# 7 week old rats possibly pregnant?



## etherealskulls (Aug 9, 2017)

I adopted my two female rats, Kona and Uuku, on July 21st. They are both very energetic, however Uuku is a bit more laid back. They are sisters. 
Their previous owner, who had them in an accidental litter, kept them in the same cage with their brother and mother while they were 4-5 weeks old. Nine females and one male were in that cage. However, I have heard that that is all it takes. 
Kona and Uuku seemed normal until a few days ago when I noticed nipples on each of them. I only saw a few, and they were mostly covered in hair. They both have put on a bit extra weight, but I am wondering if it is just them filling out. 
They have been very kind to each other, and neither of them have began to build nests. 
Uuku does a bit of food stashing, but it was worse when I first brought them home.
If they are pregnant, should I begin putting together a maternity cage? What if they are both pregnant? I have made a nesting box and Uuku has been favoring it a lot, normally she likes to be off the ground, whether it's in her basket attached to the cage door or in a hammock. 
Kona is still as wild as ever, she dashes around the cage and jumps around like crazy! This usually makes Uuku a bit more excited than she would be if Kona wasn't there. Uuku has been sitting in a corner and staring at me a lot recently. 
This morning I added some more bedding to the nesting box and Uuku was obsessed! She would run in there and move the bedding around, only coming out to run to the litter box to pee or poo. 
I'm mostly concerned about her during birth. She's so young and I'm worried that she will be injured or die. 
I have been feeding her extra protein (she eats Oxbow essentials young rat and mouse food) and will make her some scrambled eggs with no salt or pepper tomorrow. 
I am unable to purchase something such as a tank or extra cage. I have a plastic bin that I can add some hardware cloth to for ventilation. 
I also have a container that I used to bring them home because the critternation wouldn't work for obvious reasons. 
I will post pictures when I get home, as well as some updated pictures of the rats. 
Also, how do I tell my mom? This entire situation with the rats is so fragile-- before we got them, I asked her about what we would do if they ended up being pregnant. She said 'if they are pregnant, we're done with rats'. How can I persuade her to let me keep the pups until they are old enough to be rehomed? I would most likely keep one or two females, and one of my friends is interested in taking two possible babies. 
I have a couple pictures of them yesterday when I really started to notice it. 
Are they pregnant, or just filling out?
I haven't been feeding them much else aside from their Oxbow food and daily fresh fruits and veggies (and the occasional yogurt drop when they're really good!)
I only have some pictures of Uuku, I'll take some more when I get home. 
Please help! I'd like to know sooner than later so I can prepare for some pups!
Thanks!!


----------



## Coffeebean (Jan 6, 2017)

Although 5 week old males can sometimes be fertile, they usually don't have the hormonal drive to reproduce, so most of the time if a pregnancy happens to a female as young as 5 weeks old it's because they are kept in the same cage as an older male. Many breeders separate the litter by 5 weeks but they don't often start breeding with each other at that age. So there's a reduced likelihood of them being pregnant unless an older male was with them. Babies can also be very deceiving, often they will have huge potbellies after they've just eaten or had a lot of water. Myself (and a few others) have actually had megacolon scares just because their tummies can really inflate! So there is a good possibility that they are not pregnant unless an older male was with them.


----------



## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

4-5 weeks is a normal age to separate the sexes. There's almost zero chance that either of them are pregnant.


----------



## etherealskulls (Aug 9, 2017)

Coffeebean said:


> Although 5 week old males can sometimes be fertile, they usually don't have the hormonal drive to reproduce, so most of the time if a pregnancy happens to a female as young as 5 weeks old it's because they are kept in the same cage as an older male. Many breeders separate the litter by 5 weeks but they don't often start breeding with each other at that age. So there's a reduced likelihood of them being pregnant unless an older male was with them. Babies can also be very deceiving, often they will have huge potbellies after they've just eaten or had a lot of water. Myself (and a few others) have actually had megacolon scares just because their tummies can really inflate! So there is a good possibility that they are not pregnant unless an older male was with them.


That makes sense!!
But in the case that they are pregnant, what should I do to prepare? When would I separate them, if they need to be? Is what I'm doing good enough?
I have not been filling their bowl more often than normal, and they seem to be eating normally.


----------



## Coffeebean (Jan 6, 2017)

etherealskulls said:


> That makes sense!!
> But in the case that they are pregnant, what should I do to prepare? When would I separate them, if they need to be? Is what I'm doing good enough?
> I have not been filling their bowl more often than normal, and they seem to be eating normally.


I have zero experience with pregnant rats myself, but this is from National Fancy Rat Society (NFRS), I hope it helps.



> The gestation period lasts 21 to 23 days after mating. The majority of does give birth on day 22 and a half which will be the morning of the 23rd day. By about two weeks you will start to notice the doe becoming fatter and taking on a pear shaped appearance. In the last few days some look like they have swallowed a tennis ball and almost roll rather than walk!! Remove obstacles or anything she may fall off from her surroundings.
> 
> During the pregnancy you will need to keep the doe fairly quiet. She will still need her exercise, but be careful when you are handling her especially as she becomes larger. Many does suffer from a personality change during the pregnancy, even some of my most submissive gentle companions have turned into monsters at this time becoming grumpy and aggressive and will often bully their cage mates because a pregnant doe will try to rise to alpha in their cage during pregnancy. All this is due to the change in hormones at this time and you will find that after rearing her litter she should regain her former composure.
> 
> ...


https://www.nfrs.org/geninfo.html


----------



## Grotesque (Mar 19, 2014)

My 9 week old at 7 weeks looked like she swallowed an egg whole. It wasn't megacolon nor pregnancy... it was an obscene amount of pudge. LoL She was rounder than yours. I think you're safe.


----------

