# Okay soooo



## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

I never thought I'd be posting in this forum. I don't even own males. I'm smart. I'm careful. But Tusk is smarter. My sister brings her males with her when she comes to visit me. Some how Tusk ended up in her cage about a week and a half ago. I thought (and hoped) it was fine since I never saw a mucus plug. She's been slowly but steadily getting more pudgy since then. She's always been one to keep her weight in check and I often have a hard time even getting her to keep weight on in the first place but her belly has been getting quite round. She's sleeping a lot more and the others are more protective. I just made a post about this over in the health section but after I read through it after posting I realized "OML that sounds like pregnancy symptoms." Now the reason this concerns me is she's not exactly a spring chicken. She's about 9 months now and she's never had a litter as I'm not, and don't intend to be a breeder. I called our vet and asked how much it would be to term. The pregnancy but it's just not something I can afford at this exact moment as Peach's multiple URIs have drained my vet fund. So here are my questions: 1. Does this sound like pregnancy to you experienced people?
2. Is there a point in the pregnancy that it will be too late to term?
3. Will she be okay if she does give birth?
The only upside to this is the fact that out of my 4 girls, Tusk is the only one I believe would be a good mom.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

Every rat is different. I really don't notice much changes in my females during their pregnancies though my rats are well bred, some rats may have hormonal issues. She might get snippy with you. Also if she is older, not getting great nutrition, or has any health issues it may take a larger toll on her body. Have you been weighing her? Rats don't gain much weight at the beginning. Most rats do not show at all until their last week. It is like nothing then poof a fatty! At a week & a half I don't think you would be able to notice a different in weight almost at all in most cases. 

If you haven't been weighing her, start  Its good to have a scale and keep track of it anyways. A cheap kitchen scale is fine you can get at any store like walmart. 

9 months is not old. I generally do not retire my girls until 10 months old, others may breed until a year. But if she is showing signs of illness (the sniffles you said?) she may have a harder time. A big issue is that pregnancy, birth, nursing (even more so if it is a large litter) takes ALOT from her. Ideally a healthy rat will keep her weight well and be able to handle it, giving the babies alot of nutrition while not losing it herself. But if she is not doing great she is going to be very drained and the babies won't be getting enough. It can be very bad for them both 

2. Earlier is better IMO. It really depends on the vet. Some suggest a high dose of doxy... i'm not going to tell u to do that or not to do that but if used now it could end the pregnancy. You can also euthanize all or some of the babies after birth (pm me for info). 

3. There is no way to tell ever. A young healthy rat could still have complications and pass. There is also no way to be sure that she will be a good mom. In by far most cases rats are awesome moms but there is always just the flukes.


If she is pregnant and you are not going to end it. You want to up her protein a bit. Don;t over stuff her with food though  
She needs to b separated from her cagemates to her own baby safe cage, I suggest a bin. You can wait until the last week to do so. A rats pregnancy lasts around 21 days. Separating her at 17-18 days can be nice to let her rest and build her nest.

You will also need a separate cage for the baby boys, separate at 5 weeks. Be prepared on average rats have 8-12 babies but can have over 20... 

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
http://www.onceuponamischief.com/baby-development


bin cage:
http://www.onceuponamischief.com/#!How-to-make-a-bin-cage/yqplu/57b158f40cf2a28cd69e0068


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## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

I don't know that I'm willing to give her a massive dose of doxy to term it.. especially if I'm not positive that she is actually pregnant.
Here's the other factor- the males are HUGE. And Tusk is a very small rat I've come to realize. They were about twice her size. Will her pups be larger because of this? I'm worried she might not be able to birth them on her own because of the size difference. Maybe I'm just overly worried but I want my Tusk to be okay more than anything else. She's my heart rat, right next to Peach.


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## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

Fingers crossed I'm just being overly paranoid and she's not pregnant.
I'm glad I've wasted so much time reading about breeding so at least I have somewhat of a clue how this should go and what to expect.


