# It just keeps happening



## cocothesquid (Dec 11, 2011)

You can guess what I mean by that. Only 3-4 months after getting my second pair of rats, after my first girls passed on, my dad was playing with my rats, and let my shy girl, Calliope, get loose by accident. It took 2 weeks to catch her, and about 3-4 days after catching her, I notice she's acting very different than from how she acted before she got out. She is usually very timid, and spent all her time in her igloo, but recently, she has been extremely friendly. I then noticed that her nipples are more prominent than her sister's, and her stomach is a bit firmer than Baxter's. Also, she's made a big nest out of bedding. I put some napkins in their cage to see if she'll tear it up last night, and this morning I found it shredded up under the igloo(it kinda looks like a birds nest now cx)

She has become increasingly aggressive towards Baxter. They used to play fight, but their tiffs have become a lot more violent recently. While there has been no injuries, I'm still worried. Calliope doesn't look pregnant, but I know that rats sometimes wont show any signs of pregnancy until they're actually giving birth. I've noticed she hasn't been showing the usual behavior she displays whenever she's in heat.


So should I be worried, or am I just paranoid?And if she is pregnant, is it safe to assume that the pups will be half wild? If so, could I get some pointers on how to properly handle and socialize half wild ratlets?

Thanks c:


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## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

She could be pregnant, and if she is they're likely half wild. She could also just be going through ratty puberty, though. How old is she?If they're half wild they might have a slightly more active, skiddish, and a tad bit less friendly temperament, but if you handle them and interact with them when they're babies they will likely be no different from any other accidental litter. If you find then new homes, though, do alert the families to their parentage as there is a risk they'll have wilder tendancies so a heads up to future homes is helpful. Best of luck, and keep us updated!


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## cocothesquid (Dec 11, 2011)

Rumy91989 said:


> She could be pregnant, and if she is they're likely half wild. She could also just be going through ratty puberty, though. How old is she?If they're half wild they might have a slightly more active, skiddish, and a tad bit less friendly temperament, but if you handle them and interact with them when they're babies they will likely be no different from any other accidental litter. If you find then new homes, though, do alert the families to their parentage as there is a risk they'll have wilder tendancies so a heads up to future homes is helpful. Best of luck, and keep us updated!



She's just over 7 months. And her sister isn't acting any differently and they're from the same litter,correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't it happen around the same time? Thanks for the info, and I'll definitely keep this thread updated


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## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

Yeah, she's a bit old for it to just be hormone changes. I guess we'll have to see! How ling has it been since you found her?


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## cocothesquid (Dec 11, 2011)

Rumy91989 said:


> Yeah, she's a bit old for it to just be hormone changes. I guess we'll have to see! How ling has it been since you found her?


I guess so lol. I found her about 7 days ago I think, and since she was out for two weeks, I have no idea when mating could have happened.


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## Jokerfest (Sep 25, 2012)

Wow she managed to avoid you for two weeks? She must be a smart little girl. .-.
Where are you located? (I'm looking for another boy or two for my clan xD)


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## cocothesquid (Dec 11, 2011)

Jokerfest said:


> Wow she managed to avoid you for two weeks? She must be a smart little girl. .-.
> Where are you located? (I'm looking for another boy or two for my clan xD)


Well considering my bedroom isn't the cleanest out there...XD
I"m located in Dallas, Tx, so if I'm anywhere near you, I'd be happy to give you some(If she's even pregnant. I might just be over excited cx)


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## cocothesquid (Dec 11, 2011)

So should I go ahead and put her in a separate cage/tank from her sister, or should I wait some? She doesn't look pregnant at all, so other than what I've observed, I'm not totally sure if she does have buns in the oven.


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## Jokerfest (Sep 25, 2012)

Darn you're no where near me. :C

Hmm just had a thought if it's been three weeks unless she got preggo on the second week she was missing she should have given birth by now. So you can assume she got pregnant sometime that second week if she is.
I've never dealt with females so I don't feel qualified to give much advice on the subject but I'd start weighing her daily and atleast get a bin cage ready to be safe.


