# My Baby Is Having Babies!



## Rebecky (Nov 13, 2010)

Hey guys, this is a long story, so please bear with me...

I adopted 2 lovely female rats a year ago from a shelter, we didn't know anything about them or how old they were. Both of them seem to have slight respiratory problems but it comes and goes, one was prone to tumours and sadly died of lung cancer before we could get her third tumour removed - but her sister is still with us!

Her sister became very depressed and wouldn't eat so we decided to find her a companion as she'd never been alone before. None of the shelters in the area had any female rats but they were overrun with males, they offered to neuter a male for us for only £20 so we went for it! We also have no idea on the background of this rat too, he seems quite healthy but he bites and is generally a little terror!

The rats had a few fights at first but are now great friends... But our girl is looking and acting very pregnant. First she started making a nest under my bed which she has never done before, I've noticed she has been pulling out the fur around her nipples and she is starting to look a lot bigger! She's eating a lot now too!

So is the male not neutered? When we adopted him different members of staff at the shelter said different things - the first lady said to keep them seperate for 4 weeks because he may still 'have some beans in him', but another said that they could go togther after a week. We searched online and found places that said after 10 days it would be ok... We were a little impatient because our girl was still depressed and the spare cage we had for the male wasn't really ideal, but we waited 12 days before we put them together. Was this too soon or is it possible that the neutering didn't work at all?

I'm feeling very irresponsible, I am against breeding animals when there are still so many left in shelters, and I don't have the money or room for any more rats! I don't want to give any away either - and I am slightly concerned that they babies may inherit their fathers wild temperment and their mothers respiratory problems. Also kind of concerned because we don't know how old the mother is, I'm worried she may be too old and giving birth may be too stressful on her poor little body. 

We really don't want any babies, but our girl seems happier than she's been since her sister died! I just don't want to let her babies go... Looking for help and advice along the way. We also have no idea when the birth will be!


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## Rebecky (Nov 13, 2010)

Also just wondering if the male is neutered do I still have to put the father in another cage? If so, when can they come back together again?


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## Susinko (Apr 29, 2008)

Okay. First off, rats make great parents. They help raise and take care of the babies. So if the male is neutered, you shouldn't have to remove him. 

Have you anymore news about what is going on? I would think that 12 days would be long enough after a neuter, but then, I have never had one done. All my little guys are boys. Please let us know!


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Does the male have visible testes? I have always heard 2-3 weeks after a neuter is safe to intro him to an intact female. I doubt the neutered him if your girl is preggo, and lied to you.

Rats are good at what they do, keep dad away from ALL female rats now. In his own cage, rats can get pregnant immediately after birth.
I would talk to that shelter, and give them a piece of your mind. If he really was not neuterd, this is their fault.

Were his man bits shaved when you got him? That is standard procedure for a neuter.


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