are newborn ratties nursing ?

Question
QUESTION: **** I have a concern and found you to contact , I hope you can respond . I have been rescuing "feeder" rats for ten years now and by the grace of God , have never had a pregnancy,,,, until now. These are the facts as I can relate them...the mother must be about 6-7 weeks at conception , her pregnancy diet was excellent and she gave birth early today (approximately nine in the litter). My concern is how do I know if the pups are nursing ??? I a common sense woman , so I'm thinking that SHOULD be seeing her nipples . I do not. Just two really , but otherwise a smooth pretty belly. She is very affectionate, a real sweetheart, and when I quietly came into the room this afternoon she was all up and looking for me to be petted and give kisses. I thought this was a good sign . She'd been through alot I imagine and wanted a break. So I peaked into her nest and got to see about nine healthy looking pups in a circle. It's constructed where I cannot normally see "inside" though. So I cannot see that she has nursed them , nor as I said , do I see evidence in her belly of a nursing mother. In the early hours I know she was "inside" with them , and then came out after 4:00pm to see me. I have not seen her go back inside since , but in a concern I actually have not gone back in to check since 7:00pm in an effort to leave her to tend to her babies. Could she be feeding them just fine and I just am not there to see it ? Should't I be seeing her nipples ? I understand how young she is , which I felt would be my concern in birthing , should it be a concern here , and if
so should I simply hang out with her for a few hours to see that she really is feeding the pups ?

         sincerest regards , Alicia Kenny


baby rats   ANSWER: Hi ALicia


This is easy thankfully......all you have to do is take the pups, flip them over and look at their belly.  Their skin is very transparent from birth for the next several weeks. When they are being properly nursed, you will see the milk in their belly when you turn the pup over and look at his or her tummy.  It is known as "milk belly"

I have attached a photo of what their belly will look like when they are being properly fed.  You will see milk belly right after they have been fed.







---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: ****Sandra,
       Oh my wasn't that simple ! Thankyou kindly for easing my concern. Apparently "April" is being a good young mother. I've never even had much dialogue with another person about rats in the years I've been doing this, so to have a concern and be able to reach out to a knowledgeable source has been a great experience.....thankyou so much !
         Kindest regards , Alicia
p.s.
 I suppose I could ask you one other concern I do have at
this time . A big healthy four month old buck , has been just fine walking around with an awful looking "swollen red toe". I was thinking ,,,bruise,,break,,infection,,? So
I keep it clean , sometimes a dab of neosporin around the nail. After it didn't look any better ( a few days ) I started him on some Baytril I had on hand (0.05ml twice a day). Just in case he did need to be on antibiotics (..infection ,,break,,?. Well it seems to have improved just slightly (red color has faded). It's been two good weeks and it just is what it is ??? I'm thinking you may
have a good idea of what up with his rattie toe too , so
any feedback would again , be so appreciated . Thankyou.

         kindly ,,, Alicia *

Answer
How much does the buck weigh? If he is close to 360 grams and up,  I would up the baytril to .1 ml once a day, see how that goes.  A high end dose seems more effective than two small doses.   

Do you happen to have any childrens liquid ibuprofen around?