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## iHayleyNorris (Jul 28, 2012)

Lol. Little crumbs in the oven. ^.^


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## ThreeMagicBeans (Dec 16, 2012)

iHayleyNorris said:


> Lol. Little crumbs in the oven. ^.^Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Haha! Little crumbs in the toaster...


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

I would help, but Dallas is still far for me and I have issues of my own right now, so Can't get more rats till summer or fall at the earliest. Sorry 

I'll see if I can find people in your area though who might want to help out if she is pregnant though.


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## cocothesquid (Dec 11, 2011)

LightningWolf said:


> I would help, but Dallas is still far for me and I have issues of my own right now, so Can't get more rats till summer or fall at the earliest. Sorry
> 
> I'll see if I can find people in your area though who might want to help out if she is pregnant though.


thanks a bunch!


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

cocothesquid said:


> thanks a bunch!


Your welcome, a asked someone who is on here but hasn't been on here in a while. Do you mind if I see if people who Aren't on this forum want to take one or two in if she is pregnant? I have a friend up in that area who knows a few rat people who aren't on this forum.


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## cocothesquid (Dec 11, 2011)

LightningWolf said:


> Your welcome, a asked someone who is on here but hasn't been on here in a while. Do you mind if I see if people who Aren't on this forum want to take one or two in if she is pregnant? I have a friend up in that area who knows a few rat people who aren't on this forum.


I wouldn't mind at all! Thanks so much! But I'm still not totally sure if she's pregnant, so I don't want to jump the gun or anything


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## Kaliloca (Jan 24, 2013)

Did she get loose outside your house or inside your house? 

Two weeks is a long time for a rat to be missing. It could be she's pregnant or it could be she's having PTSD. You don't know what she went through during those 2 weeks. It could have changed her a bit.


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## cocothesquid (Dec 11, 2011)

Kaliloca said:


> Did she get loose outside your house or inside your house?
> 
> Two weeks is a long time for a rat to be missing. It could be she's pregnant or it could be she's having PTSD. You don't know what she went through during those 2 weeks. It could have changed her a bit.


She got loose inside my house, she was trapped in my room until we caught her.


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

Wow, two weeks?! I'd have been freaked out... especially since I have an evil poodle with a strong hunting instinct. 

Anyways, I'm semi-close to Dallas, but since I have eight rats... It's unlikely I'd be able to take any more.

Do you have a lot of wild rats where you are? I do know that at least one person (maybe two) on this forum has raised half-wild babies successfully, so I'm sure they'll come around and give you good tips in case she is pregnant.  In fact, someone here is currently keeping a full-blood wild rat that he raised from an itsy baby and it seems to be going fairly well.

Personally (though I have never had a pregnant rat), I wouldn't separate her from her friend until she starts showing, _if _she does. Unless, of course, you fear injure due to their fighting.

I do agree, though, that she could simply be acting differently because of her experience being loose. Won't really know for sure until you've had her safe and sound for 24 days.

Best of luck!


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## cocothesquid (Dec 11, 2011)

FallDeere said:


> Wow, two weeks?! I'd have been freaked out... especially since I have an evil poodle with a strong hunting instinct.
> 
> Anyways, I'm semi-close to Dallas, but since I have eight rats... It's unlikely I'd be able to take any more.
> 
> ...


I don't think there are a ton of wild rats, but I live in a sort of run down neighborhood with lots of tree and places for rats to hide. They usually get in through a hole in our attic that we can't reach to fix, and will occasionally venture down into the house. My sister seems to believe that our rat problem got worse when I got my first girls(mind you this happened in the summer and we always get rats in the summer) it may or may not be true, so I'm not sure if her going into heat may have made a brave male wild rat come down into my room and find her(which I'm not overly fond of the idea of a wild rat coming into my room...)
I weighed her today and I'm going to continue weighing her over this next week(thankfully it's spring break for me) so I guess I'll just have to wait and see. I won't separate her unless she starts showing more obvious signs of pregnancy, or if she gets too violent with her sister


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## Kaliloca (Jan 24, 2013)

Well, since she was in the house the whole time, she may not be pregnant. Actually it's more likely she isn't pregnant.......

