In the second week of rat development the ears of the babies are completely unsealed and protrude from the head. On Dumbo babies they will stick out and look as if they point downward. On Standard-eared babies they will stay closer to the head and point upward. The round eyeballs that you could once see in the 1st week are now covered with thicker and more opaque skin and the beginnings of the baby's first coat of fur. As you can see in photos 8 and 9, the fuzz seems to come in more overnight! In ticked colours such as Agoutis & Cinnamons, you can see the bands on the hairs. If there was any doubt whether a baby was Black or Chocolate or Mink, the coat has come in enough for you to be able to tell the exact colour. If you compare the feet on days 9 and 10, you can see that the parts that will be white are pink and that all coloured parts are now dark. Even the little ears on the little Dumbo on Day 10 have started to darken. Body fur is very short but growing in nicely. On day 11, the feet have started to get white fuzz on top of them, and they no longer look transparent. The eyes no longer protrude as much and look more like they are part of the head. By now the babies are begining to emerge from the nest. Their senses of hearing, touch, and smell are getting better each day. As you can see on day 12 & 13, eyes have started to open! They are a bit squinty and small looking. From the baby's point of view, things are very blurry at this point but shadows are visible. It gets easier now to be sure f the babies have dumbo or standard ears.   By day 14 the babies are firmly on their way to being little rats. Fur completely covers their little bodies.They are sitting up cleaning themselves , although falling over a lot. Now they are chewing on pieces of paper and cloth. Now they can follow their mom around and can pursue their own meals. Needless to say Mom Anastasia is looking a bit haggard and is wanting to get out of the cage more often.

WEEK 2 FOR THE LITTER

In the second week of rat development the ears of the babies are completely unsealed and protrude from the head. On Dumbo babies they will stick out and look as if they point downward. On Standard-eared babies they will stay closer to the head and point upward. The round eyeballs that you could once see in the 1st week are now covered with thicker and more opaque skin and the beginnings of the baby's first coat of fur. As you can see in photos 8 and 9, the fuzz seems to come in more overnight! In ticked colours such as Agoutis & Cinnamons, you can see the bands on the hairs. If there was any doubt whether a baby was Black or Chocolate or Mink, the coat has come in enough for you to be able to tell the exact colour. If you compare the feet on days 9 and 10, you can see that the parts that will be white are pink and that all coloured parts are now dark. Even the little ears on the little Dumbo on Day 10 have started to darken. Body fur is very short but growing in nicely. On day 11, the feet have started to get white fuzz on top of them, and they no longer look transparent. The eyes no longer protrude as much and look more like they are part of the head. By now the babies are begining to emerge from the nest. Their senses of hearing, touch, and smell are getting better each day. As you can see on day 12 & 13, eyes have started to open! They are a bit squinty and small looking. From the baby's point of view, things are very blurry at this point but shadows are visible. It gets easier now to be sure f the babies have dumbo or standard ears.   By day 14 the babies are firmly on their way to being little rats. Fur completely covers their little bodies.They are sitting up cleaning themselves , although falling over a lot. Now they are chewing on pieces of paper and cloth. Now they can follow their mom around and can pursue their own meals. Needless to say Mom Anastasia is looking a bit haggard and is wanting to get out of the cage more often.