/12/12
Babies have doubled in size! They have more defined eyes. Much stronger and able to crawl around. Lenore is eating tons and feeding them all of the time. I have yet to see them without milkbands! Ophelia should be due any time now. 
7/13/12
Babies are starting to feel furry!
7/15/12
I am sorry for the delay in updates and photos. Yesterday was a nightmare. Ophelia lost the entire litter...they were born pretty deformed and small and all but two died within the hour. Two babies made it till late last night with Lenore's care...but were too weak. Ophelia suffered a sudden heart attack around midnight. She was doing fine, weak, but was crawling around my room and jumped on my lap...then suddenly she was shaking and convulsing and gasping and passed very quickly. I was very thankful for her quick passing, though.  As I was burring her at 1 AM, the frogs and crickets started to sing and I found some pretty plants to decorate her grave with. Enjoy Heaven, little one!

Lenore's litter is still doing fantastic, though. They are plump and fuzzy. They have ratty faces now. I will post photos soon.
7/16/12
They are crawly little monsters now! But of course, when I went to take a video they decided to slow it down.
7/17/12
Staying strong and fuzzy.  It's very hard to tell everyone apart since they are so similar, but I can finally point out a few distinctive differences now. Photos posted from yesterday and today. I've been very busy and have not had time to take "good" photos of them...so they are all kind of in a pile.
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I wanted to let you all know that I can make photo CDs of the litter. I'm already making myself and another family a CD, so just let me know if you would like one as well and I'll be sure to include it when you pick up your babies :)

I also wanted to mention that I buy Native Earth rat block (by Harlan) in bulk and can provide $8 dollar bags at pick up if anyone was interested or wanted to try it.  I  can always ship you more later if you wanted to stick with that brand (since buying 40 pounds of rat block for a few rats would be a lot).  So things to think about!
7/18/12
One baby was just super cute and yawned, stuck its tongue out, and stretched.  I died.
They are so milky coloured and soft ....but oh boy the screaming at night when they fight each other for food....I have been waking up several times a night thinking they are being killed. 
7/19/12
They are roaming around quite quickly now. I took nearly 100 photos and only a handful were clear enough to see their cute-ness.
7/20/12
So probably next Friday/weekend I will start sending out photos for you to pick out your rats.  Don't judge them by colour since Siamese molt their old coat (and yes, they will go through a patchy stage) colour and have their points come in later.  There is such thing as a hooded Siamese (one that keeps its hood and still has points), but do not count on the colour of the baby keeping it's colour into adulthood.   These are seal-point Siamese, so they will have the brown points you normally think of when picturing a Siamese of any breed.

I would suggest judging them by head shape, ear set...and well, cute-ness :)
7/21/12
Oh boy, they are crawling everywhere in the cage. While I was out at the Springs, Lenore popped her lid and was roaming in my room...I came into my room and she popped out of the hamper to say hi. Naughty girl.
7/22/12
Lenore can no longer hide from them...they can walk around the find her now. She has been trying to pop her lid off again to escape the demanding squeals.  Eyes should be opening soon!  Photos were posted.
7/23/12
EYES ARE OPEN!!!!!  Check out my youtube channel to see some recent videos.
7/24/12
Almost all of their eyes are open now and they had their first run around in a playpen box. I will start sending photos out tonight for baby selection.
7/25/12
All the babies are wrestling and running around. Now that they can see, they have become scared of sudden movment and noises, so desensitization begins now!  It's funny....the babies sleep in one corner, and mum sleeps in the other.
7/26/12
Babies have been exposed to a vacuum cleaner, plastic bags, and ripping newspaper. I have also had family members and guest come and hold them and pet them. Let the crazy socialization begin!  They also had their first time in the playpool with the older girls.

I really REALLY really encourage you to send me an e-mail if you are no longer interested in babies, or thinking it won't work out. I won't be upset or demand a reason. It will make things soo much easier to know now that you're backing out so I can start looking for new adopters instead of at the last minute when they are big. It will make life wonderful!
7/27/12
Babies got to meet the boys today in the play pool. They had many wrestles and loved climbing through the box hideout I made.  They were also exposed to some weird noises and plastic bag sounds and were curious and walked up to it.
7/29/12
Babies are eating solid food and drinking water most of the time.

*I am working on some cubes for my rats and will have some ready for purchase. They have an opening on one side and the bottom is stuffed for a more padded/comfy place to sleep. They are big enough to fit two adults comfortably.  I can make hanging ones or ones that just sit in the cage and they can climb into.

$8 each or 2 for $12. I have a ton of floral and vintage fabric. If you want a custom one from fleece of a certain print, it would cost more (but only by a few dollars since fleece is not too expensive).


Also, standard hammocks are $3 (just your basic square hammock with batting in between for padding, and ties). And tunnels for $3.

Home-made rodent safe wheels for $10

Sorry to sound all salesman-like, but just letting you know of the items I also have for sale.
7/30/12
Babies love wrestling with my hand. But a poor guy got too rough with his siblings and twisted his paw.  He does not seem to mind, though.
8/01/12
Babies have moved to the big cage in the living room and are very confused. They finally got the hang of climbing up stuff. They are being friendly towards strangers which is always good!

Start thinking of a date and time you can get your babies so I can start making plans to be free. Thanks! :)
8/04/12
Babies are doing great with new people and are climbing all over them, hand wrestling, and licking. So I hope they will continue to be this nice for their new owners.

I wanted to make a note about how to continue their diet. I highly recommend feeding strictly block for the next 2 months at least, with fresh foods as an occasional treat. Too much fresh foods can be harsh on their young bellies and sometimes they tend to gorge themselves on it. I had a baby die of bloat before.  You are welcome to purchase block from me, and of course local petshops and Wal-mart carry brands. Higher protein count is recommended for babies. Harlan block recommends %18 percent.
8/06/12
They are being quite sociable, but still skittery of sudden noises/movement. Be sure to handle them everyday, as this young age is very important for their development.
8/09/12
They are soo big! They are basically weaned. Lenore will shove them away, but maybe once a day they will pile on her and nurse.  They are very hyper and love to leap up my arm when I clean out the cage. Their water bottle broke, so they have now learned how to drink from a dish. 
8/11/12
Rattie adoptions are starting *sniff*. Had a lovely day trip to deliver 2 boys.  And two girls go to their new home today :) I'll have the last 2 girls for a bit longer, so I'm happy about that. It's always a joy to meet adopters. Thanks for waiting these few months!