Enjoying each others company

I just took a picture of Alexi and Priscilla sleeping together. Alexi is on the bottom. He is much smaller than Priscilla, can you believe that. Cilla is actually bigger than Alexi. She is on the top and you can see she is much larger. But, as you can tell they are really enjoying each others company. They really like one and other. So I i included the pic of them snuggling. Nothing else to report. If babies are coming it won't be for another 18 days or so. Around the 22nd. So make sure you pop in here around that time. Ok here is the pic:

Ok the pic is on top LOL as you can tell.

Trying to do everything right!!!

Well with Priscilla's babies dying i can't help but wonder if i did something wrong-- probably not. Things like this just happen sometimes but it is in the back of my mind.

So this time around i am making sure that Priscilla and Alexi are getting super nutrition. I got them Ensure and Nutrical and i got them some veggies and meats. Maybe if i give them more veggies and fresh stuff and extra vitamins this time around will be better.

I do give my rats this stuff on a regular basis but not as much as i should. So with these two i am making sure they are getting the best nutrition and hopefully this will improve the outcome with the babies.

I think they've mated already so I'm guessing we'll have little pinkies around the 22nd. I never saw them mate but Alexi has been very interested in Cilla.

I pray this time around things will be better. I was pretty saddened by what happened with Cilla's babies. I've had so many litters over the years and this rarely happens, it's always a shock when it does even though it does happen in nature.

Well keep checking the blog ok guys. I don't have much to report but I'll check in every few days and I'd like to add more pictures of the love-birds.

Take care... give your ratties some extra scritchies tonight!!!

PS... Nubby says hi..

Rebecca

Very Sad News

I already posted this in all the rat groups i belong too but i have not posted about this here yet. It's with a heavy heart that i have to tell you all that Priscilla's two remaining babies did not survive. I was very saddened by this but i had to remind myself that things like this happen through out nature all the time. Sometimes things like this just happen and there is no clear reason.

I found one babies bodies and i assumed the other baby was sadly eaten after it passed which is also normal behavior.

I gave Priscilla a few days to recuperate and i put her back with Alexi yesterday. It wasn't a large litter (3)- one still born so i don't think there was that much stress on her body, emotionally i can't say though. She seems ok, she seems like herself. Alexi was beyond happy to see Priscilla again.

You know, after they were housed together for 15 days i removed Alexi and Alexi stayed next to Priscilla's cage for 4 days. He sat on her water bottle. It looked as if he missed her dearly. Everytime I'd take him down he'd go right back up to the water bottle and lay there on it, next to Priscilla's cage. So he is so happy to be back with her.

I did notice Alexi trying to mount Priscilla yesterday, almost immediatley. But, she wasn't receptive. Probably because she wasn't in heat. But, I'm sure after being around Alexi she will go into heat. So in the next 22-27 days we should have babies again.

Please pray that this litter will be sucssesful. And that the babies will be healthy. I am thinking that there was something wrong with this litter and that's why they didn't survive. I know i didn't do anything wrong. I've had lots of litters in my years of loving rats and this has only happened once or twice, it is rare but it does happen. It just wasn't meant to be this time around.

I won't have much to update on this blog so you probably won't see many posts until Priscilla is showing and/or the babies arrive. But, please check back for i may post little updates.

Thank you for being a part of this blog. And please think positively and that this litter is healthy.

Rebecca

Curly Whiskers

This morning i checked the babies and both have cute little curly whiskers. I wasn't shocked by this because bot parents are rexes but there is always a chance that one of them wouldn't have curly whiskers. So i am pleased by this. As for their ears, it's far to early to tell yet.

The babies are doing well. I took a quick picture of the two in my hand. I will post later today.

Priscilla doesn't seem to be nursing the babies enough. Not sure why but thankfully Spirit, Zoey and Zorro's mom Sunny is still nursing a bit so i put her in there with the babies and Priscilla so this should help.

I'll keep you updated.

Rebecca

Babies are here.

This afternoon about 11 AM i was near Priscilla's cage and one of her younger cage mates was running around the cage and she kept coming up to the cage door. She never acts this way so i was curious to know why she was acting this way and i went closer to the cage.

Right away i heard those precious little pinky squeaks. I looked at Priscilla who was up in the highest level of the cage and i saw pinkies... WOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOO.

I only peeked really quick and i petted her on the head for a few seconds. She was very happy about that, she is a very friendly rat. No nips and no signs of aggression to protect her beauties.

At that point i left her alone so she could have some quiet time with her darling babies. In the meantime i got a nursery cage ready. Actually it's Nubby's little Martins cage. Then i went to retrieve Priscilla and the babies. I found 3 little pinkies but one was stillborn :( I'm a little disappointed in the amount of babies and the stillborn but i am extremely happy with the 2 little pinkies. How can i be dissapointed with these two precious little pinkies. I'm just happy i have 2.

