# Has my baby been cannibalised?



## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

My beautiful Neva has been eaten by her sisters and mother. Why? Would she have passed away first?

Am devastated.

All I have left is her head. She wasn't even cold.

Mum and the girls have had a lot of freedom as their cage wasn't meshed...plus it was too small...so I let them roam around in my rat proof room. But cos the lovely Rockromantic needed some boys for her Charlie rat i have moved the girls into theirs. Is it out of frustration? Would they really do that?

Why???

RIP my darling girl.


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## Cherpi (Nov 19, 2010)

Omg I'm so sorry, I can't believe that they just left the head... I bet that was so horrible for you! RIP xxxx


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Cherpi said:


> Omg I'm so sorry, I can't believe that they just left the head... I bet that was so horrible for you! RIP xxxx


I'm just so confused and devastated. It's one of the worst things Ive seen in my life!


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## jamie1977 (Jan 17, 2011)

Know nothing about rats, but this may help........

Why would my pet rats eat each other? - Yahoo! Answers


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## Nicky10 (Jan 11, 2010)

I'm so sorry that must have been an awful thing to find . Could it have been that they realised something was wrong that you haven't noticed? I don't know if rats do that though


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

jamie1977 said:


> Know nothing about rats, but this may help........
> 
> Why would my pet rats eat each other? - Yahoo! Answers


Thanks hun.



Nicky10 said:


> I'm so sorry that must have been an awful thing to find . Could it have been that they realised something was wrong that you haven't noticed? I don't know if rats do that though


Maybe...they were all very active though. I am dumbfounded as to why she died but I really hope she did and they are just eating her body. Her eyes weren't fully closed though


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

oh hun im so sorry

given the chance and the inclination, rodents will canibalise dead friends and their own pups too, it is instinct, the smell of a dead body in the "nest" will alert predators to their presence, it is their instinct to remove all trace of the dead ones from the nest to prevent this

also if they sensed something was really wrong with her they may have killed her, but i would probably say they were just "cleaning up" so sorry hun


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## RockRomantic (Apr 29, 2009)

oh my days! Niki i am so so sorry  this must be heartbreaking for you  xxxx


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## billie jo (Feb 17, 2011)

Animals and people don't shut their eyes when they die honey - lets hope she died naturally and quickly and the others were indeed just cleaning up x


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## shells (Jan 16, 2011)

i personaly dont know mutch about rats but as a kid my best mate had them and hers used to do this as soon as one took its last breath its a natural thing for them at least thats what my mate used to say. so sorry for your loss big (((((hugs)))))


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Thanks everyone for their warming thoughts!

And thank you billie-jo for the info on the eyes...I didn't actually know that!!

The rest seem OK this morning...there is no sign of fighting etc so am hoping what you are all saying is true.

I took the rest of the body out...even though they were still eating it...this was the right thing right...I didn't mean to halt any "closure" they might be having from that...but I was scared it would start rotting. By the way I am saying "it" referring to the carcass...I can't bear to think of Neva as what I saw last night


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

I would suggest planting a little flower as her memorial, dont think of her as the last time you saw her, rodents will 'get rid' of dead bodies hun its just natural, Ive had it happen with mice, my little Danger and Dickory were both partially eaten and there is no cage fighting with the mice so Im sure it was a post mortom thing, its a horrible thing to find ((hugs)) xx


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

thedogsmother said:


> I would suggest planting a little flower as her memorial, dont think of her as the last time you saw her, rodents will 'get rid' of dead bodies hun its just natural, Ive had it happen with mice, my little Danger and Dickory were both partially eaten and there is no cage fighting with the mice so Im sure it was a post mortom thing, its a horrible thing to find ((hugs)) xx


Will do...thanks hun! xx


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

you were fine to take the body out hun, it wont have caused any upset to the rest, and to be honest, i would have taken it out too.

try to remember her as she was alive, remember her for who she was, not how her body left this world

huge hugs to you hun


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## ArabiCoffee (Sep 3, 2010)

Oh I'm so sorry hun.
I hope u start feeling better soon. 

RIP little Neva...


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## Argent (Oct 18, 2009)

RIP Neva 

I'm so sorry Niki....just bear in mind where these bubs came from...there could have been something underlying that just suddenly ended her life and the others were just acting on instinct.


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## KalokiMallow (Mar 30, 2011)

Oh ****, I am so so sorry to hear this! That's heartbreaking!


