# My girl looked extra fluffy this morning…



## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

I’ve had my 3 female rats for 8 days now. This morning one looked fluffier than usual and this is what her belly is looking like. Her nipples are prominent but I’m not sure if that is normal for female rats or not. I’ll know within a week im sure but would you guys guess pregnant based on these pictures?
Edit: 16 babies, 15 living, were born early on March 16th, 2022! 9 girls, 6 boys. Babies are now a week old and doing so well!


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## pivvo (Dec 12, 2021)

I vote pregnant.


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

I would say from those photos that its definitely possible. I would prepare for babies just in case.


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

Something else you could do to tell is to weigh her daily on electronic kitchen scales. Pregnant rat mums gain a huge amount of weight daily in the last week of pregnancy, and you will tell by the numbers. As they say, the scales never lie.  
Just pop a little icecream container or similar on the scales, zero them, and gently place her in it.


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## Fofo (Oct 21, 2021)

Aww she's adorable! That belly looks like a pregnant belly to me.


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

ratbusters said:


> Something else you could do to tell is to weigh her daily on electronic kitchen scales. Pregnant rat mums gain a huge amount of weight daily in the last week of pregnancy, and you will tell by the numbers. As they say, the scales never lie.
> Just pop a little icecream container or similar on the scales, zero them, and gently place her in it.


I did begin this today! She's 220 grams. I'm keeping a daily log of her weight now!


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

Fofo said:


> Aww she's adorable! That belly looks like a pregnant belly to me.


She's sooo sweet too! She's the most lovey, social little girl.


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

ratbusters said:


> I would say from those photos that its definitely possible. I would prepare for babies just in case.


Thank you for the vids!


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## BundleORats (11 mo ago)

NyxTheRat said:


> I’ve had my 3 female rats for 8 days now. This morning one looked fluffier than usual and this is what her belly is looking like. Her nipples are prominent but I’m not sure if that is normal for female rats or not. I’ll know within a week im sure but would you guys guess pregnant based on these pictures?
> View attachment 307880
> 
> View attachment 307878
> ...


Can I have a baby?


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## PotHeadSteve (Jan 2, 2022)

Your in for a surprise. Prepare for babies.


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

pivvo said:


> I vote pregnant.


👀


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

Belly situation today


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

Yep. That's an egg on legs alright!😆


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

ratbusters said:


> Yep. That's an egg on legs alright!😆


she’s in a cage with two 6 week old girls that she’s bonded to. I’ve read mixed opinions on removing pregnant mama from the cage. Some sources say the other rats could help nurture the babies and other sources say they could kill the babies😬 I hate to stress or sadden mama rat by isolating her but I do have a second cage all set up for her and ready to go if need be


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

NyxTheRat said:


> she’s in a cage with two 6 week old girls that she’s bonded to. I’ve read mixed opinions on removing pregnant mama from the cage. Some sources say the other rats could help nurture the babies and other sources say they could kill the babies😬 I hate to stress or sadden mama rat by isolating her but I do have a second cage all set up for her and ready to go if need be











also here’s a nest she’s been working on😁


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

NyxTheRat said:


> she’s in a cage with two 6 week old girls that she’s bonded to. I’ve read mixed opinions on removing pregnant mama from the cage. Some sources say the other rats could help nurture the babies and other sources say they could kill the babies😬 I hate to stress or sadden mama rat by isolating her but I do have a second cage all set up for her and ready to go if need be


Sounds like you have it all covered. Now for the exciting part... waiting for THE DAY.
I don't have any advice about whether or not to keep her in with the others or separate her. When our babies happened, we had 2 sisters in with a mistakenly gendered male rat. So they were both pregnant at the same time, and we put them in separate nursery cages. That worked well for us.
As you say, there are mixed opinions out there, but it sounds like you'll figure it out for your girl.
She looks lovely... what is her name?


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

ratbusters said:


> Sounds like you have it all covered. Now for the exciting part... waiting for THE DAY.
> I don't have any advice about whether or not to keep her in with the others or separate her. When our babies happened, we had 2 sisters in with a mistakenly gendered male rat. So they were both pregnant at the same time, and we put them in separate nursery cages. That worked well for us.
> As you say, there are mixed opinions out there, but you'll soon know what is best for your little girl.
> She look lovely... what is her name?


 I gave her the name Nyx when we got her but the name she came with from the breeder (Midnight) is used just as much 😅 cagemates are Alba and Lilac


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

Nice.  Keep us posted!


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

NyxTheRat said:


> I gave her the name Nyx when we got her but the name she came with from the breeder (Midnight) is used just as much 😅 cagemates are Alba and Lilac


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## PotHeadSteve (Jan 2, 2022)

The babies are going to be soo cute when they are born.


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

PotHeadSteve said:


> The babies are going to be soo cute when they are born.


Breeder said they will be all dumbo! Dad was a dumbo too


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

NyxTheRat said:


> View attachment 307890
> 
> View attachment 307893
> 
> ...


