[Erica]

I have a litter of babies that are almost 2 weeks old, and of course, I had to have a runt in the litter, however, even at almost 2 weeks, he has no hair (except whiskers) and when I held him yesterday, I noticed that his eyes are opened, and his bigger (double his size) brothers and sisters still haven't opened their eyes. I thought the runts are supposed to be later in developing than the "normal" sized babies? Is there something wrong with him? I also noticed that he runs in circles, which I have never seen one do. And he has a black mask across his eyes, and black on his back, but still no hair, almost like a hairless rat. Any ideas/suggestions would be helpful. Thank you in advance!!!

 

[Erica]

I don't know the genetic backgrounds of the parents. They were both purchased from pet stores, so it is possible that they could have hairless backgrounds, that I would know not be aware of. She is the only mother in the cage, though. He is very obviously eating, but still growing at a much slower rate than his siblings.

 

[Erica]

It's not that I can't bring myself to do it... I have a few snakes that would eat him, and not think twice about it. But for right now, and perhaps i should have been more specific when I posted about his circling, which he does when held, not in his cage, (still never saw it before, even if it was just caused from the stress of being held)... until he shows that he is in pain, or doesn't have a chance of surviving to adulthood, I would like to give him the chance to survive. I have kept rabbits alive when everyone told me they would die, and I intend to give him the same chance at life as well. It might sound cruel that I'm saying this, but until you have a chance to witness him in action, and all the things he does, its not fair to judge whether his life should be taken at this very second. Sorry for the rant just my opinion. I do breed to feed, but something is telling me not to feed/kill him at this exact time in life. I asked for opinions, and I thank everyone who responded, but at this EXACT moment in time, I think I will take it one day at a time.

 

[Erica]

Just to add... I care very much for their quality of life and well-being, and maybe that is part of the reason that I'm willing to help him fight this battle. As previously stated, if he shows signs of illness or pain, that will be the last day of his life, but until that time, he can be warm and snuggly with his brothers and sisters. I'm not a large scale breeder, and my mice get daily attention, and they live in my living room, so i see them all the time.