# Possible Pregnancy



## Rari (Jun 27, 2016)

I haven't been keeping rats for long but now I realise what a huge mistake I made, I bought 2 rats from a pet store who promised the rats were male, I at the time had my suspicions and went to ask for another opinion on which I was told again they were male. 

Anyway one of my rats passed away so I bought another male rat from a different pet store to introduce to the older rat however when I got home I realised that the rat I bought was different to the other rat, by the time I googled how to gender rats I found out they are in fact opposite genders. Problem is I had already introduced them, at the time I thought the mounting was just a dominance thing as I was told by the second pet store that it would happen, though now realising they are different genders I'm worried it is more then that.
I have a separate smaller cage for emergencies, should I start preparing that just in case? I am happy to care for a litter myself if they have them, I'm just not too sure what to do at the current moment. 
Thanks


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## rottengirl (Mar 16, 2016)

Please go ahead with preparing and expecting a litter; it really takes no time for a female to become preggers.  Good luck.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

Separate them asap if you have not already. There is always some miracle chance that she is not yet pregnant. 

You can take her to the vet and get medication to end the pregnancy. 

Depending on her age it could be very bad for her to have babies so young  Not good for her or the babies. 
There is always the risk that you could lose her, the babies or both. If the mom dies or can't/refuses to nurse it is going to be very difficult for you.
Raising a litter is not easy or all its cracked up to be. Rats have on average 8-12 babies but litters can be as high up as the 20s. That is alot of babies to find homes for!
Your rat food bill will go through the roof.
You will also need a second cage to separate the baby boy rats into before they are 5 weeks old. I honestly wouldn't suggest putting them with the other male that young as it could be risky, or if you do and he doesn't get along having a backup is still a good idea.
Depending on how small your other emergency cage is, it may not be a large enough size for all the babies to grow up in. And you will still need a larger proper cage for the girls.

How big is your other cage and what is the bar spacing? Cages are not the best to have babies in as there is the possibility they can be pushed out. I'd suggest making a bin cage. 105qt plastic tote for storage, hardware cloth and zip ties. Makes the ideal nursery cage. I use them all the time. Just google how to make a bin cage.

If you do decide to try and go forward with the pregnancy...
You are looking at 19-23 days from now.

Some helpful links for the babies development & sexing:
http://www.afrma.org/babyratdevdaily.htm
http://tigertailrattery.weebly.com/growth-picture-journal.html
http://ratguide.com/breeding/baby_development/birth_to_weaning.php
http://mainelyratrescue.org/rattieblog2/?p=42
my pages:
http://www.onceuponamischief.com/#!sexing/m5rco
http://www.onceuponamischief.com/#!baby-development/vq5wi


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## Rari (Jun 27, 2016)

Thanks, the spacing of the cage we currently have are very small, about 1.5cm squared at the most. We are going to go and buy a second cage just in case. My female is almost 2 I believe but is very healthy so I hope she can withstand it, the father however he is only 4 months old. At the moment my backup cage is very small so we don't like keeping rats in there unless it is an emergency. 
At least all the happened at a time where I have a lot of free time, still very problematic though.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

> so we don't like keeping rats in there unless it is an emergency.


I would definitely suggest this is an emergency 

I would still separate them right away. 

Your girl being 2 brings on a whole bunch of issues as well. Most females are retired from breeding between 10 months- 1 year. A 2 year old female should not be having babies at all. That would be like a 60 year old woman giving birth!! It comes with a whole list of serious health risks for her and the babies  It definitely puts the risk that the babies will suffer from health issues much higher. If you do not want to end the pregnancy still, ready yourself for the chance of heart break and I would suggest research some vets that treat rats and have some money saved in case things go badly.

The good news is that at 2 years old her fertility _may_ have waned some and it may be harder for her to get pregnant. This does NOT mean they can live together. Rats can still get pregnant at that age, it just lowers the chance. So hopefully she is not pregnant. But please do separate them asap. 