Oh my goodness. Lilac is so pretty.


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## Enne (Dec 12, 2020)

Just give mom a hiding place to give birth in/get a single-level cage like the one posted earlier in the thread. 

A hide that hangs down without a bottom would be good for mom and her babies (called a maternity cube):










Good luck!


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

ratbusters said:


> Something else you could do to tell is to weigh her daily on electronic kitchen scales. Pregnant rat mums gain a huge amount of weight daily in the last week of pregnancy, and you will tell by the numbers. As they say, the scales never lie.
> Just pop a little icecream container or similar on the scales, zero them, and gently place her in it.


Just a weight update. The first 24 hours her weight showed a 12 g increase. Second 24 hours it was a 7 g increase. Do you guys know how that compares to a normal not pregnant rat? She's 5 months old so I'm guessing she is still growing anyway


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## Newtorats (Jun 28, 2021)

I don’t know but I think your getting babies. Best of luck


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

NyxTheRat said:


> Just a weight update. The first 24 hours her weight showed a 12 g increase. Second 24 hours it was a 7 g increase. Do you guys know how that compares to a normal not pregnant rat? She's 5 months old so I'm guessing she is still growing anyway


That sounds like to sort of growth that you get in last stages of pregnancy. There's no way that a non-pregnant female would gain 12g in 24 hours, even if she was growing. 
Looking forward to hearing about the babies arriving.


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

ratbusters said:


> That sounds like to sort of growth that you get in last stages of pregnancy. There's no way that a non-pregnant female would gain 12g in 24 hours, even if she was growing.
> Looking forward to hearing about the babies arriving.


Third day was a 5 g increase, so now it’s 24 g in three days. She’s gettin’ round.


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## PotHeadSteve (Jan 2, 2022)

NyxTheRat said:


> Third day was a 5 g increase, so now it’s 24 g in three days. She’s gettin’ round.


You have to post the babies. I gotta see those cuties. They'll explode in growth within like a month.


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## rukia1988 (Mar 6, 2021)

👀
Following because I want to know the end results haha. Nyx/midnight is so cute. Your other rats are sweet too. 

Any idea what you will do with the babies? 

Did the breeder have her with males when you picked her up? Interesting that they had them together. I thought my naked rat was pregnant but she didn't get near as large as your girl. She was just fat....lol. good luck and how many days do you think she has left?


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

rukia1988 said:


> 👀
> Following because I want to know the end results haha. Nyx/midnight is so cute. Your other rats are sweet too.
> 
> Any idea what you will do with the babies?
> ...


She gained 14 grams on day 4 of weighing and she looks SO PREGNANT. I feel like it has to be within the next 4 days. A male chewed his way into a divided M/F critter nation cage. I will keep most of the babies and maybe find homes (in minimum of pairs) to a few close friends. Hoping the litter is more females because my huge cage is my female cage.


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

NyxTheRat said:


> She gained 14 grams on day 4 of weighing and she looks SO PREGNANT. I feel like it has to be within the next 4 days. A male chewed his way into a divided M/F critter nation cage. I will keep most of the babies and maybe find homes (in minimum of pairs) to a few close friends. Hoping the litter is more females because my huge cage is my female cage.


this was her last night


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## Newtorats (Jun 28, 2021)

(sung to the tune of my little pony theme song)
🎵Here come the babies🎵
🎵Here come the babies🎵
🎵AhhAhhhhhh🎵
lol


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

Newtorats said:


> (sung to the tune of my little pony theme song)
> 🎵Here come the babies🎵
> 🎵Here come the babies🎵
> 🎵AhhAhhhhhh🎵
> lol


up another 10 g tonight for a total of 48 g in the 5 days I've been weighing her. Delivery could be this weekend or early next week at the latest I'm guessing!


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

Oh goodness that* is* exciting. 
Can't wait to hear when the babies arrive.


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

She is moved into her maternity home as of tonight. The straw hideaway is where she was choosing to spend most of her time lately in the big cage so I took it out and brought it with her to the maternity cage.


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## Newtorats (Jun 28, 2021)

So close. Make sure when she gives birth she’s comfortable and make sure she takes care of the babies. I’m speaking from research not from experience btw. The first few hours will be a big deciding factor in their survival. Make sure the mothers feeds them and keeps them warm. Don’t be concerned if she buries them it’s burrowing to hid them while she gets food/drink. Good luck! Hopefully it goes perfectly (knocking on wood) Yea I actually do believe in jinxing. I have a couple stories but that’s for another day.


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

tonight may be the night. Keep Nyxie girl in your thoughts! 💕


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

Yes, all the best Nyx! Thinking of you.
I'm guessing at least 12 babies. 🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭


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## rukia1988 (Mar 6, 2021)

So exciting. I wouldn't be able to sleep!


