 |
On the 29/8 2010 Helle was mated to Mania again, when the plans to exchange him for a younger
buck came to nothing.
Totally Helle was mated at four opportunities: twice with Olifants, and twice with Mania before she got pregnant.
(It is likely that Olifants has reduced fertility.)
At day 17 she had gained 80 g and was so rotund her belly almost dragged along the ground as she walked!
At day 19 her weight was + 108 g, and Helle started acting tired. Day 20 towards the evening I chose to put her in a
maternity cage without company. She no longer wanted to share the house with her cagemates but remained sweet and
loving towards me. As late as elevenish am on day 22 she had an airing with her girl friends, but at 2 pm
I saw fresh blood and at 4 pm she had given birth to at last two kittens of eleven 11: six boys and five girls.
If you have legitimate interest in a litter you can contact me (Matmor) at NTF's forum.
You can also send an e-mail to my [nick+s+rotter]@gmail.com |
| Himalayans | males | HB1 Olefin owned by Matmor | HB2 Hampus "Stump" owned by Matmor | HB3 Azlon owned by Matmor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| females | HG1: Microfiber owned by Ingvild | HG2 Bomuld "Tutti", owned by Danish breeder | HG3 Viscose "Frutti", owned by Dansih breeder | |
| Agoutis | males | AB1 Polyester "Dumle" owned by Danish breeder | AB2 Polypropylen "Toblerone" owned by Danish breeder | AB3 Elastan "Sprettball" owned by Matmor |
| females | AG1 Nøste owned by Ingvild | AG2 Chiengora owned by MereteAH |
 light eyes day 1 |
 dark eyes day 1 |
Summing it up day 6 (27/09)
| Himalaya Girl 1 9,1 g "Microfiber" | Himalaya Girl 2 12,6 g cut a nick in the fur on her right shoulder day 15 |
Himalaya Girl 3 12,8 g cut a nick in the fur on her left shoulder day 15 |
Himalaya Boy 1 11,3 g |
Himalaya Boy 2 12,5 g amputated tip of tail | Himalaya Boy 3
13,1 g |
| Agouti Girl 1 11,9 g very small white tip on tail big, wrinkley skin! skin not so different from day 8 white socks visible from day 13 | Agouti Girl 2 12,9 g slightly bigger white tip on tail white belly spot and white socks visible from day 13 | Agouti Boy 1 11,9 g tiny white tip on tail black spot in front of anus white socks visible from day 13 | Agouti Boy 2 13,4 g tiny white tip on tail black spot in front of anus white belly spot and white socks visible from day 13 | Agouti Boy 3 13,4 g slightly bigger white tip on tail black spot in front of anus white belly spot and white socks visible from day 13 |
 Rat in a bucket...biggest agouti girl |  Smallest agouti girl day 15 |
 Helle Wistar |
 Sarah's Mania River |
In laboratory rats (like Helle) 50% of pseudopregnancies will be resolved by day 12 by weight loss. If the rat have had a more than 10% weight gain at day 14 they are regarded as pregnant.
Still, the sudden weight loss is not uncommon as late as day 16.
 |
 Above: Helles belly day 22 in the morning |
Feeding the dam after birth:
Until day 7 as during pregnancy, from day 8 porridge made with wheat, barly, rye, and oats, milk (lactosis reduced), butter - to which was added liver paste or eggs.
| Dam | Sire | |
|---|---|---|
| Navn | Helle, Wistar Hannover GALAS laboratory rats | Mania, from Sarah's African rivers litter |
| Phenotype | Albino, top eared, standard coat | Black self top eared |
| Genotype | not aa BB cc hh as first believed1) but probably AA BB cc hh or Hh | aa B* C* D* Du* G* Hh P* Ro* Mm R* himalaya kittens imply that Mania must be Cch |
| Date of birth | Ca. 2009-12-01 judging by weight on arrival | 2008-12-30 |
| Owner | Matmor, on a breeding contract with MereteAH. Ownership transfers MereteAH 1/9 if Helle is not pregnant by then. | Matmor |
| Origin | Taconic, Danmark (laboratory) | Sarah's |
| Since when has the rat been with its owner? | With MereteAh sice ~5 weeks old | Since ~5 weeks old |
| Healt problems | None | None |
| Weight at mating | ~360 g | ~650 g |
| Temperament towards people |
Unremarkable on contact with strangers and children, somewhat more wary of strangers. Contact seeking a little wary, relaxed when held |
Inquisitive and contact seeking |
| Temperament towards other rats | At 3 months easily introduced to Matmors two adult females: could be put in a travellers cage together after only a short while and stayed there peacably for an hour. Helle litt tilbakeholden, men normal, fungerer bra i flokk. Not introduced to rat kittens. For the first months Helle and Wistar "sister" Helen lived togeter on their own, but spent play time being introduced to MereteAH's adult girls. After that they co-habited with first one, the three adult females. At roughly 6 months of age, Helle, Helen and Merete's other rats were introduced to Victoria og Benue at Matmor's rattery. They all co-habited amicably for several weeks. No trouble introducing Helle. |
Mania has good social skills, has mostly had the omega position in the cage and has show himself to be introducible to other rats. At foru months he was
introduced to a castrate. At 12 months he was introduced to another adult, intact male, whereupon he was lent as a cage companion to
the said adult male for a few months.
The return and re-introduction to his brothers was a seamless affair. Mania has not been introduced to rat kittens. He caused no trouble at all with his own male kittens when they were five weeks. |
| Pedigree | Not as such, but see information about Wistar Hannover GALAS | Yes, see Sarah's African Rivers. |
| Earlier litters | No | No |
| Deviations form NTF's breeding politics | It is reccommended that the rats' parents are known, naturally this isn't the case with Helle Wistar. | None |
| Expectations | Not Black berkshire as first believed 1) but probably AA BB cc H*. If Mania is carrying albino or the himalaya-allele there's a 50% chance for albino or himalaya.confirmed | |
| Last contact with other rats before the mating | 24/8, 2010 Vetle and cagemate. | |
| Latest treatment against lice and/or mites, and which | Started Stronghold (Selamectin) 12/7 2010, three applications. | |
| Quarantien | Quarantine from mating to placement of babies with the exception of receiving two Wistar females directly from a laboratory. | |
| If the one responsible for the litter is not the same as the owner, can the owner be contacted by customers? | Person responsible for the litter owns both rats. Co-owner for Helle (MereteAH) can be contacted at NTF's forum | |
| Price | NOK. 200,- pro rat, NOK 250,- if the kittens have been treated against lice or mites | |
| Other | More info about the rats at Matmors home pages, see also Merete's rat blog (the latter is all Norwegian.) | |
Mania has, up to mating, been of good health. The only noticable exceptions to perfect health have been a few short time, self limiting respiratory problems. Just before he was 18 months
he had a normal urinary stick test (no signs of diabetes, urinary infection, nor kidney disease). He also had normal heart sounds. His temper has
been challenged by adult introductions and change of environment.
His family is probably the best researced and recorded in Norway with respect to disease and temper. The parents
reached an average age and better. So has all of Mania's siblings.
For information on the health of Mania's siblings, see the litter page for Sarah's African rivers.