Unless you've seen signs of a wild rat in the house prior to her escaping. It would be hard to tell after she escaped, since you wouldn't be sure if it was her or the wild rat leaving droppings and such. 

Anyway, if she's pregnant, you should know for sure in about..... 10 days.


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## cocothesquid (Dec 11, 2011)

update! Calliope's tummy has grown some, but not a lot, but her stomach and lower sides have become firm. Her nipples are much more prominent, and she's been making nests then destroying them then reconstructing them. I haven't been able to get accurate weight measures on her because the only kitchen scale we have isn't digital and goes by twenties. But at this point I'm pretty sure she's pregnant. so should I go ahead and separate her?


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

I would wait a few more days to separate her. But if you want you can. 

Still waiting for Emails from my friend in your area for people who can help in case you're wondering.


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## cocothesquid (Dec 11, 2011)

LightningWolf said:


> I would wait a few more days to separate her. But if you want you can.
> 
> Still waiting for Emails from my friend in your area for people who can help in case you're wondering.


I'm just worried that she'll give birth in her cage, and then I wont be able to separate her. And thanks!


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## eaturbyfill (Aug 23, 2012)

I would want to separate just to be safe since you mentioned they were squabbling more aggressively. 

I would be happy to help if I was closer, but I live in east Tennessee. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.


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## cocothesquid (Dec 11, 2011)

So I heard major squeaking, almost squealing, coming from my room. I ran in there to find Calliope pinning Baxter down, with her mouth at her throat. Yup. I think it's time the hormonal little mama gets put in the maternity bin(what I called the modified plastic bin I put my first rat, Cicely when she was pregnant cx)


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## Kaliloca (Jan 24, 2013)

Do you have any pictures of how big her belly is? 

I'm still not able to imagine how a wild rat got into your bedroom to get your escaped female pregnant. If her belly is getting bigger, it could be she lost weight while she was loose and she's just gaining it back. Being that she was hiding she probably didn't get as much as she normally would have. Rats can lose weight quickly and they gain it back quickly. There's been a few times my girls had "huge" bellies, but it was just from eating too much cooked rice. If I hadn't been 100% sure they weren't preggo I would have thought they were. 

BTW If she is pregnant...... Doesn't it creep you out a bit that there might have been or still could be a wild rat in your room?


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## cocothesquid (Dec 11, 2011)

Kaliloca said:


> Do you have any pictures of how big her belly is?
> 
> I'm still not able to imagine how a wild rat got into your bedroom to get your escaped female pregnant. If her belly is getting bigger, it could be she lost weight while she was loose and she's just gaining it back. Being that she was hiding she probably didn't get as much as she normally would have. Rats can lose weight quickly and they gain it back quickly. There's been a few times my girls had "huge" bellies, but it was just from eating too much cooked rice. If I hadn't been 100% sure they weren't preggo I would have thought they were.
> 
> BTW If she is pregnant...... Doesn't it creep you out a bit that there might have been or still could be a wild rat in your room?


Not any at the moment, and you can't really tell either way. She was still the same size as her sister when I found her, because she had been getting into the food bag. And of course it creeps me out. But honestly it's not the first time it has happened(which is why I assume Calliope got impregnated by a wild rat). I live in a run down house, in a run down neighborhood, and as long as the rat keeps its' distance from me, I can deal. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, we have a hole in our attic that we can't quite reach because of all the stuff in the way, and the rats have never caused enough of a problem to make it where we would need to move everything out of our attic to fix it. They usually stay in the attic, and rarely venture down into the house.
I'll take some pics of her belly if she's willing to cooperate, but I don't know if I'll be able to.


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## Eden10 (Aug 11, 2012)

Hopefully you can get some pics of her...would really help! FX she isn't pregnant!


