# Has anyone actually heard of a -5 week old male breeding?



## Poisoned (Nov 17, 2012)

I know I'm probably being really paranoid, but my oldest female who had an accidental litter on the 6th, looks pregnant. And she is biting again, which she does when she's pregnant and hormonal, she's also seriously hoarding food and working hard to drag stuff in her house to make nests.
She HAS NOT been around a male, except for her babies. And I separated her from the males at 4-5 weeks, ten days ago. 

I'm assuming she is having a false pregnancy, but I'm about to go out of town for two weeks and it would be a nightmare if she had babies while I was gone. I JUST got her and her daughter integrated with my new hairless girl, and they're in an unsafe cage for babies in any case. And she is SO overprotective of them she would bite the bars if I got too close to the cage.

I do not want to move her to a tank or something before I go. I really dont' know WHAT to do if she is. She is aggressive to anyone but me usually.. and nobody would be able to clean her cage if she had babies. I had a very hard time with it, and had to wear leather gloves. 

How unlikely is it that she could be..?

:-\


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

At 5 weeks most males aren't even interested in mating, neither are the girls. At 5 weeks it's like a 10 year old getting pregnant, is possible but isn't likely. Actually from what I've heard from snake people most males aren't interested in doing their deed till 12 weeks (Though not true for all males), and females typically aren't interested in till 8 weeks. 

Also male rats prefer not to mate with females that are bigger then them, and most females won't let them either way if they are smaller (Survival of the fittest instincts, if your small, your not fit) so with his siblings, possibly, but with his mom not likely.

So really, it's a 1 in a million situation if she is pregnant from one of her sons. She probably has something else going on, can you get pictures of her? At 10 days pregnant, if possible, she wouldn't be showing many signs. Is it possible she was with a male Before she had this litter? Females go into heat almost immediately after giving birth.

If you have male rats it's possible one of them got out of his cage (Don't under estimate a male's enthusiasm when a female is in heat) or she could of gotten out of her cage and mated without you knowing.


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## Poisoned (Nov 17, 2012)

I know (about the whole breeding/age thing) but it's so much more reassuring to hear you really break it down. 

Oh, I know how persistent they can be! That's how I got here with this litter, I never expected it. Both she and her son from when I first adopted her got loose at the same time. Ever since I found her loose with him she's been in a cage with 1/2" or less bar spacing, and the only males I have with the energy to try escape are huge, and can't escape their cage, much less get in hers and then back out and back into their cage.
I've had her on lockdown since the last accident litter.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

So there was no male with her when she gave birth? If not you don't have to worry about a post-partum pregnancy (the females go into heat within 24 hours of birth and the implantatoin of the egg is delayed a week, so the current litter has a chance)
She has NOT been out of her cage at all? If she has could she have squeezed through the bars into the males cage?

So this girl hasn't been out of her cage since she had her oops litter? She may be cage-sour and biting for that reason. My rescue mom's get out daily but not for too long away from their babies.


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## Poisoned (Nov 17, 2012)

No, my males are two of her sons from when she first came to me, and they're both way too big to get out of their cage, and her cage was escape proof, even newborns couldn't get out.

She's not been out of her cage at all without me holding her, or sitting with her - she actually gets pretty lost if she's anywhere new from her bad eyesight I would think. She's been allowed to run around since she wanted to after her litter - just never unsupervised.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Poisoned said:


> No, my males are two of her sons from when she first came to me, and they're both way too big to get out of their cage, and her cage was escape proof, even newborns couldn't get out.
> 
> She's not been out of her cage at all without me holding her, or sitting with her - she actually gets pretty lost if she's anywhere new from her bad eyesight I would think. She's been allowed to run around since she wanted to after her litter - just never unsupervised.


then your next choice is to weigh her daily for weight gain on a digital scale.

I wonder if she retained a pup or got a uterine infection after the last litter? Can you take her to the vet for a look-see?


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