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## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

Another question, I've seen you recommend egg a lot for pregnant rats. Can I give her scrambled? Also, would meat be an acceptable alternative to egg? I'm allergic to eggs and would rather not have a reaction but if it's what's best for her I'll suck it up and make her some eggs.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

Do you know how much Tusk weighs? If she is just petite it is fine on the size difference  If she is a rat that was stunted growth though for example that could add to the problems and health. It would personally worry me quite a bit if that was the case. Males are generally quite larger though.

Scrambled or hardboiled eggs are fine. I just suggest them alot as they are easy, rats love them and most people have eggs lol Most protein sources are fine though. I also use chicken breast, quinoa, yogurt. I'd stay away from red meat. Watch out for too much fats/sugars. Fish is up to you. many people do give fish. I personally have issues with the ethical/environmental of fishing and worry about the very high mercury levels to give them. But personal choice.

I can't remember if you said if she was on medication for her sniffles already?


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## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

I haven't started her on meds yet, I wanted to wait to see if she was pregnant first since her sniffles are very mild and her lungs are still clear. I did the math and she would actually be 15 days now. She isn't much smaller than her sister from the same litter so I don't think it's stunted growth. I think they just have small genetics. All of her weight seems to be coming from her belly. Her sister is a little chunky and carries her weight through out her whole body where as Tusk is still lean and fit looking, except for the roundness in her belly. Is tuna okay for the little ones? I've heard the mercury levels aren't even safe for humans but it's the only type of fish I have. I've been giving her some yogurt and some chicken daily since the Houdini act just to be sure.


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## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

The sniffles are from my boyfriend putting a thick blanket over their cage. No clue why he did it but he left it on for about 5 hours and when I came home I heard my poor Peachy having the worst sneezing attack I've seen so far so I checked all of their breathing and sure enough 3/4 have the sniffles. I was hoping it was just irritation and not actual sickness since I haven't heard a ton of it since. Even Peach cleared up a little yesterday.


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## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

I haven't been able to get a successful weighing on her. I have the scale but she won't stay on it long enough to read her weight lol. What can I do to contain her while I weigh her?


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

Ladylazerstar702 said:


> I haven't been able to get a successful weighing on her. I have the scale but she won't stay on it long enough to read her weight lol. What can I do to contain her while I weigh her?


I use a large bowl. 

If your scale has a tare function, you just put the bowl on the scale, tare, then add the rat. If not weight the bowl and then subtract the weight of it.

You could do a small box that you can close for a moment as well.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Don't give her too much protein though as it can make the babies too big and get them stuck in the birth canal, killing everyone. How did he got in her cage? Was the door left opened? In the future don't let any strange rats close to the cage even with a closed door as rats will bite through the bars, many rats have lost toes or a foot that way.


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## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

She ended up in their cage. I know got a fact I closed the cage but when I came home the door was open and she was in their cage. It's not really surprising she was able to fit between their bars since they were in a Guinea pig cage due to their massive size.


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## Grotesque (Mar 19, 2014)

Is she pregnant? You'd probably know for sure by now. Whats the update?


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## Heyyouguys (Jun 19, 2016)

Not sure what doors you have but one of my boys opened his door the other day, I have drop down doors that need to be released by squeezing the bars to release the tab. I think he might have done it by accident but it made me realise how clever these fellas can be  hope your girl isn't pregnant but give us an update please


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## Ladylazerstar702 (Sep 15, 2016)

I have the type of doors where you push the latch up and then the door falls down. I actually watched her open it just the other day. Very clever little girl. But nope, no babies thank goodness.


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## Rat Feng Shui (Aug 8, 2016)

When I weigh mine I use a colander that is about half the sizze of a volleyball. I put the rat in and put my hand sort of in their way as they try to climb out. It stops them long enough to get the number. The scale is a cheap digial one with a 9 volt battery that goes up to 2 lbs I think. 

In the off chance you are near me, I might be able to adopt 2 females in a month or two. As it is the nearest rat rescue where I could adopt is 5 hours away.


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