[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> Ruby and Scooter had 7 babies on Feb. 19.
> This is their first litter together. Ruby is is gray with ruby eyes.
> Scooter is agouti but he's Ruby's son from a previous litter so he carries
> the recessive genes. Sure enough we got a variety of colors!
> This is the first time we've ever gotten anything other than agouti so we're
> pretty excited.
>
> The babies are:
> 3 with orange fur (2 female, 1 male)
> 1 black (female)
> 1 gray (male)
> 1 agouti (male)
> 1 runt (male I think - he doesn't have much fur yet. He will be either gray
> or orange)
>
> (sorry, I can't remember the official names for the colors). I looked up the
> genetics several months ago and determined that there was a 25% chance of
> each of the 4 colors above. I was very surprised to get all four colors in
> one litter!
> They're so adorable - I wish I could keep them all.
>
> By the way, does anyone have any comments about runts? The little one we
> have is incredibly tiny compared to his litter mates but seems to be very
> energetic and quite strong for his size. What are his odds of surviving? At
> first I figured we would lose him but so far he's doing really well.
>
> Thanks,
> Debbie
I've had runts. As long as he is strong enough to get his
share of milk he should be ok. Keep an eye on him. If it
becomes necessary you can help him out with formula. Also
be sure the mother has extra calcium, like a cuttlebone, and
extra protein, like cat food, monkey chow, or mealworms.
Those things will help her produce enough milk.
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