# How to prevent a lonely rat?



## Monroe (Mar 26, 2011)

I just bought a very young female & I can't get her sprayed or anything at the moment. Can't introduce herself to my boys of course. Until I can get everything sorted out, how do I prevent her from getting depressed? 

I have to handle & play with her a lot, I know. But any other tips? She's very young & frightened. I'm pretty good at socializing them because my other two rats were shy at first as well. But, I've never had to try to keep a lonely rat occupied before.


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## LoneOakRats (Mar 23, 2011)

Get her a female friend.


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## Monroe (Mar 26, 2011)

LoneOakRats said:


> Get her a female friend.


Don't get me wrong, I'd love another rat. But I don't think my mom would allow it. Daffodil is now my 4th rat.


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## LoneOakRats (Mar 23, 2011)

Why did you buy her if you knew she was going to have be all alone? ???


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## Monroe (Mar 26, 2011)

I'm going to get her sprayed, so she will be able to be in the cage with my boys.


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## LoneOakRats (Mar 23, 2011)

Spaying her is a great idea.


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## Monroe (Mar 26, 2011)

I can't do it at the moment though. Don't have the money at the moment, & she might be pregnant at the moment since she was in a cage with males. So, for the time being, I'm searching for any advice how to keep her occupied.


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## LoneOakRats (Mar 23, 2011)

If she is pregnant then you need to be preparing for that. Do you have her in a maternity bin? What are you feeding her? Do you have a plan for the babies?


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## Monroe (Mar 26, 2011)

I have her in a tank at the moment. I'm feeding her nutritional pellets.. is that alright? & If she is pregnant, then it depends on how many babies she would have. If its only a few, I could keep them all. I have a friend who has a single rat that would love to have another.


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## LoneOakRats (Mar 23, 2011)

How big is the tank? I'm not sure what kind of pellets you're talking about. She needs to be supplemented with high-calorie, high-protein foods. A litter of only a "few" is very rare. A rat can easily have 15+ babies. If you can't afford to have her spayed, can you afford to keep 15 babies? Can you afford an emergency visit to the vet if she has complications while giving birth?


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## renegaderob18 (Apr 7, 2011)

Yes get prepared in case she is pregnant since she's been in with males. It doesn't take long for it to happen. If your mom won't allow you to have more rats you might wanna figure out what your gonna do if she is pregnant, because it will be a big job. Right now just spend time with her and give her toys to stay occupied until you find out if she is pregnant.


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## ratjes (Mar 26, 2011)

Ask you vet for a payment plan so she doesn't have to be alone. This is how we all have to learn to think before we leap. It seems that parents get a lot of blame for situation like these.


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## Monroe (Mar 26, 2011)

So, the pet store guy said she was 20 weeks old. She was in with her brothers. What are the odds that she is pregnant by one of them? I didn't see any of them humping or anything. So, if she is pregnant by a brother, will the babies be healthy by the inbreeding? I'd be really worried about that. 

To keep her occupied, how many times a day do you advise I take her out to play & exercise? She's still really timid around me & so I don't want to bother her too much but... I don't want her to be alone all day. 

How long before I can tell if she's pregnant or not? I'm being careful picking her up around her mid-belly.


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## Monroe (Mar 26, 2011)

I actually doubt that she is 20 weeks... she's so incredible small... I'll post a pic later for you guys to judge her age.


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## Zoi (Feb 24, 2011)

You make a post on breeding your rats, then after a few replies go and buy a girl who you don't have money to spay so will be alone and might be VERY young and pregnant. If you had to have a girl you should have saved up for spaying then went out looking for one. From the looks of it you got a girl and are hoping she has a small litter so that at lest one of her kits can keep her company soon. Also if your mother wont let you get your girl a friend now how would you be allowed to keep 4-15 more rats soon ??


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## ratjes (Mar 26, 2011)

The best solution would be to give her to a rescue. The current situation will go out of control if you don't have the back up from your mom. This will solve all your problems, including your female rat's


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## renegaderob18 (Apr 7, 2011)

You're in a bad situation. You have a mom who doesn't want you to have rats. You also may have a pregnant rat which will add more rats in which your mom doesn't want. You are in no way ready for your rat to have babies if she is pregnant. I have had a total of 30 rats in a 12 year span. I now have 4 females. I never got rats unless I had what I needed and knew enough about them to get started. Even when my one female was pregnant I was prepared for that. Bottom line is you have to be prepared and ready and with your mom saying no more rats you're going to have more problems then you want and will not be able to care for the rats. I would give them up to a local adoption place near you so the rats will be taken care of.


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## Monroe (Mar 26, 2011)

Don't worry guys, I have everything sorted out now. I talked with my mom & everything is under control. She agreed to let me go back to the pet store to get one of Daffodil's sisters from the litter. So now I have two girls that already know each other. Also, I talked to the employee about the possibility of a pregnancy because of the pet store's ignorance, & he said they would take the babies back & sell them for me if I couldn't give them homes myself. He said they frequently take litters from people, even if its not the pet store's fault. 

I think you guys are getting a little too hard on me. I'm a big girl, not a teenager... 

& Also, my mom is supportive of me getting as many rats as I want but we are selling our house soon & she doesn't want a ratterie in my room because people will get turned off. When we move, she's letting me have a special room for the rats. She's very supportive & loves them. Its just she wasn't supportive of me getting them "right now". But now thats it done, she's okay with it. 

Instead of saving up money to get them spayed, I'll save up money for them to checked up in my nearest small vet office, & see if they are pregnant and/or healthy.