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## cocothesquid (Dec 11, 2011)

sorry for the blurry pic xc
yeah, you can't really tell either way, but you can see her nipples somewhat in this picture


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## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

Hmmm... she doesn't look pregnant to me. That doesn't man she isn't, but that's not at all a pregnant looking belly, and only some of her nipples seem visible which is normal for a rat her age.


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## Kaliloca (Jan 24, 2013)

So far, I'd say not pregnant. 

Her temperament could still be from her being loose for 2 weeks. Without daily attention and handling she could have reverted to being a bit "wild". She could also view herself as the "alpha" female from her experience away. 

Does she act any different towards you? I don't know if rats get nippy, but I do know that hamsters get nippy when pregnant. They also get nippy from lack of attention. So, being nippy isn't always a sign of pregnancy either. Nest building could be a sign, but she could have started that habit while she was loose and is just continuing it after she got back home. 

So, you have to evaluate her as a whole and not just how she's acting towards her cage mate. 

I know you're probably hoping she's not pregnant. So, until you can verify 100% that she is pregnant..... Just keep hoping she's not. Just treat her like it's just another day. Be sure to give her a little extra protein too... just in case. You need to cover all the bases. 

BTW if she starts to look like she swallowed a tennis ball...... That's a sure sign she's preggo.

Just wondering..... How old is she? She looks very small in that picture. Almost too small to be having a litter. She even looks a bit thin. It could just be the angle, but she really does look small.


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## cocothesquid (Dec 11, 2011)

Kaliloca said:


> So far, I'd say not pregnant.
> 
> Her temperament could still be from her being loose for 2 weeks. Without daily attention and handling she could have reverted to being a bit "wild". She could also view herself as the "alpha" female from her experience away.
> 
> ...


She's about 6 or 7 months old. She did get out for two weeks, so she must have lost a lot of weight, even with her getting in to the food bag(but i only noticed the hole in the side on the second week) Her sister is the same size as her, but obviously not as skinny. If anything i think Baxter is getting a little fat. as for hoping she's not pregnant. Well of course I don't want to have to deal with finding homes for the babies, or having to socialize half wild ones, but in all honesty I'm kind of excited. I just really love baby rats. Well, I really love rats in general. 
Like I said before, the kitchen scale i'm using isn't very accurate, but I have noticed fluctuations in her weight, I just can't say what her exact weight is. And her stomach has become firm, and when I got her out to check on her today, I definitely felt something in her lower abdomen.
Also, her behavior towards Baxter has been very mercurial. I'll walk into my room to find them snuggling, then the next time i walk into my room, Calliope's sleeping on the other side of the cage from Baxter, then the next time i'll hear loud squeaking and Calliope's attacking Baxter, but then they go back to snuggling once I break up the tiff. As for how she acts towards me, she'll act very sweet and happy when i'm with her, then suddenly she'll flip out and nip my hand, trying to get away. So really, I just don't know what's going on. Her behavior is very similar to that of my girl Cicely's behavior when she was pregnant, but I really have no way of knowing unless she either get big or gives birth :/


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## cocothesquid (Dec 11, 2011)

UPDATES
Calliope's stomach has grown firmer, she has a huge nest made, and when i was rubbing her tummy earlier, I definitely felt something in there. At this point I'm sure she's pregnant, and it looks like she'll be giving birth within the next few days


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

Keep us updated them. Just a note to you, I haven't heard back from the people up in your area  I'll send them another email on Friday if they haven't responded by then just to insure that you do have some back up for finding homes for them.

Any pictures of the expecting mom?


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## cocothesquid (Dec 11, 2011)

LightningWolf said:


> Keep us updated them. Just a note to you, I haven't heard back from the people up in your area  I'll send them another email on Friday if they haven't responded by then just to insure that you do have some back up for finding homes for them.
> 
> Any pictures of the expecting mom?


thanks! and i don't have any photos right now, but I'll upload some tomorrow


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## Kaliloca (Jan 24, 2013)

What ever happened with your girl? It's been a couple of weeks since you last updated.


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