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## SonicRat (Jun 30, 2021)

She is such a beautiful rat.....best of luck to her and you💕🐭


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## Newtorats (Jun 28, 2021)

Here they come! I personally couldn’t sleep all night knowing one of my ratties will give birth soon


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

Update: babies were born in the early hours of this morning, 3/16! Not knowing her exact gestation was stressing me the heck out because she looked SO BIG for SO LONG. If it helps anyone else out, she steadily gained anywhere from 10-17 g a day in the last week of pregnancy EXCEPT for the day before she gave birth. She gained absolutely nothing. She was 304 grams steady for an entire 24 hours. She also finally built a nest in her maternity cage only just the morning before the babies arrived. She has 6 boys and 9 girls


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## Newtorats (Jun 28, 2021)

Congrats! You now have a mommy rattie and baby ratties. Keep an eye on the babies and the mommy. Make sure the mother takes to the babies and the babies should develop milk bands in the coming days. You’ll also want to sex the babies and separate them in about 1-2 months. (I wouldn’t follow my advice but I’m bringing it up so someone either more experience can tell you) What are you planning on doing with the babies? Are you going to keep them? Some of them? If so how many? Lol apparently when I’m avoiding getting online to start school I can have many questions


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

Newtorats said:


> Congrats! You now have a mommy rattie and baby ratties. Keep an eye on the babies and the mommy. Make sure the mother takes to the babies and the babies should develop milk bands in the coming days. You’ll also want to sex the babies and separate them in about 1-2 months. (I wouldn’t follow my advice but I’m bringing it up so someone either more experience can tell you) What are you planning on doing with the babies? Are you going to keep them? Some of them? If so how many? Lol apparently when I’m avoiding getting online to start school I can have many questions


haha don’t worry I know to separate them at 5 weeks, check for milk bands, and feed mama good high protein food. She had scrambled eggs this morning. She is doing a marvelous job so far. She successfully kicked the one dead baby out of the nest and is nursing and protecting the rest. There are 15 living babies. I will keep quite a few and may find good homes for some (in minimum of pairs) to people I know well.


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

Congratulations! 16 babies... no wonder her little tummy was so round!
Interesting about the weight remaining constant in those last 24 hours.


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

NyxTheRat said:


> haha don’t worry I know to separate them at 5 weeks, check for milk bands, and feed mama good high protein food. She had scrambled eggs this morning. She is doing a marvelous job so far. She successfully kicked the one dead baby out of the nest and is nursing and protecting the rest. There are 15 living babies.





ratbusters said:


> Congratulations! 16 babies... no wonder her little tummy was so round!
> Interesting about the weight remaining constant in those last 24 hours.


Honestly the weight thing terrified me. I had no reference to go off of if it was normal or not and my intrusive thoughts were saying “babies all died, stopped growing, that’s why she didn’t gain.” So glad that was not the case 😅


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## Fofo (Oct 21, 2021)

That is a big litter! Good luck to Nyx, phew!


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## rukia1988 (Mar 6, 2021)

Can't wait to watch them grow!!!! I'm so glad she did so well!


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## Tinytoes (Dec 23, 2020)

Updates? Pictures? How are they doing? Is mom being a good mom? That is a lot of babies for her to feed, but somehow, they manage to do it.


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

Tinytoes said:


> Updates? Pictures? How are they doing? Is mom being a good mom? That is a lot of babies for her to feed, but somehow, they manage to do it.


This was yesterday at 6 days old. Today they are a week old and have fuzzies all over their bodies. They are all growing and doing well. There were a couple super runts I wasn’t sure were going to make it but I persistently kept putting them on the top of the pile to help them nurse better and it’s looking like all will make it just fine. Nyx is a fantastic mama. She never had a hint of maternal aggression, was protective without being mean to me, and has fed and cared for her babies well. I’ve been caring for her by giving her allll the supplemental foods to keep her milk supply up. Scrambled eggs, dog wet food, kitten formula, baby food, etc.


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## Tinytoes (Dec 23, 2020)

Wow, they are beautiful!!!! 🥰 They look like a litter of boxer puppies lol. Great job mom!! And thank you for the update


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

7 days old today!


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## Tinytoes (Dec 23, 2020)

Fantastic photos!!! What, may I ask, are you using for a camera? Very impressive 😎


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

Tinytoes said:


> Fantastic photos!!! What, may I ask, are you using for a camera? Very impressive 😎


just my old cracked janky iPhone haha


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## PotHeadSteve (Jan 2, 2022)

Adorable


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## rukia1988 (Mar 6, 2021)

They look so good! Thanks for the pics! Love to watch them grow.


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## NyxTheRat (10 mo ago)

Eyes opened today!


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## Tinytoes (Dec 23, 2020)

They are just gorgeous!!! Like little Boston Terrier puppies 🥰 You won't have any trouble finding those beauties homes!


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## rukia1988 (Mar 6, 2021)

They are gorgeous!


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