# no hair loss around nipples/not nesting?



## Andyurgay (Jun 10, 2013)

My girl is due tonight and I've had her in her birthing cage away from the others for about 2 days. She has grown even bigger over just the last few days to where she is huge. I keep thinking I must have gotten her due date wrong but it always adds up to tonight. My main worries are, since she is so close, shouldn't she be nesting in her new cage? I know she hasn't been in long and she's probably stressed from being separated from her sister, but could that be causing her to not nest? I know it can sometimes run up to day 25 before birth but she was nesting like crazy in her old cage. I just hope moving her into the birthing cage so late didn't mess something up for her. Can rats put off birth until they feel safe and comfortable like some other animals? And if so, will she eventually get there? Or does her not nesting mean she will be a little late? 




My other concern is it doesn't look like she's lost any hair around her nipples. They are a little more prominent but I don't see any hair loss. But then I can't find any pictures of what its supposed to look like either (a lot, a little). Does the fur just fall out or does she barber it? Could it have anything to do with her not nesting, meaning she will be late? I'm just worried something might be wrong. I remember reading somewhere that the older a rat gets, the more problems there could be and she is around 8-9 months old. I just would have thought she would have a little more hair loss than what I'm seeing.


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## JoshDeMott2010 (Aug 25, 2007)

My reccomendation if her normal cage is large enough... Make a birthing container and put it inside the normal cage... Make the entrance in the top of the container so babies cant get out... Make the entrance small so if the other rats try to come in she can shoo them out. This will allow her to be around her sister and may relieve some stress it's quite late to be moving her from place to place but her cage may be the best option if thats where she is comfy at. Also Don't focus too much on the hairloss keep an eye on what shes eating and drinking... Keep her hydrated using wet fruits if she stops going to the water bottle/bowl... I am not an expert but when i was a child i had an accidental litter and everything came out just fine even though i was freakin out lol. Just let nature run it's course and focus on her environment being suitable and her comfort being as good as possible... She should have started making a nest if she is on her last week give her plenty of bedding materials.

If you put her back in her old cage it's best to remove her sister not her that way the sister is the stressed one. When rats are close to birth they become more aggressive and if they become nervous they can reject their babies or not give birth with as much ease as if they are comfy. Thanks and let us know how it goes.


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## JoshDeMott2010 (Aug 25, 2007)

Q1: My other concern is it doesn't look like she's lost any hair around her nipples. They are a little more prominent but I don't see any hair loss. But then I can't find any pictures of what its supposed to look like either (a lot, a little). Does the fur just fall out or does she barber it?

It's my understanding that her body will reject the hair around the nipples and then groom them off...

Q2: Can rats put off birth until they feel safe and comfortable like some other animals? And if so, will she eventually get there? Or does her not nesting mean she will be a little late? 

The Maternal instinct is very strong so it is unlikely that she won't build a nest of some sort. It can be extremely simple or extremely elaborate... Also to determine how close she is biologically look at her body shape... Is it pear shaped yet? She should grow a massive amount in the final 8 days... She can try to put off birth but her maternal instincts and physical biology aren't going to let her for too long... If she gives birth and starts to hurt her babies you can remove them for a few and let her settle down then put them in with her and she should accept them after her fit settles...


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## Andyurgay (Jun 10, 2013)

Well they have a DFN but I don't have anything decent sized I can fit her in and then into the cage. A couple days ago I allowed her sister to visit her and Rascal, the momma, beat her up pretty good so I think keeping her apart is probably the least stressful option right now. I think she would feel too protective and on edge. She's eating and drinking fine, gone through almost half a water bottle alone in a couple days and has a deep Tupperware container full of oxbow and some scrambled eggs that she is plowing through. I guess I'll keep an eye on her nest building then. It looks like she's moved some of the paper bedding around but that might just be from her spending most of the time pacing by the front of the cage. She is VERY pear shaped haha she's for sure got the "swallowed a baseball" thing goin on now over the last 3 or 4 days. I'm amazed at how big she has gotten so suddenly. So much for me hoping she would stay smaller and have a small litter. Oh well. I just hope she gets to nesting soon, it would really calm my nerves. She has plenty to nest with, lots of soft toilet paper and paper towels as well as the bedding itself plus one of those large plastic igloos. Guess I'll keep an eye on her then. I just wanted to make sure this was all normal, she's got me all anxious as if I'm the one giving birth haha


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## Isamurat (Jul 27, 2012)

Rats vary a lot in birthing days, anywhere from day 22 to 25 is perfectly normal, there isn't 1 due day, you just have to wait until she's ready. If it's day 26 or later though then there's a fair chance she is re absorbing and the babies weren't meant to be. 

Terms of losing fur around the nipples it tends to happen later on and then get more pronounced as the nipples grow with the babies, don't worry about it. 

Nesting wise it varies a lot from rat to rat too. Some build elaborate nests from early on in the pregnancy, some don't do anything until the babies are born, then they may build a small open nest. Again is not a big deal. I think one thing I've learnt from having litters here is that the rats know what they are doing. Your job as the human is to give them a safe enviroment with good food and be the emergency back up if they get into difficulty. You do become part of the family but mum usually has all the instincts to do an excellent job of running the show.


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