# UH OH! Babies or Megacolon?!?!



## guppy (May 19, 2012)

I have two (both female, I'm positive) rattie-poos I got from a pet store. One has gained weight rapidly, and has a semi round tummy, although not very large. She is more pearish and has a very hard tummy. She is moody, has a HUGE MEGA ULTRA big nest.... I think I went overboard with the materials  But, she has a tan hood with a blaze and odd eyes. I am wondering if it's babies or just a... very sad, sad, SAD situation  I also have noticed a little lumpy thing that I can feel in her stomach sometimes... Is this normal? Also she has in her stools a little teensy white material which I know is not normal.... HELPPP ???



















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1) Bad pic from side 2) Her Pearish shape compared to a doornob! 3) Her elaborate fancy nest 4) Her protruding belly! <3


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## Maltey (Jun 26, 2011)

How old is she and how long have you had her?


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## guppy (May 19, 2012)

She is 9 1/2 weeks now, and I have had her for two weeks. As of this morning, her tummy was still hard..... :B


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## Maltey (Jun 26, 2011)

At this point it could be either. She's the right sort of age for late onset MC, but also she could be in the last week of pregnancy where they really start to show.Try and separate her for a few hours to see if she is pooping or it's her sister. If she appears to be pooping fine then it would be worth keeping her separated and on paper towels because you've got a week max before the babies arrive.At this point I wouldn't worry too much about the consistency of the poops as pregnant does can produce quite squishy poops anyway, just see if she's producing enough.Also, look put for nipples. In the last week their nipples start to get bigger and they lose hair around them. This can sometimes happen after she's given birth though, especially if she's young and doesn't feel like a mother yet, so don't rule out pregnancy just based on a lack of nipples, but if you see them then you can almost certainly breath a sigh of relief!If you're really concerned then a good bet should be able to tell the difference, but honestly within a week you'll know.


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## Maltey (Jun 26, 2011)

The other thing I should add is due to her high white markings there's a very good chance if she is pregnant that the babies will suffer from MC so a) don't feel bad if they don't all survive b) you should keep the babies until theg're at least 8 weeks old to watch out for MC and c) warn adopters of the potential issue of late onset MC


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## guppy (May 19, 2012)

Thank you so much for replying! I will let you know! Also I have her sister in there, and when my mystery rat is in her nest the sister stays out of it.... Also, the sister rat is being very protective of my other rattie and the nest. I checked for babies this morning, and there were none, so I think it may be a few more days if she is... anywho, thanks so much!


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## guppy (May 19, 2012)

Oh, I will definitely look out for them if they have a high white marking. I went through that with a rat I had a few years ago, and as soon as I found out, we had her PTS... It was very sad  But thanks


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## Maltey (Jun 26, 2011)

I'll be honest my gut feeling is pregnancy, especially with her being a pet store rat. I really hope it is!


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## guppy (May 19, 2012)

EEEEEEEHHHH Me too! Although it is sometimes irresponsible to breed, this was an accisent, and from looking at her belly, it would be a small litter if she did have any  Thanks for your support


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## Aportraitofbecca (May 18, 2012)

any babies?!


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## Electricgeek (Jun 26, 2012)

Looking through old threads...kind of curious how this one turned out.


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