# Pregnant rat and unsure of what I'm supposed to do



## KatieS (Nov 9, 2016)

So a week ago a so called "friend" told me she needed someone to watch her rat. Me being the caring animal lover I am said yes. Little did I know, her rat is pregnant and she had no intentions on taking her back. Long story short, she dropped her rat off at my door and told me she needed someone to watch her for a few days. It's been a week and the lady who dropped her off has been dodging my calls and avoiding me because she doesn't want the responsibility of taking care of her animals. I'm very new to the rat world. I have four precious boys who I've had for a good six months now. I've done extensive research, but never thought I'd be in a position where I needed to take care of one who was pregnant. Now I'm stuck with another rat, (which I'm definitely not upset about, trust me) and I have no idea how to take care of her. Is there anything serious I need to worry about or need to do to prepare for the birth? I've been giving her extra protein since I've heard mothers need an extra protein boost. Is there anything else I should be doing? She's in the same room as my boys, different cage. The cage has three levels so I was thinking about going out and buying a one level to keep her and the babies safe. Is that necessary? She's a wonderful, healthy rat and I'm sure her babies will be equally outstanding. This is her first pregnancy and she is seven months old.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

Are you sure she is pregnant? If so how far along is she? 

My advice is ALWAYS going to be take her to the vet and end the pregnancy. It is really for the best. Even if she is an amazing rat, that does not show what she is carrying and I assume u know nothing about the dad? The babies could be doomed with health issues, temperament issues  I've actually been helping several different people right now with oops litters where things all went very very bad and/or the babies had serious issues. It is really heartbreaking.

You could also look into a rescue near you who could take her in. 

If you decide not to... be prepared. You could end up with 20+ babies! Omg just imagine having that many more mouths to feed and the jump it does to your food bill? Because before you can fidn them homes (if you can) they will be eating solid foods. 
You will also need another cage for any boys. While it is possible they may be able to go in with your other males. They may not accept them and unless you know your males temp well it may be risky.

You definitely should get mom out of that cage. Tall cages are not safe for the babies because the mom can try to take them up high and drop them. There is also the risk of them being pushed out of the bars.
I highly recommend making a bin cage for her. They are by far the safest for mom/babies.

Moms do need extra protein but it depends on what you are already feeding her. Normal adults should have around 14-16% protein, moms/babies can be up to 18% ideally or sometimes up to 20%. It is not a huge increase. Give her some healthy fresh foods/veggies but make sure not to overstuff her. 

Moms pretty much are great on their own. Make sure her cage/bin is in a quiet area. 
Some moms may develop maternal aggression (this is not a good thing but with unknown backgrounds you may expect it) so be cautious. 
Once the babies are born you will want to check them for milk bands. I have good pics of it on my pages below.

Once they are born you can sex them right away so you can begin looking for potential homes. I highly suggest selling them in same sex pairs only. You will need to remove the boys from mom at 5 weeks old. I prefer to see babies sold after 6 weeks personally. Don't sell them earlier then 5 though.

Some helpful links for the babies development & sexing:
http://www.afrma.org/babyratdevdaily.htm
http://tigertailrattery.weebly.com/growth-picture-journal.html
http://ratguide.com/breeding/baby_development/birth_to_weaning.php
http://mainelyratrescue.org/rattieblog2/?p=42
my pages:
http://www.onceuponamischief.com/sexing
http://www.onceuponamischief.com/baby-development


bin cage:
http://www.onceuponamischief.com/#!How-to-make-a-bin-cage/yqplu/57b158f40cf2a28cd69e0068


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## KatieS (Nov 9, 2016)

I finally got ahold of the original owner but she has no intentions of taking her back. She's from a reputable breeder who which I got my boys from and apparently bred with one of my boy's that I was happy to give to her a while back. She's about three weeks pregnant. She's probably going to give birth at any moment. I feed her extra veggies along with scrambled eggs and oxbow regal rat food. All of my rats have been healthy, happy, with wonderful temperaments, therefore I'm not too concerned about the babies having problems. I will make her a bin cage and hope for the best. I took her to the vet this morning and they said her and her babies are healthy. My big boys loooovveee babies so I'm not too worried about keeping the boys in mine. Who knows. I might even keep a few.  once they are properly weened I planned on keeping them until I can find wonderful homes for them.


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

If she is from a good breeder I would highly suggest contacting them. By far most breeders have policies that they take the rats back if they are to be rehomed, even more so if they are pregnant. At the very least letting the breeder know would be the right thing to do IMO.


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## luvmy4rats (Nov 29, 2013)

You may end up with a smaller litter of nine like I did over a year ago and keep them all! My oops litter consists of four girls and five boys. The boys have lovely temperaments the girls are just sweet and I believe the mother mated with two different males since I ended up with three blue rats in the lot.

The only advice I can give since I am not a breeder is from what I've read online which is do NOT change the bedding for a bit when the pups are born because it can cause the mother stress and she may kill her young. As far as what to feed I read supplementing their diet should take place on day 14 of their pregnancy. Of course there are so many varying opinions it's hard to know which is accurate.

Have fun with your new litter and be sure to give your rat mom privacy once she's given birth. I gave my rat mom privacy despite my wanting to get in there! Respecting her needs over my own mattered.


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