Baby rat development
I thought this post might interest and amuse folks. It's always very interesting to see how the babies develop from squirmy erasers to fully-developed animals! Image-intensive, but pretty darn cool!
Here's the whole litter at day 2, we can tell what color eyes they'll have, black or red, by the eyespots:
Day 4, starting to show color:
Day 5, lots of color, you can pick out the black baby easily:
Day 6, you can tell the difference between the black, the 2 Agoutis,and the two very light Russian Cinnamons:
Day 7, they've got light fur and colors are definately showing, ears have unfolded from the head:
Day 8, more fur!
Day 10, we've got our full coat in, it's not just fuzz anymore, see how shiny?:
Day 12, all colors are pretty certain now, we're no longer interested in just lying in a line, eyelids have formed and are letting light squeak in:
Day 14, some of us have our eyes open! NONE of us want to sit still :P
Day 16, all eyes are open, we're following mom around the cage, playing, grooming, and starting to taste things:
These babies are still nursing, but they COULD survive on their own without their mothers at this point. Not in the wild, naturally, but if something happened to Mina, I could put them into a cage with one or more other rats who would teach them manners, what's good to eat, and how rats interact with their world. They can eat solid food at this stage, though they'll obviously do better if they nurse for another couple weeks.
The Boys:
Day 5 (keep an eye on the little guy second from the left. See that little upside-down triangle on his nose? The blaze?)
Day 6 (he's second from the right now)
Day 7 (all the way on the end)
Day 8 (right in the middle)
Day 10 (at the end)
Day 12 (he's hiding)
Day 14 (all the way to the right)
Day 16 (the cinnamon all the way to the right, making a kissy-face in the top pic)
See how that blaze is still there? But it's not WHITE? That's a complete impossibility, folks. I don't know what the hell that IS, but rats only have single-color genes. Their recessives combine to MAKE the color, and then that's it. Markings are white. Markings are NOT a lighter shade of the same color as the body. I don't know WHAT that is, if it's a mutation or what, but I'm keeping him.
The girls:
Day 4:
Day 5:
Day 6 (yay, I thought! I have doves! WOOT!)
Day 7:
Day 8 (wait a sec... those doves are ticked! Dammit! They're not doves! I think they're platinum Agoutis! :( :
Day 10 (but they're heathered... platinums don't heather... aren't they way too light for russian cinnamons?!):
Day 14 (OMG they're Russian Cinnamons!! JACKPOT!!)
Day 16 (my keeper is all the way to the right!!)
Here's the whole litter at day 2, we can tell what color eyes they'll have, black or red, by the eyespots:
Day 4, starting to show color:
Day 5, lots of color, you can pick out the black baby easily:
Day 6, you can tell the difference between the black, the 2 Agoutis,and the two very light Russian Cinnamons:
Day 7, they've got light fur and colors are definately showing, ears have unfolded from the head:
Day 8, more fur!
Day 10, we've got our full coat in, it's not just fuzz anymore, see how shiny?:
Day 12, all colors are pretty certain now, we're no longer interested in just lying in a line, eyelids have formed and are letting light squeak in:
Day 14, some of us have our eyes open! NONE of us want to sit still :P
Day 16, all eyes are open, we're following mom around the cage, playing, grooming, and starting to taste things:
These babies are still nursing, but they COULD survive on their own without their mothers at this point. Not in the wild, naturally, but if something happened to Mina, I could put them into a cage with one or more other rats who would teach them manners, what's good to eat, and how rats interact with their world. They can eat solid food at this stage, though they'll obviously do better if they nurse for another couple weeks.
The Boys:
Day 5 (keep an eye on the little guy second from the left. See that little upside-down triangle on his nose? The blaze?)
Day 6 (he's second from the right now)
Day 7 (all the way on the end)
Day 8 (right in the middle)
Day 10 (at the end)
Day 12 (he's hiding)
Day 14 (all the way to the right)
Day 16 (the cinnamon all the way to the right, making a kissy-face in the top pic)
See how that blaze is still there? But it's not WHITE? That's a complete impossibility, folks. I don't know what the hell that IS, but rats only have single-color genes. Their recessives combine to MAKE the color, and then that's it. Markings are white. Markings are NOT a lighter shade of the same color as the body. I don't know WHAT that is, if it's a mutation or what, but I'm keeping him.
The girls:
Day 4:
Day 5:
Day 6 (yay, I thought! I have doves! WOOT!)
Day 7:
Day 8 (wait a sec... those doves are ticked! Dammit! They're not doves! I think they're platinum Agoutis! :( :
Day 10 (but they're heathered... platinums don't heather... aren't they way too light for russian cinnamons?!):
Day 14 (OMG they're Russian Cinnamons!! JACKPOT!!)
Day 16 (my keeper is all the way to the right!!)