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Stella Maris' SURPRISE! Litter
Born June 13,2007
Mom: SPAZ Stella Maris
Mink, Berkshire, Standard-coated, Dumbo, Doe
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Father: Unknown
?????????
June 13,2008, It's early morning and while cleaning cages I could tell that Stella Marie, now 9 minths old, is pregnant. I put my hand around her waist to confirm my suspicion as I know what a pregnant rat feels like by now. I put her in a nursery cage, just in time too, because at 10:20am Marie was giving birth to her first pup. On my second check she had cleaned it up but had abandoned it to the opposite side of the cage.
The baby is cold, the bedding is all wrong. I took out the shredded paper and gave her a pillow case instead. I took her upstairs where I put the cage on a heating pad and a towel over the cage for darkness.
Stella continues to ignore her first born. Her labor is taking a long time. There's little blood, no hemorrhaging. The placenta came out at 11:50am, it looks healthy. I am having concerns considering the problems I've had with my last two planned breedings. Maybe a baby is stuck? Maybe her contractions have stopped?
12:30pm Stella gave birth to a stillborn.
01:05pm Another stillborn.
These stillborns look normal, to term, healthy, and so are their placentas.
She's having contractions again...........
The emergency is over!!!!! Over the next few hours Stella gave birth to 5 healthy babies. It looks like her labour is over. Stella is in the corner, ignoring her babies.
It took Stella about 12 hours to settle in and realize she is a mother. After the initial anxiety she is now doing wonderfully.
Stella Maris' babies, 2 weeks old on Wednesday June 27,2008
They started opening their eyes yesterday.
Marine 2 weeks old
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Saline 2 weeks old
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Korelle 2 weeks old
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Tu 2 weeks old
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Starlit 2 weeks old
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Steller 2 weeks old
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