I picked Priscilla up and moved her into the nursery cage and than got the babies. I have decided to keep Nubby in the cage with Priscilla because Nubby LOVES and ADORES babies, she always has. The minute she has a baby in front of her she grooms it and takes care of it even if it isn't hers. I don't know why she loves babies so much. Even before she had her own litter she was like this. Before she had her own babies a while back... if i put a baby in a cage that she was in the first thing she does is so gently pick them up and move them to where she wants them and than she grooms them from head to toe. So the decision to keep her in with Priscilla and the babies was an easy one. I've also decided to put Lucy in with the babies as an additional baby sitter. She's very gentle and loving so this is a good match. I have Penny in there with them and Cela, both are very gentle and will help Priscilla. Although with only two babies she won't need much help lol.

Since there are only two babies I'm going to breed Priscilla and Alexi again in a few months before she gets to old. She's under a year so this should be fine.

So, I have started my official line of rats. These babies will be my first attempt at starting my breeding program. I want to continue this Dumbo Double Rex line going as long as i can. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to be breeding a lot, just once in a while... i want to perfect this line of rats.

In the future i will think about adopting some out but only to my best rat friends.

So ok.... we have babies :) the pinkies look healthy and momma is doing wonderful. I think the reason she didn't show that much is because she's actually a very large rat. Very large for a girl. In fact she is actually larger than Alexi LOL. Alexi is soooo small for a boy. I really thought the babies wouldn't be born for at least another 48 hours but since she is so large she wasn't showing that much and that threw my guesstimate of delivery off.

Well stay tuned. I will be updating this blog a few times a day and probably tomorrow or the next day I'll take some pics of the two pinkies and their momma.

Keep the babies in your thoughts, please send out good vibes. And again, if you'd like to donate a dollar or two for the babies, my paypal is Rsungodess2003@aol.com (same as my e mail) and if you'd like to send gifts e mail me for my address- Rsungodess2003@aol.com

Take care and talk with you soon.

Rebecca

95%

Hello all...

Well i think i have some more good news. Priscilla has grown in the last two days. I am 95% sure she is preggers. I'll know for sure in the next 2 days. If she is preggers I'd say we'll have pinkies in the next 72 hours.

So far she is being a sweetie. No nipping! She is just as friendly as before. She always runs to the cage door to greet me when i go up to her cage. She really is a sweetie. She's gonna be a good momma like her auntie Mary and her Great Great Grandma Sunshine was.

I'm gonna be holding a contest so someone can name one of the babies and be one of the babies god-momma.

Also at this time i am gonna say that if you'd like to make any donations for the babies so i can get them some toys and hammocks, play houses and all kinds of fun stuff and also so i can get them some good nutritional stuff I want these babies to be super healthy. If you are interested in donating my paypal is 'Rsungodess2003' Also, if you'd like to send gifts to the babies e mail me at Rsungodess2003 for my addy

I will start keeping official records with these babies because i will breed in the future to keep my Dumbo Double Rex line going. I may also put one of the babies up for adoption but only to a trustworthy rat lover and someone who is a friend of mine and i know well.

Ok well, i will keep you updated. I will be using this blog so that all of you can live this experience right along with me. This blog will be active from this point till the time all these babies are no longer with us. So this blog is going to be active for hopefully a good 3+ years.

I hope you all enjoy this adventure.

Please feel free to leave comments at any time.

Also, please keep Priscilla in your thoughts and send out god vibes so she has a safe delivery and that her babies are prefect and healthy.

Rebecca

Maybe baby?

Well, i have something a bit interesting to report. I sure hope you guys are still reading my blog. Are you? Let me know in the 'comments'.


Ok, so the other day i was cage cleaning. I took Alexi out of the cage Him and Priscilla were living in and put some other rats in with Priscilla including some little ones; Spirit, Zoey, Zorro and there brothers and sisters. A few hours later i was shocked to see that Priscilla's nipples were red and enlarged. The only thing i can think is that the littles one's stimulated her to nurse. Now if this happened because she is preggers or just because she was stimulated to nurse much like My non-pregnant Nubby was a while back i just don't know, only time will tell.

But, this could mean she is preggers. Oh I'll be so happy!!!!

I put Alexi and Priscilla together around January 4th and now it's the 22nd. If they mated right away that would mean she is about 19 days preggers and should start showing. But, Priscilla is a huge girl so she may not even show that much. She's actually bigger than Alexi LOL. Alexi is what i call a "petiteers.

If they didn't mate right away it could be another week or so before i know anything. but, the fact that she nursed is interesting. Her nipples are red and enlarged.

Ok so keep your fingers crossed. I can't tell you how much i want some Dumbo Double rexies.

Also let me know if your still reading this???? Please.???

Rebecca