Mother rat breathing heavy

Question
Hi there my mama rat had babies three weeks ago.. She has 6 healthy babies.  They are doing well she is breathing real heavy tonight she did this about a week after they were born.  She is still nursing but they are starting to eat food.. When do I take her away from the babies..  She acts like she needs water but has plenty..  Not sure what could be going on with her.  Thanks so much..
Darlene

Answer
They are not ready to wean yet. The males should be taken away at just before 5 weeks and put in a totally different cage than the girls and mom since at this age they are now able to reproduce and are sexually mature, and this applies to the females too. Mom is able to get preggnt right after birth so she should not be around males now that are sexually mature either.

What foods are you using for the babies?

As for liquids, offer her some soy milk preferably soy baby formula. She may be really dehydrated from nursing but she doesnt have a huge litter to nurse so she should not have this problem. Is she urinating ok?

Is her diet ok in iron? What do you feed her daily? She should have plenty to eat, from a good lab or rodent block to vegetables and not the cheap seed mixes that pet stores seem to insist are the best thing for rats but they arent. In fact they exceed healthy proteins and fats and offer too much of both, which can lead to kidney disease, so of course make sure they dont start out this way!
In case you or another reader wants more info on diets go here:

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/ratsandahealthydiet.htm

Hope this helps!