Kim and Lydia took 25 rats from a shelter in NY just yesterday. There are currently 2 males, 8 females (some of whom may be pregnant and a few have litters), and 3 litters of babies. The babies are not doing well due to the fact that their mothers are so young and are not nursing them, and most will need at least supplementary handfeeding.

The oldest two rats are no more than 5-6 months old, some of the females will probably be spayed. Foster and adoptive homes are needed for all, transportation can be arranged from their current location in northern NJ.

For more information, email kimsarkadopt@gmail.com.

Since all the rats involved are still fairly young, we can hope that most of them - especially those that need handfeeding - will be handled a llot, and will turn out to be pretty friendly. Of course, if we can find them as many foster homes as they need, they'll all be better socialized....

Good news - the moms have been convinced to nurse their babies (basically because they're set up in "cozy" enough tanks that they can't get too far away from them!), so poor Kim won't have to spend the next two weeks handfeeding fifteen babies four times a day. But of course foster homes are still needed for all.

The oldest of the babies looks to be ten days, and we suspect that at least a couple of the females are pregnant. The oldest of the group (the original parents) are no more than 5-6 months old. Most are black hoodies and PEWs, I believe there's a black berk or two as well.

11 eepers were born today.

The "older" litter opened their eyes today. There are:
5 male black hooded
4 male PEWs
4 female black hooded
2 female PEWs



The rats are being fostered in Hartford, CT. Quarantine will be complete on October 7 and then we can start transporting.

Hey, that's my hand with dem bebes!  They are so sweet and the moms were nice too, no nipping or biting at all!

I wouldn't mind fostering a mom and bubs.  I am definately and experienced rat owner but I have never taken on a litter before.  I will need transport of them to MA along with a cage for them that they can't squeeze through.  I can take them until they are old enough to be given permanent homes, but no longer than that.  I may keep one myself.  I can do the food and bedding thing on my own, just tell me what they need and I will get it.  If this sounds doable to you Kim's Ark folks, give me a holla!  I am already an approved Kim's Ark Adopter.     

If you have problems adopting out one of the adult females just let me know. I know they're not in as high demand as the babies, so if you have one that you can't find a home for contact me and I'll try to help out.

I am in upstate NY and I would be more than interested in fostering a mom and her babies if you still need help. 

Elle: It's so cute that you can see the little milk bands in the two babies you are holding in the bottom picture!

I can't wait for my baby(ies)! I'm already searching for a larger cage for when I have everyone introduced.

I'm in the Princeton, NJ area, and might be able to help with transportation if needed.

here's some updated pics... enjoy the cuteness!

litter A, born 9-26-06:
8 hooded babes, 3 pew babes


and their mom:


litter B, born 9-28-06:
6 hooded babes, 5 pew babes





and some of the older babes - they're approx. 3.5 weeks now:

OMG lydia, theres a picture of Fender! yay fender! (please tell me she's turned into a flighty little beast so i wont be tempted to take her)

well, everyone else has been posting pics, so i figured i'd add the pics of the litters here.

Out of the 5 "younger" girls that i have here for fostering, only two have popped (and its looking more and more likely that they will be the only two!)

Here's Gentoo's litter, born Sept 26.  9 days old today! Gentoo is a PEW who has been an absolute great mom to her 7 kiddos.
(these pics are actually at 8 days old)



(here's a great one from when they were only 4 days old... yes, my dog is a bit in love with the babies... but they seem to like him too)


(and here are the most recent ones from just earlier tonight... noticed that same black hoodie snugglin with the dog... you know you wanna take that boy home!)




Sol's litter was born on Oct 3, and so are only 2 days old today!  There were only 6 in this litter, again only 2 hoodies in the bunch. Sol (another pew) has also been a great mom, though she's really not so sure about letting me near her kids.
one day old:

two days old:


Thats all for now (i think its prolly enough, right?).  You can see these pics and many more (and updates as well!) at my flickr album:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ssorcascape

Dont forget to contact Kim's Ark about adopting and/or fostering!