Breeders > General Breeder Chat

lost a viable kit for the first time

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kageri:
We lost one runt before but this time I'm not sure what happened.  She was gaining 4 grams a day, active, starting to eat solid food and then she was dead next to the pellet bowl.  It wasn't one of the cages with lots of levels and obstacles.  One low shelf and one house.  She didn't get any treats.  She had no wounds, didn't look to have been crushed, mouth was clear, teeth were fine, butt was clean and there had been no sign of digestive upset...  ::shrug::  I'm not sure if there's really anything to learn here.  It doesn't look like a husbandry issue and I wasn't planning to breed that female again anyway.  It's just sad.

BLS Chins:
I have seen kits choke before. Could be a heart problem or even a hypoglycemic issue. Hard to say without a necropsy. Sorry for your loss

GrayRodent:
I'm sorry to hear that. That is very sad.

kageri:
I didn't see any food but it's possible it was too far down the throat.  I figured a necropsy wouldn't show a whole lot when the body had already started rigor mortis.  I suppose an enlarged heart might be visible but who knows exactly how large the heart should be.

GrayRodent:
If you ever want to have a necropsy done refrigerate the carcass but do not freeze it. Rigor doesn't matter. It is decomposition that will effect the results. Of course freezing makes any histological analysis difficult. All of the organs are weighed and compared against a chart. If it was a heart defect it would show up in the dissection of the heart. If something looks off a histological exam may be done on the affected tissues. Of course it doesn't mean you'll find a cause in every necropsy but it can be useful.

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