# 2 pregnant females :(



## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Sometimes I wish I wasn't so soft hearted, I decided on rats as a pet for my daughter b/c from what I read they were smart and friendly and I can say that I've barely had them a week and I'm soo attached lol. I knew what I was getting into so I guess that makes it a little easier although to be honest I really didn't expect the first female I brought home to live. I'm not sure how old she is but know for a fact that she has had at least 2 litters. I drained and treated her abscess and its almost completely healed now. From what I know she ate her last litter less than a day after they were born and had a male in with her pretty much immediately afterwards. I'm guessing she is probably around a week and a half along minimum. She is already pretty thick through the middle. The other female I got after visiting a petstore looking for a hairless or dumbo rat and found a tank full of feeders with no food or water. Of course I had to get her she was too cute and pretty big already(they were not separated) So I'm guessing sometime in the next 2 weeks I should have 2 litters. Anything I need to know as far as bedding housing for when they get closer?


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## rattiesalem24 (Feb 21, 2010)

Do you have an tank to put them in? Pregnant rats should be housed in tanks to raise their pups. 

Also, do you have any pics? Pics of them might be helpful to see how far they are. If they are showing signs of being pregnant, it will more likely be around one week, not two. 

Don't forget to keep us updated on their conditions! Where are you located, incase someone on this forum could take a few off your hands when they're old enough ;D.

Good Luck!


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

I would prepare your self for lots of hard work. They will need separate cages to give birth in, with small enough bar spacing to keep the babies contained and have enough space to raise them in. You could also start giving them additional protien treats, make sure they have lots of fresh veggies and a good diet. 

For bedding, I'd use newspaper and a good quality thick kitchen paper towel. The thin ones can stick to newborns. For the first few weeks they won't be much hassle (except you must handle them ALL DAILY for crucial imprinting stages), but once their eyes open and they get their land legs they will become really active. This is when they become hard work. They will eat several bowls of food a day, lots of veggies. Their cages will need to be cleaned several times per day as they will get messy quick. If you add a litter box, that will really help you out if you can litter train them. They also all need several hours of free roaming excersize a day, usually split into several sessions throughout the day so they won't get bored. Its vital they are all held individually, and get used to being picked up, cuddled, teeth checked etc. The more you hold them, the friendlier they will be.. which will make rehoming them easier. But you must be prepared to split the genders by 5 weeks on the dot accurately and continue loving and raising them until they all find the perfect home. I'd advise you screen carefully to make sure they end up in fantastic homes. 

Fingers crossed that they both have small litters for you!


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

I'm going to try to get some pictures later on today, I have 2 tanks right now a ten gallon and a thirty. I'm going to keep them in them until they have their litters. Then order a bigger wire cage after I figure out how many I will be keeping. Anyone know if the Critter nation cages have small enough wire spacing for babies? If so I might just go ahead and order one. Also I was wondering If I should go ahead and separate the older female from 2 of her babies from the older litter. She gets along with them great but lately she has been picking them up by the skin on their backs and carrying them to their house lol.


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## Bacca (Sep 12, 2010)

i hope they are small litters too. good luck, oh and add some pics if you can of the arrivals when they come.


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Looks like I'm luck b/c its been over 3 weeks and there are no babies  Although now that my friend at the pet shop knows I like rats I've acquired two new ones that someone dumped off there  The newest additions are a pair of dumbos and the male was huge he is probably double the size or more of my full grown female. Since the dumbo female was already fairly large I'm assuming she is most likely pregnant either way they are going to have to be housed together will the are in quarantine from my other ratties atleast until this weekend when I go pickup another cage


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

Well if she is not pregnant already, she will be for sure if you leave them in together. :-\ You need to separate the male and female, if she is pregnant, he will just keep bugging her. And if she has the babies (as you don't know when shes due) the male could impregnate her straight away again!!

And males are always waaaay bigger than females. I doubt hes a 'huge' boy. Heres my Oliver at 8/9 months of age weighing just under 700g and still is growing!.


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Went and got a new cage this morning for my girls(both my baby boys passed) so now the two dumbos are in separate tanks next to each other, they are cute and cuddle next to each other through the glass


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

I'm sorry to hear about your baby boys passing  Where they from one of pet stores mom litters?

And you've separated the male and female? Thats good to hear. How many rats do you have now?


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Both of the boys were from the mom at the pet shop that had the abcess, last time I talked to her all the babies from that litter had died maybe just something wrong genetically? I have 6 rats total now The Padmay(the mom), Leigha(the other female I bought to keep the mom company) the two dumbos Hammy the male and the un-named albino dumbo female, and two hairless boys that need names also. The hairless boys would be my favorites I only got them b/c they were sooo sweet(and since the rats were supposed to be my daughters pets and both her boys died) and since the others I have were breeders/feeders they are not nearly as friendly. Hammy is sweet too though so maybe its a male thing. Eventually they will be housed with the 3 females in a 3 story ferret cage and the boys in there 3 level cage that is about 4 1/2 feet tall, 18 inches deep, and 3+ ft wide. I told my husband I wouldn't get anymore but I guess it depends, rats are not popular where we live so like with the hairless boys I saw them on a local website for 3 weeks before I called about them, and I'm glad I did  They came from a rescue group


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## wagz77 (Feb 27, 2010)

@ ema
whoa! i have two girls that are almost the same age as that boy and not that big. i knew boys were bigger, but not that much bigger. haha. are all boys like that? i have a young boy named Ronnie, i guessed he was around 5 months, but i honestly have no idea. im going to put pictures up tomorrow.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

wagz77 said:


> @ ema
> whoa! i have two girls that are almost the same age as that boy and not that big. i knew boys were bigger, but not that much bigger. haha. are all boys like that? i have a young boy named Ronnie, i guessed he was around 5 months, but i honestly have no idea. im going to put pictures up tomorrow.


Not all boys will be as big as Ollie, he was the biggest in his litter ... his great grandsire weighs 2lbs full grown so I have BIG hopes for this boy. His line has been specifically bred to increase overall size over the past few generations. This boy also has remarkably good health and vitality. Males are on average 500g, but I feel at this point most breeders have considerably larger boys.


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Been about 15 days since I put my little Gema in a tank by herself(30g) and she is doing good, looks like she could go any day now, all my other rats have slimmed down being off of a seed mix but she is packing on the weight. I need to get a scale but it pretty much looks like she swallowed a tangerine at this point. Is carefresh okay for her bedding or do I need to do the paper towel thing? Right now she has carefresh and little squares of fleece that she drags into a small cardboard box I put in there for her to hide in.


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## ema-leigh (Jan 24, 2010)

I would give her paper towel, as carefresh is dusty and can get stinky quick. White paper towel will also let you watch for bleeding/spotting and her water breaking. 

You will see all the babies doing the 'mexican wave' in her stomach when she is close to giving birth. Give her little treats like boiled egg, tuna, salmon, oysters, grilled chicken for a little extra protien. 

And I hope we get to see some pictures soon


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## JennBell (Sep 16, 2010)

Well you should have pictures by this afternoon since she had 8 little cuties last night lol, I'll start a new thread and post them and give an update. I honestly didn't think she was big enough to have 8 babies but she did. I'm going to change her bedding out today. She also had 2 different hiding spots in her tank but choose to have her babies in the corner anyway :-\


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## rattiesalem24 (Feb 21, 2010)

Aw, congrats !


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## Bacca (Sep 12, 2010)

hope everything goes well! best of luck to you ;D


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## wagz77 (Feb 27, 2010)

Congratulations.  Hope they grow up well into nice adult ratties.


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