
We are not sure why she lost her litter, nor why she didn't want to nurse. Often a mama rat will push away babies that have something wrong with them, along with sometimes consuming the dead. Early this morning, the lil boy was rejected and cold when we found him but very vocal giving us hope. After feeding him, we were able to see a very small milk band but he passed away before his 3rd feeding. As with any breeding program being prepared with formula and supplies for the babies (just in case) came in handy. We used a rice pack sock to keep the lil boy warm in between feedings, which were every 2 hours.
This morning, we weighed Aurora, she is back down to within 20 grams her pre-pregnancy weight. As we type this she is running around the cage with her old cagemates eating all the hidden treats. She will be closely monitored over they next several days.