# She was pregnant, and now I have 7 rats! But I need help/advice



## Andrew21 (May 16, 2013)

So I got home today and thought my girlfriend had left some watermelon in the cage for my rat, Emmy. However, watermelon doesn't squirm or squeak, so I was surprised to say the least. She had a litter of 6. I thought her being pregnant was possible but was obviously unsure. Now that there are babies, what should be my next step? I've never dealt with anything like this before, and any help is appreciated. I assume its normal for my rat to be protective and nip at me a little? How long might that last? When should the babies start to be weened? When is it safe for me to handle them? I've got a ton of questions but its hard to think right now. When should they be separated? Should I avoid handling Emmy at all for a while? Would this desocialize her at all? If you have any tips for me or answers to questions I didn't even ask, I'm all ears. Sorry for lack of structure in this post. I decided to repost this as a new thread, I guess for the sake of exposure. Thanks in advance.


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## RosesRufflesandRats (Apr 25, 2013)

Lol, I'm laughing about the squirming and squeaking watermelon! That would be disconcerting to say the least! If your rat trusts you, I believe that you can begin handling the babies very soon, in fact you should. As for your other questions, I'm sure someone who has had rattie litters before will be able to help you more than I could from mere hearsay.


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## RosesRufflesandRats (Apr 25, 2013)

Wow, I just realized I told you on the other post that she didn't look pregnant. That is the LAST time I give advice on that, lol!


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## Famous Amos (May 23, 2013)

You can handle the babies after they are finished being born and cleaned. As far as mom being protective, there is no expiration date on it. And some moms are more protective than others. Just use caution. Use a Tupperware bowl to move her to the side gently and take the babies out and place them in the bowl for observation. Keep mom and babies on a 22-24% protein diet while nursing. Handle them daily to every other day for the 1st 2 weeks. After that daily and not more then 5 mins until they are 3 weeks. At which point they are eating on their own and don't need mom every second. Separate the sex's at 5 weeks old. And take mom away from the boys then too. Shes probably weaned them off at 4 weeks and can go into her larger cage at any time after that.


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## Lightning (May 24, 2013)

I wish my rat had a litter that small, she just had 16 pups the night before last! I don't pick the mom up out of her home but I do coax her out and then after she's out I hold her. And look at the babies. I've held only one of the babies so far but tonight I'm going to try to hold them all!


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## Sahnonnah (May 19, 2013)

My rat didn't nip at me which was a wonder actually 'cause she was still very afraid at that time. Nipping can happen though and it's just a matter of looking at how your rat reacts when you want to handle her or her babies. You could probably put her in a separate cage or something like that while you handle the babies if she's really protecting them. Be careful that the babies don't get cold when you handle them or when mom is on a baby break (she needs them and will probably beg for them, it's also a good way of having a bit of quality time with mom). You can put the babies on your stomach under your shirt for a short amount of time (i did that for about 20 minutes) so they'll get familiar with your scent and stay warm. When mom is out they should be covered by something warm which is also safe so they don't suffocate or something like that. Handling them every day short after they're born is important to get them tame. I waited till they were 2 days old before I carefully handled them for the first time.

If they start getting more active and crawling around, that's probably the time mom gets crazy and really needs time for herself - take her out for about 20 minutes at a time and make sure the babies are warm.Also, they crawl everywhere so it gets hard to keep them all on you. If they get older and grow a fur, they can keep themselves warm and you can take them out longer. You'll probably know best when it's time to go back to mom.

Best thing to do is to separate them at around 5 weeks. They don't need to get weened because they will start eating solid food on their own. Mine started doing that when their eyes were barely open, everything was interesting and they wanted to try and eat everything they could find (including fingers). They still need moms milk. Be prepared because once they eat solid food, they eat a lot!

Don't be surprised if mom never becomes the rat she was before pregnancy. I've heard a few stories about rats with post partum depression although I don't know how much of it is true and how common this is. My rat now loves to collect things and makes little nests out of everything she can find, which she didn't do as much before her prenancy. She also sometimes drags her 2 daughters by their neck like she did when they were just born - they're 5 months old now. She's still very sweet though, just a bit weirder.

All in all, the most important thing in my huge reply is: enjoy the babies and enjoy seeing them grow up (which they do really fast!), get really cute and learn new things. Even if my litter wasn't planned, I found it an amazing experience.


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