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## ratjes (Mar 26, 2011)

And will you make sure your females don't get bred by your males? 
What a major change of hearts here.....


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## Monroe (Mar 26, 2011)

ratjes said:


> And will you make sure your females don't get bred by your males?


If I wanted to breed them in a controlled manner, I'd do so when they are old enough, healthy & when my family & I move in a our new house. At the moment, they are in separate cages, so no, they will not get bred by my males. 



> What a major change of hearts here.....


What change of heart? I'm simply updating the situation, to show that I have things more under control. If people don't want me here, just say it & I'll leave. Sorry if I was trying to find ADVICE. Sorry if I followed that ADVICE.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Guys cool it.
This member has been talked to by mods already and we would appreciate no back seat Moderating.
If the OP decides to breed that is her choice and the better thing to do is give advice. 

Monroe, did you receive the PM with the link to BVRs Virtual Mentoring? If you are interesting in breeding that is the place to go for knowledge, and even better is to be mentored hands on by a Rattery.

Also remember guys we don't allow discussion on intentional breeding so that ends here.


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## Monroe (Mar 26, 2011)

Kiko said:


> Monroe, did you receive the PM with the link to BVRs Virtual Mentoring? If you are interesting in breeding that is the place to go for knowledge, and even better is to be mentored hands on by a Rattery.


Yes, I did. Thank you! 

I've been asking advice about the accidental pregnancy. I bought these two rats from a pet store & they might be pregnant. Is that okay to talk about?


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Yes accidental litters are fine to talk about in the Accidental Litters section. But we are pretty strict with discussion about Intentional Breeding unless you are an accepted breeder/rattery.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

Kiko said:


> Yes accidental litters are fine to talk about in the Accidental Litters section. But we are pretty strict with discussion about Intentional Breeding unless you are an accepted breeder/rattery.


even then, this is not the place to discuss it. even our well-known and very good breeders on the forum must abide by this rule. it is for the better of everyone, trust me


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Yep with the amount of people who are against breeding or have strong beliefs and opinions it starts a fight pretty much 100% of the time. Better to save everyone the drama.


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## Monroe (Mar 26, 2011)

Again, I apologize. I wasn't really familiar with the members here. I will only talk about the threat of pregnancy from the pet store situation.


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## Critter Aficionado (Jan 30, 2011)

Can you have an "emergency spay" done if one/both are pregnant and not too far along? It's a very personal decision I know, but I think given the alternative of the babies having to be taken to a pet store to be resold (possibly to impulse purchasers), it's something worth at least talking to a rat-experienced exotics veterinarian about.


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## Monroe (Mar 26, 2011)

Is that like... an abortion? I don't know how I would feel about that ethically.. 

I'm not sure how far along they are. I heard their stomachs don't really blow up until the last few weeks. I know Bluebell has quite a... full-looking stomach. I wouldn't say it looks pregnant, but theres a possibility. 

Also, how much do spaying usually cost in the US? Just for general info here for when I do have the money for it.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

the price is so varied the only way to know is to ask the vet.

As someone who had an accidental litter, I can tell you. It made my life ****. I went from 3 rats to 15 and it is just too many, unless you are home very often have LOTS i mean LOTS of money, and time, and can handle the smell and mess that many rats make. Then I suggest trying to find homes NOW for the babies in case they are.

Because 3 pregnant rats? That could be 15-60 babies. Yes 60, I do not know anyone save for rescues who can handle that many rats at once.

Rats are only pregnant for 3 weeks. 21-24 days, so the last few weeks are the ONLY few weeks lol.


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## Monroe (Mar 26, 2011)

Would an emergency spaying be dangerous for such young girls? They are 20 weeks. (So says the rodent section employee) 

It's 2 possibly pregnant girls by the way. I guess I'll think about this abortion option... It will really be messing with ethics here though...


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

E-spays are a good option, it's the same as a normal spay but they are also removing the embryos.

I have to throw this in- if you breed, do NOT use these rats..they come from pet stores, which have terrible lines and you could end up with a myriad of problems.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Think of it as saving rats not killing.

If you have to rehome 15 rats from a litter, that's 15 rats from a rescue that still have no home.
Idk if that will actually make you feel better about it.


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## Ratfever (May 6, 2011)

Kinsey said:


> I have to throw this in- if you breed, do NOT use these rats..they come from pet stores, which have terrible lines and you could end up with a myriad of problems.


Someone told me that it was illegal to intentionally breed without being licensed as a breeder. Though, they may not be the most reliable information source... :-\ Is this true?


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

Ratfever said:


> Kinsey said:
> 
> 
> > I have to throw this in- if you breed, do NOT use these rats..they come from pet stores, which have terrible lines and you could end up with a myriad of problems.
> ...


not at all. i wish, though. *laughs*


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## LoneOakRats (Mar 23, 2011)

You mentioned that the petstore will take back any rats you are unable to rehome. You do realize that they will most likely end up as feeders, right? Especially if they don't turn out to be "fancy" colors. In your opinion, is this really much better than an e-spay?


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

The OP left the board apparently. They found us to be rude and quick to attack. 
Unfortunately the Con-crit given in these circumstances IS often harsh toned, it's hard to make it sound nice :/


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## halfmoon (Mar 29, 2010)

Monroe might be coming around once in a while to check it out. Maybe she'll see the replies and reconsider the emergency spay. I know that I'm just hoping that her girls are stuffed with food and not babies...


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