# Almost positive my younger female is pregnant now...



## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Well I got my younger female from a feeder tank and now I'm pretty sure she is pregnant. Since they won't let me touch them now its hard to pick her up but she is young so she is pretty small but looks like she is the shape of a squash. I'm trying to leave her and my other female alone since the older female bit me yesterday while I was straightening their cage


----------



## Elizabethm (Sep 10, 2010)

you should take a picture of her without removing her and post it on the forum for us all to see.


----------



## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Then the pregnant girl should be separated from the others and given additional protien treats such as a little hard boiled egg or tuna. She will need a secure, quiet place to have and raise the babies in.. if left with the other girls you run the risk of the babies being injured accidentally. 

Good luck and keep us updated.


----------



## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

I pulled another cage out of our shed today and cleaned it up so I can separate the two females, I'm still not positive about Padmay(the older one) but like I said I'm almost positive about Leigha. I'll get some pictures in a bit when I separate them. The cage they are in now has a fairly deep bottom (about six inches) will that be safe enough for the babies for the first few weeks or do I need to go ahead a move them into a tank? I don't have any cages with a small enough bar spacing for babies since obviously I really wasn't planning on having any.


----------



## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Here is Leigha about a week ago 
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x199/jjarrell1009/100_2892.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
And here are both girls now....
Leigha
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x199/jjarrell1009/100_2895.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x199/jjarrell1009/100_2909.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Padmay
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x199/jjarrell1009/100_2911.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x199/jjarrell1009/100_2910.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Please forgive the crappy picture of Padmay being held she wasn't liking it so I was trying to be a quick and gentle as possible.
Atleast this time she was her sweet self and didn't bite me again.


----------



## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Those cages should be okay for now, as the babies won't move around much during the first 2 weeks. But after that, they can and will escape if the bar spacing is not small enough. Tanks are only okay if you can commit to cleaning them about four times a day - they will get dirty fast and ammonia build up can kill babies. I'd search for a cage with small bar spacing that is large enough to house a mom and possible litter of 1-28 babies


----------



## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Does anyone know if the critter nation has small enough bar spacing for babies?


----------



## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

They don't look super pregnant in those pics, but it is hard to tell. 

You might want to start reading up on mega colon and what to watch for, as the markings on the older girl especially are suggestive of high white... so her babies may be more prone to MC. It is also possible for older rats to develop late on set MC which makes them look really bloated at first. 

Yeah the critter nation is perfect for raising small babies in!


----------



## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

I read about the MC and I don't think that is an issue.(she litterally used the bathroom like 3 times while I was taking that picture) I've had then a little less than two weeks so I guess there is still time. I just hate the waiting game of making sure they are not. I think I'm going to end getting the CN in a few weeks so I'll just have to make due until then. I'm hoping maybe she wasn't old enough to breed yet when i got her since she is still fairly small although she was bigger than my 5 week old boys


----------



## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

The females can become pregnant as young as 5 weeks old, if she was bigger than your 5 week boys and was in a cage with males, then she is likely pregnant. 

I just wanted you to be aware of MC in case it happens to any of the babies or your rats at a later date.


----------



## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Thanks for you help, I've been nervous b/c I knew there was the possibility of both of them being pregnant. I honestly wouldn't have ended up with a female at all if they wouldn't have been fixing to put her to sleep. I'm glad I was there that day b/c she is all better now and such a sweetie.


----------



## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

No problem, I'm glad shes in better hands now.  Hopefully shes not pregnant though, and just enjoying some good food.


----------

