The long wait is finally over..

[Taceas]

My rats had their first litter of tasty little morsels. >=)

Brigette and her babies:
http://www.mainecoon.net/~rain/Snakes/Rodents/Rats/Rats1.JPG

Closeup of a couple:
http://www.mainecoon.net/~rain/Snakes/Rodents/Rats/Rats2.JPG

http://www.mainecoon.net/~rain/Snakes/Rodents/Rats/Rats3.JPG

The proud pappa (who's already helping clean them):
http://www.mainecoon.net/~rain/Snakes/Rodents/Rats/Digit3.jpg

[Traci1]

How long did it take Misty? I've had 1.2 together for a little over a month now, and I have seen the male mating with the females. Are you going to feed them as pinks or are you going to let any of them get bigger?

[sherry]

how cute. i bet its intersting and fun:) good luck and have fun

[Prellas]

Congrats Tacea! My 2nd breeder gave me another litter of 18 the other night :)

[DdotSpot]

Congrats! Looks like a great litter you have there. I had a bad first litter with one of my females...hopefully she does better next time, GRR. I keep telling her that if she eats her babies again, I'm going to feed her without hesitation to my biggest meanest snake.

I think she's a little more motivated this time :D

[Taceas]

Tracy, it was an agonizing wait indeed. I'd had them together for 6 weeks, and was beginning to wonder if my male or female was sterile. It just really became apparent that she was pregnant about 5 days before she dropped. It was just like, wow...you're pregnant. =P

I don't think I'm going to feed these off as pinkies right now. I'm more anxious to see what comes out of this first pairing, I think. And I'm needing some food for my adult snakes that isn't my mice. It's a long wait raising mice up to the size to feed my adults. But in the future, sure I plan on feeding off all stages, just like my mice. Gestation is typically 21-25 days, and from what I've read..they don't look pregnant until just a few days before they drop. Which is what I witnessed.

Ddot, yeah, that's something I don't put up with my mice very well. Depending on the mother's traits...I may just take her babies once I see her snacking on them, or other times I may just immediately cull her without batting an eye. Just depends. I find most often that my mice, when there isn't an older more experienced female present..the mother sometimes doesn't really know what to do or may get more nervous and eat them. But if a "midwife" mouse is present, I have a lot less instances of it occur.