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## owieprone (Nov 6, 2008)

sorry for your loss, poor Neva.

as everyone else has suggested i reckon she most likely died of natural causes, especially if there were no fights or animosity between the hoard.

as sad and horrible to us as it is, try not to be too grossed out or devastated by the other rats eating Neva, it is definately the 'right' thing for them to do. Rats are scavengers and will eat whatever they can get their wee paws on.. I'm quite sure Neva doesn't mind in the slightest that her hoard-mates have decided to use her as a nutritional supplement.. remember the best food ANY omnivore/carnivore animal can eat is it's own kind, she has all the right vits and mins all her wee mates need. a tad minging but i like the thought that nothing in a rats world goes to waste.

Your hoard are also less likely to have separation issues, as they've seen her die and had their ritual. 

I hope the rest of the hoard cheer you up.. just think of Neva in ratty heaven playing with everyone else's passed over hoards. Seriously, can you be sad thinking of 1000's of our rats playing in the best 'dump' ever with nana and other favourite treats in every nook they look into?


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## Cherpi (Nov 19, 2010)

My cousins pet hamsters ate each other, well one ate the other... she was also devistated. She cried for hours and her mums friend had to remove all the gross parts and clean out the cage, they couldn't afford food (I gave her food most of the time but when my hamster Bart died she didn't get any ... why get a hamster if you can't afford one) RIP


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## Sarah+Hammies (Jul 20, 2009)

Poor Neva  RIP little one, run free at the bridge with all of your rattie friends.

Im so sorry Niki


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Argent said:


> RIP Neva
> 
> I'm so sorry Niki....just bear in mind where these bubs came from...there could have been something underlying that just suddenly ended her life and the others were just acting on instinct.


Thats true.....makes u worry for others though. They are so small...Bijou never grew really...and the babies are same size!



KalokiMallow said:


> Oh ****, I am so so sorry to hear this! That's heartbreaking!


Thanks hun.



owieprone said:


> sorry for your loss, poor Neva.
> 
> as everyone else has suggested i reckon she most likely died of natural causes, especially if there were no fights or animosity between the hoard.
> 
> ...


 Awww that really made me smile!



Cherpi said:


> My cousins pet hamsters ate each other, well one ate the other... she was also devistated. She cried for hours and her mums friend had to remove all the gross parts and clean out the cage, they couldn't afford food (I gave her food most of the time but when my hamster Bart died she didn't get any ... why get a hamster if you can't afford one) RIP


Awwww your poor cousin. Yeah is awful.



Sarah+Hammies said:


> Poor Neva  RIP little one, run free at the bridge with all of your rattie friends.
> 
> Im so sorry Niki


Thanks hun!!


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## Argent (Oct 18, 2009)

Hun, Bijou probably won't grow much larger now - same happened with my Lavender. Giving birth too young stunts their growth greatly and sometimes causes all kinds of problems to the mother and her babies throughout their lives. Just keep a close eye on them, this could well have just been a one-off. *hugs*


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Argent said:


> Hun, Bijou probably won't grow much larger now - same happened with my Lavender. Giving birth too young stunts their growth greatly and sometimes causes all kinds of problems to the mother and her babies throughout their lives. Just keep a close eye on them, this could well have just been a one-off. *hugs*


Oh yeah I know she won't grow...neither will the babies now I don't think. My original boys are massive...i thought maybe the baby boys would grow but they just didnt. Thanks hun. xx


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## Argent (Oct 18, 2009)

They still have time, but they may all have small genes or have been stunted due to lack of nutrition in the womb. It's so sad...I wish I could tell that stupid girl what she's done


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Argent said:


> They still have time, but they may all have small genes or have been stunted due to lack of nutrition in the womb. It's so sad...I wish I could tell that stupid girl what she's done


I know...me too!!!  Poor things!


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## Argent (Oct 18, 2009)

niki87 said:


> I know...me too!!!  Poor things!


At least they're with you now, and get the best care possible


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## catz4m8z (Aug 27, 2008)

Im really sorry for you, poor little Neva. Im sure she must of died of natural causes, Ive never heard of well looked after rats needing to cannibalise a cage mate. 
RIP..


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## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

catz4m8z said:


> Im really sorry for you, poor little Neva. Im sure she must of died of natural causes, Ive never heard of well looked after rats needing to cannibalise a cage mate.
> RIP..


Thanks hun!! It is still awful but not as bad now! Thanks!


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