# I got feeder rats...



## Sidurah (Sep 28, 2011)

I got 2 feeder rats (pics coming soon). I knew (and the pet shop people told me) they'd almost definitely be pregnant, as they in with boys. I really liked them, as they were super sweet, but I said I didn't have an aquarium, so the gal was super nice and even tried to find a spare aquarium for me so I could keep them. Alas, they didn't have a spare one, but a friend does, so I decided to get two feeder rats, knowing they were pregnant. 

A little stupid, I know, but I have absolutely nothing to do with my summer and their little faces were just too cute. Anyway, one, Cecily (Silly) is definitely preggers. She has swollen nipples. The other, Gwendolyn (Gwen) looks normal.

If they're both pregnant, can I keep them together? I'd like to, seeing as they've been together for some time and like to snuggle.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

No, please separate them. Moms can get very aggressive and protective over babies. The last thing you want is moms attacking each other or playing tug of war with the babies. The risks aren't worth the benefit.


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## Sidurah (Sep 28, 2011)

I gave them some yogurt last night. They LOVED it. After a few experimental bites, they were like "Oh, this is a _finger. _We need to lick this tasty stuff off!" It was really cute.

It looks like I won't be able to get the aquarium from my friend after all. I've found a 110 qt storage container. If I split it in half with wire mesh, would it be of adequate size for them both to share (each would have a little over 2 cubic feet), or should I get two?


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## Lovely Rats (May 14, 2012)

Sidurah said:


> I've found a 110 qt storage container. If I split it in half with wire mesh, would it be of adequate size for them both to share (each would have a little over 2 cubic feet), or should I get two?


That sounds fine for a home but get an aquarium for her whelping stages.


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## Sidurah (Sep 28, 2011)

Okay, I've got 2 aquariums lined up. I'll have them in a day or two. Right now they're in my travel cage, but that is, of course, temporary. I'm boiling eggs right now to give them. 

Once their rittens are weaned, Gwen and Silly will join my existing girls, Rosalind and Beatrice, in my large cage.

I'm planning to use polar fleece & shredded newspaper as bedding, put in an igloo to nest in, and a food dish and water bottle. Does this sound good? Should I add anything else?


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## aang (Feb 7, 2012)

You should check out The Rat Homes section to get ideas! People post a bunch of pictures there and its where I get some ideas.


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## Sidurah (Sep 28, 2011)

So they're both in the aquarium. I lined it with a brown paper bag, and tossed in a bunch of shredded newspaper and paper towels and some polar fleece. They did not approve of the evenly distributed bedding, and proceeded to pile it all at one end and burrow in. They were having a blast tunneling and shredding paper to their high standards. 

I weighed them last night. Gwen is ~188 grams and Cecily is ~183. And, of course, no thread would be complete without pictures:

Gwendolyn is fawn (?) hooded, and Cecily is black berkshire. They are both quite small. Can anybody guess how hold they are? 










































They are in a 10 gallon tank, for size reference. Is the tank set up okay? Yes, there is a lid, I just took it off for pics. I have the right half covered by a blanket for more privacy. I'll remove Cecily when Gwen gets closer to birthing. Right now they're practically glued to eachother.


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## echoskybound (Apr 24, 2012)

Aww, they have such sweet faces. Beautiful girls. I don't think I've ever seen feeder rats that weren't PEW.


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## Sidurah (Sep 28, 2011)

Thanks!  They were the only colored ones among the feeders, I think. 

I realized in my first post I mixed up their names! Gwen is the fawn hooded, and Cecily is the black berkie, I've been tracking their weight for the past couple of days. I haven't been weighing them at the same time, but I think I remembered the times correctly.

5/24 10pm: Gwen 188, Silly 183
5/26 9pm: Gwen 175, Silly 170 
5/27 noon: Gwen 194, Silly 175
5/28 2pm: Gwen 210, Silly 183

I have no idea why they seemed to have lost weight between 5/24 and 5/26. My scale isn't very good, so it could be that. Gwen's stomach isn't super big, it just seems a little larger, proportionally, than Ros and Bea's (my resident girls) stomachs, and she has no hair around her nipples. So far, Silly looks pretty normal.

Also, Silly got out last night (found her before she hid somewhere -phew-), and she was absolutely frantic. Gwen was really upset, too. I moved them back to my holding/travel cage, while I make a secure lid for the tank. Is it normal for rat buddies to become upset if separated? Ros and Bea are pretty independent, although they usually sleep together.


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## ratjes (Mar 26, 2011)

It seems like Silly has not gained weight in 4 days so she might not be pregnant and you are lucky if that is the case.


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## Nenn (Nov 13, 2007)

Seems like Gwen is preggers, but silly perhaps absorbed the litter or wasnt preggers at all


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## Sidurah (Sep 28, 2011)

Either way, I'm happy Silly probably isn't pregnant. I weighed Gwen at 11am, she was 218 grams. She's gaining weight well!  I gave them a hardboiled egg, too. Happy rats!


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

If they do wind up having two litters make sure you put adequate spacing between each section, like, two wire dividers 2 inches apart or so. Just to be certain any stray toes/tail tips don't get nipped off by a protective or curious set of teeth. It happens more often than you'd think  *thinks of Elizabeth and shudders*


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## Sidurah (Sep 28, 2011)

I have 1/4" wire mesh and as well as a travel/quarantine cage, so I can separate them when the time comes. 

Last night (6/2), Gwen was 225 grams and Silly was 195 grams. How does this compare to normal adolescent weight gain? Is it possible neither are pregnant? I read rats lose hair around their nipples in the last week, but I got them 11 days ago, and Gwen had hair loss on day 1. What's going on there?


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## Sidurah (Sep 28, 2011)

We're on Day 17 now, and no babies. I weighed Gwen a day or two ago, and she was 245 grams . Also, she's bitten me twice. Not super hard, neither are terribly painful. Is this because she's a crotchety pregnant rat, or could she have aggression issues? I've separated Silly, and she now lives with my resident girls, Ros and Bea. They seem to be getting along well, so yay!


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

If your curious about Gwen's color, looks like she's an Amber/Silver fawn, depending on which term you want to use. Its the same thing as a Fawn rat, just that they have pink eyes not ruby eyes.
She most likely is just a pregnant rat, they tend to get some what nippy before the litter is born and for a week or two after they are born, sometimes even up to a week after they are weaned.


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