It sucks being in a small cage but it is far far better then putting her through a pregnancy.


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## Rari (Jun 27, 2016)

I've separated them and am looking for another larger cage right now  
There is only 1 vet near me who treat rats but they do not like working with rats and would rather put them down then do anything so I'm worried about taking her. 
I'm just more annoyed at the moment, lets just say I wont be going back to a pet shop any time soon...


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

One of the many reasons why I always suggest finding a good breeder 

Plus with pet shops you run the risk of them already being pregnant quite often.

But it wouldn't hurt to learn how to sex them yourself as well. Sexing rats is very easy. Males have quite large noticeable testicles lol. It is hard to miss.

But my link here has more info on sexing and pics.
http://www.onceuponamischief.com/#!sexing/m5rco


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## Rari (Jun 27, 2016)

Thank you, I did think that my rats were female a while back but was told they were 100% male, turns out I was right, now that I actually have a male and a female it is really easy to tell and I feel so stupid for not realising.  I guess I'll know for next time, everyone makes mistakes. 

Good news is I think I've found a cage I can get straight away tomorrow


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## Grotesque (Mar 19, 2014)

Keep us updated! Prayers headed your way for the safety of the possible Mommy and babies.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Keep us updated. It will be pretty obvious in about two weeks if she is pregnant. It unfortunately happens way too often with pet store rats. You'd think you can trust the person at the pet store but in reality 99% of the salespersons probably don't know much about the care of the animals they are selling to you. It is always better to get your rats from a reputable breeder, or a rat rescue. Both will be there to help you in case of problems, and no mis-sexing either.


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## Rari (Jun 27, 2016)

Thanks everyone
I feel bad for being so naive but I was new to having pet rats so I guess mistakes happen, I just hope that if she is pregnant she will get through it safely being as old as she is. 

In other news regarding the male rat, we found a new home for him as we though it wouldn't be best for him to be living in a cage on his own and instead have another female to keep my rat company. They have took to each other very well and they both seem to be very happy living together. 

I will be sure to keep everyone updated though


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## raindear (Mar 3, 2015)

There are some animals that can be difficult to sex and if you never had rats before there is no way you could have known that they aren't one of the difficult animals. Don't beat yourself up over an honest mistake. You are doing your best for your animals. That is all that can be asked of you.


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## Rari (Jun 27, 2016)

Update : 
Its been exactly 2 weeks since Twitch has had an encounter with a male and she's starting to look more rounded, I've asked some other people more experienced with rats who have said she defiantly looks pregnant so it seems I may have a few babies on my hands soon. I hope everything goes well for her being as old as she is.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Bunny didn't show at all until just a few days before she delivered, we adopted her pregnant, but after she had her pups, she turned out to be freakishly thin... She's still mostly tubular rather than rat like in form.

A few days before she delivered she started drinking lots of water and the morning of the day she gave birth she started nest building. That might give you a little heads up as to the delivery time...

Bunny was only 8 to 9 weeks old when she had her pups, but honestly it didn't look like a big deal to her, she seemed relaxed and composed throughout, like it happens to rats every day. I think I might have been more stressed than she was... You pretty much get a pup every several minutes for a while... I think it took a bit under two hours to deliver the whole litter, maybe less...

Well that's what it should look like, if it doesn't it might be a good idea to have a vet that knows rats on call. A two year old rat having a first litter is a high risk pregnancy... Things are either going to go surprisingly well or things are going to go terribly wrong and if they go pear shaped it will happen fast. You won't have much time to find a night vet during the labor, it's going to be pack rat and run... And yes, most rats apparently have their pups at night.

Best luck.


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## Rari (Jun 27, 2016)

Final update : Sorry its late I have been very busy
We took twitch to the vets who confirmed she was pregnant, anyway her due day went by and nothing and we were starting to get worried, after speaking to the vets and a breeder we had came to the conclusion she had a miscarriage. She is still doing very well but without babies, thank you to everyone who helped me out


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