# Highly likely my new rat is preggo... EDIT: Babie pictures.



## socckitty3 (Jul 8, 2008)

So, I recently got a hairless rat from a pet store that kept the males with females...I thought that since they were in the same cage that they were around the same age and thus not old enough to breed. Pretty sure I was wrong. Dx I got her almost two weeks ago meaning she's at least two weeks pregnant and I'm expecting babies within the next week, although I'm honestly expecting them within the next few days... On Saturday I noticed that practically over night her stomach blew up and from what I've read on other websites they usually don't get big like that until a few days before birth. She's been nesting and all that jazz so..yeah. 

Just wondering what kind of bedding I should be using for when the babies come... I realized today that the bedding my dad bought and I put in the cage(without looking at the package. >_<) was pine and I know that pine is poison to rats.(I've had a few rats before...)

Also, I'm gonna post some pictures so that you guys can reassure me that she is pregnant.

Also, what should I do with the babies??? I wish I could keep them but I'm going off to college soon and I can't keep them. T_T

*EDIT: I forgot to mention that I think she's fairly young(she's normally really small...) and I was wondering if that would add any complications?

Annnnd.....since she's hairless what are the chances that she won't lactate??? D:*

Pinky two weeks ago:









Pinky tonight:









*xP I'm finally getting around to posting pictures of the babies! They were born Friday, July 11.

12 Days Old:
*


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

*Re: Highly likely my new rat is preggo... Just a few questi*

She definately has got "slightly" bigger hasnt she! . When I was quite young a hamster I had a week then had 8 babies, was quite a shock lol. We kept two of them . I think people on here recommend to try find them homes to go to early on if possible. Good luck!


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## socckitty3 (Jul 8, 2008)

*Re: Highly likely my new rat is preggo... Just a few questi*

Thanks! Yeah, I've had baby hamsters as well. They're so cute when they're old enough to climb your arm when you put it in the cage. ^_^

I'm excited about rat babies...but I'm sad cause I'll have to find them homes.


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

*Re: Highly likely my new rat is preggo... Just a few questi*

:lol: yeah cute little babies, they always tried to climb out all at once. It was sad couldn't keep them all though  but they went to nice homes. 

I picked the only grey one of the litter (Smokey) and one of the two white ones to keep (Snowy). However Snowy was pink for ages cos he lost all his lovely long fur! but it grew back even more fluffy


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

*Re: Highly likely my new rat is preggo... Just a few questi*

Most likely your little momma is a double rex which means she should lactate fine. True Hairless aren't that common at all and they are the ones who have the issues with lactation.

She's probably due soon, look for odd lumps and bulges rather than just roundness and with a nakie girl you can watch for the pups moving and stretching through her skin. You can feel it best behind her ribcage before her pelvis...

I would bed her on fleece or quality white paper towels for the birth. Def. get her off the pine. Give her a box big enough to stretch out and nurse her litter in, and start supplementing her diet like crazy if you haven't already.


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

*Re: Highly likely my new rat is preggo... Just a few questi*

Please get her off the pine ASAP.... but also get her on some proper food & off the stuff in the picture. It looks to be mostly corn & bird seed mixed with alfalfa pellets... none of which is good for a rat & especially not good for a pregnant rat. No comment on the glass aquarium.... maybe you just put her in there because she is due to have a litter & she doesn't live in it full time??? maybe?


You say you are heading to college soon so you can't keep them.... what were you planning on doing with Pinky? (just a personal question not really relevant to the thread)

aside from that... since this shop has males & females together I am sure they have plenty of in-house litters........ no way you picked out the only pregnant rat in the whole store. 

I know what I am going to suggest may be viewed as the least favored position on this but it may be your best option based on the fact that you are not setup for the rat you have much less all the soon to arrive babies...... you might want to contact the store to see if they have a lactating Mom in house & consider placing them back with her. I say this because lactation is a big concern with the naked variety. True it is most often associated with a genetically "true" hairless but the same can be true for the other naked rats & you are already dealing with so many negative situations that may contribute to her not being able to sustain a litter. 

young rat
wrong food
wrong bedding

It may be safe to assume she comes from a long line of rats that were bred too young, bred indiscriminately with a fair amount of back breeding/inbreeding among closely related lines.......... all of which who were also produced in conditions of improper environment, wrong food & so forth & so on


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## socckitty3 (Jul 8, 2008)

*Re: Highly likely my new rat is preggo... Just a few questi*

I have a very close friend that is getting an apartment near campus and she will be taking Pinky for about half a year. I can't take her back to the store because it is located 3.5 hours from where I live. I got her while on vacation. I'm not retarded. I said in my post that I KNOW that pine is bad. I couldn't very well go out to the store at 2am to get better litter. She is in an aquarium for the birthing stuff. I have a wire cage lined up for her when the babies are too big to slip between the bars. As for the food, it was from a small bag of cheap food I bought while I was out of town and I figured that since I payed for it I would finish it off. D:


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

*Re: Highly likely my new rat is preggo... Just a few questi*

well alrighty then... looks like you really don't want advise about what is best for her care. Plain & simple English, the food is crap & right now she is in need of the best nutrition possible. If this offends you, that is not my intent, it is merely a statement of fact. I honestly thought you came on here to get advise about what is best for her. 

I never said you were retarded... but after your reply post a few adjectives do come to mind. 

I really hope things work out for you & your rat. *If there is a problem that comes up with lactation it would be best to have the supplies in advance since running out at 2 am is ever an option. Please accept the following words as exceptionally good advice & I am sure many others will chime in with saying the same as well as products they have used with success*

Some of us have had to take on the feeding of new born babies. I have & I have successfully hand raised many babies where a Mother was not capable due to lactation issues or death during delivery.

Esbilac Puppy & KMR Kitten liquid concentrate formulas can be found at almost every big name pet store chain & most of the Mom & Pop type stores carry it as well. The small can will run you about 5 bucks & you be able to get by with one can so long as the litter is not huge & you take care to not waste any of the formula by using the following tips. You will also need a small 2 ml glass eyedropper. They run about 1 or 2 dollars depending where you find them. I suggest glass since they are much easier to clean than the plastic types. The can of formula is concentrated but it doesn't not last long once opened & left refrigerated. Only 3 days. Once you open the can, keep out a couple ounces for immediate use & pour the remaining amount into an ice tray. Make the cubes like half full that way you don't thaw out too much at one time. Mix the formula with an equal amount of water. Depending on the age of the baby is how much you would offer. You would need to come on to ask so that the proper amount can be told to you at the time needed... too much & they can engorge themselves to painful conditions... not enough & they slowly starve & fail to thrive. They will have to be fed around the clock, every 2 hours during the first two weeks of life... at 2 weeks they begin nibbling at Mom's food (please get proper food by then since they can't digest the other). You will need to break up the lab blocks a bit so that they can handle smaller pieces. You can even mix up the formula with the dust of the crushed block. At 3 weeks they will be eating more adult foods but the formula should be offered a few times a day, only what they can consume in several minutes & then disposed by offering it to Mom. Don't leave it out because it will spoil at room temp.

Please understand that most of us here are extremely helpful & knowledgeable & we aren't on here to attack you & point fingers. My suggestions earlier were meant to be helpful because finding a foster Mom is so much easier than taking on the care yourself. Not many of us can commit to around the clock feedings for two weeks. Many of us have witnessed deliveries that don't go well. Many of us have seen the result of improper diets & improper beddings. We mean well with our words of advise & often we get our helpful words tossed right back at us by the humans.... but that doesn't mean we are not compassionate to the situation. I know I am very hopeful things go well, you have a perfect delivery, a lactating Mom & you find more homes than you have babies to offer... but we don't live in a perfect world that offers perfect outcomes to unforeseen & unplanned situations.

Again, good luck to you


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## socckitty3 (Jul 8, 2008)

*Re: Highly likely my new rat is preggo... Just a few questi*

I'm sorry for being a bit touchy. xP I didn't sleep well and I was a bit grumpy. I understand that you're just trying to help, because that's what I asked for. I just finished cleaning her cage and whatnot. I bought a 30 liter bag of carefresh and a small 2lb bag of lab blocks. I hope that she lactates properly and if she doesn't I'll certainly ask how much formula to give them. 

Thank you.


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

*Re: Highly likely my new rat is preggo... Just a few questi*

just be sure to get it ahead of time because if she isn't able to feed them you won't have a lot of time before negative things start happening. It's a small investment to ensure health. Even if Mom lactates she can benefit from the added nutrients & you can enjoy offering the babies some feedings after that 3 week mark to aid in the human bonding experience. 

I went through this very situation with a naked female last summer. She dropped a litter of babies about 10 or 12 days after we got her. She was supposed to be in an all female tank & we even checked before we got her. When we discovered she was pregnant we went back to the store & asked all the people who worked there & one person said it was very likely that their "house" rat had been accidentally placed in the cage over night. Well that house rat became our rat that day. He is my fat boy Nubbers.

She took care of the babies but she wasn't lactating so I had to take over in that department. We didn't discover the issue with lactation until we lost a baby. We saw that she was sitting with them, we saw that they were sucking & for the first week we saw milk bellies but either her lactation stopped or she just wasn't producing enough to sustain them. 

I'll stop there because the story doesn't have a happy ending but that is because of bad genetics. I've told the story a couple times. No need to bring it up again here. 

Right now the focus in on making sure you get the info you need so that you can do the best you can. 

I would still highly suggest you call around to the local pet stores to see if they have a lactating mother. That is a much better option over formula. You may have to surrender the babies to them since it would be near impossible to get them back from a situation like that but that really depends on the store & the people who work there. All you can do is ask. You can often find some really compassionate people working in these places. Not all stores are evil.


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

*Re: Highly likely my new rat is preggo... Just a few questi*

I accidentally deleted your phone number from my phone & I have not seen a reply to my PM I sent you after we spoke yesterday. I just wanted to check & see how things were going.

If anyone else reading this happens to know this member could let her know I was attempting to follow up with her about our phone call yesterday?

thanks


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