# could she be pregnant



## zombiedork (Jul 7, 2008)

i had posted about when i had bought 2 rats last month in December,more than likely 2wks before Christmas, which were supposed to be 2 males, but it turned out when i got home that 1 of them was a female that was in the male cage. well when i first got her,she looked really skinny & small, but last night when i looked at her, she looked as if she got fatter in like 2dys! it was insane. Here i'm going to attach pictures of when i first got her, and the one's from last night

Here's from when i first got her:

















and here's the pics i took last night:

















please let me know what you think. thanks.


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## Devi (Jan 8, 2009)

that's sort of what mine looked like
i got her from a petstore and realized she was pregnant a few days ago.

and since yours one with a male it's possible...
im not an expert though xp


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## Neuroticax (May 1, 2007)

The belly pic makes it almost possible. Is there a way you could weigh her? Could you take her to the vet?

The belly and the nipples will more than likely give it away, I see nips in the pic, but you'll be able to tell better than I. Nesting behavior, personality might alter one way or another. Some of the "oh yeah, she's pregnant" signs will happen towards the last week or so, though.


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## DiscoAvenue (Dec 7, 2008)

im not an expert but my petshop rat had a litter 4 weeks ago and she looked like that 2-3 days before giving birth so get ready


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## Neuroticax (May 1, 2007)

If she is, check out this (active) thread: http://www.ratforum.com/index.php/topic,13728.0.html


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## zombiedork (Jul 7, 2008)

thanks everyone. I don't have any vets here in my area,i think the closest rat vet would probably be 3-4hrs away down farther south,i live in New Mexico, so there isn't really much here. But i guess i will just have to keep an eye on her. She still been friendly, and no nest building. I will keep everyone updated.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

This is a typical baby belly not a preggy belly in a young girl...I was watching her carefully because she and her sisters and mom came into the shelter with their father and brother. Only mom was pregnant and I had her e-spayed.

















The only way to really tell is to weigh your girl every day at the same time. I have a digital postal scale that I use to weigh my rats.










With preggy weight gain its very significant.

Are you able to get a scale and weigh her?


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## zombiedork (Jul 7, 2008)

lilspaz68 said:


> This is a typical baby belly not a preggy belly in a young girl...I was watching her carefully because she and her sisters and mom came into the shelter with their father and brother. Only mom was pregnant and I had her e-spayed.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Where would I find one at? I have never seen one before.


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## zombiedork (Jul 7, 2008)

Here's a pic of her tonight:










It doesn't look much bigger,but in person,she looks as she's gotten more bigger in the past 2dys.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

THAT belly is almost for sure pregnant.  I hate petstores, they make MY life ****, since most of these rats can end up in rescue and in my home. :

You will need a separate cage with a deep plastic base (wire sits on top and must be small rat-spaced) or a 10-15 gallon aquarium.

You should bed it down on fleece. carefresh, white quality papertowels, etc
Start feeding her LOTS of good quality foods, supplement with veggies and extra protein to help the bubs grow and for momma to keep up her condition. I used baby cereal with strawberry Ensure or Boost for added nutrients.

A rat's gestation is usually 21-23 days but most have their litters on Day 21.

I got my scale from an Office Supply store, like a Business Depot I think? Its a postal scale. Make sure it weighs in 1 gram increments and can weigh up to 5 lbs.

More later when she's a bit closer to her due date.


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## zombiedork (Jul 7, 2008)

I believe I got her on December 21st,if my calculations are correct,she should be due between Jan 11th-Jan 13th. so pretty soon. I have a fish tank that is full of water that I had with previous fish,but they are all gone,so im going to spruce it up and get her setup into it tonight hopefully. As I have no 1 story cages. But yah not too happy about a preggo rat. Lol.


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## zombiedork (Jul 7, 2008)

Also,would Carnation Breakfast be good to give her as a supplement? As I honestly wasn't expecting this and I don't get paid until Jan 14th. And the last of my money is for my cable bill. Ugh,such bad timing. I bought my 2 other females from PetSmart & they weren't pregnant,but this female I had got from PetCo.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

zombiedork said:


> Also,would Carnation Breakfast be good to give her as a supplement? As I honestly wasn't expecting this and I don't get paid until Jan 14th. And the last of my money is for my cable bill. Ugh,such bad timing. I bought my 2 other females from PetSmart & they weren't pregnant,but this female I had got from PetCo.


I just checked the ingredients and that will be just fine as a supplement. If you have any eggs you can give her some of that for her protein source.

We don't have Petco's here in Canada, but from all I read, Petco sucks.


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## zombiedork (Jul 7, 2008)

lilspaz68 said:


> zombiedork said:
> 
> 
> > Also,would Carnation Breakfast be good to give her as a supplement? As I honestly wasn't expecting this and I don't get paid until Jan 14th. And the last of my money is for my cable bill. Ugh,such bad timing. I bought my 2 other females from PetSmart & they weren't pregnant,but this female I had got from PetCo.
> ...


Would I just give her the egg yolk? And what would I mix the carnation with as its a powder substance. Yah,I bought hamsters previously before my rats at Petco,and they all kept dieing. I was mad.


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## zombiedork (Jul 7, 2008)

Lilspaz I did what you said to do,I put her in a 10 gallon aquariumn as that was all I have. Should I leave it open or keep the top on. Here's pics:


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Can she get out without the lid? Aquariums are terrible for rats because there is NO air flow. Putting the lid on makes it so much worse 

Aquariums are used as temp maternity cages because the temp stays warmer for the babies, and there are no bars to get stuck between.

I noticed a seed mix in her cage, do you have any accesss to lab blocks? Hagen Hamster Extrusion or Mazuri at Petsmart? Seed mixes are considered "bad food" these days. Too high in fats, protein and the rat can pick out its fav's which is not a balanced diet.

Give your girl the whole egg, yolk and white. I usually scramble mine or hard boil...depends on what I am eating as well  No salt, or seasonings though for the rat.

Mix your carnation breakfast up the way you would drink it...water I guess?

I hope I am wrong about the upcoming litter and pics can be deceiving, but its best to be safe than sorry right?


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## zombiedork (Jul 7, 2008)

Well I put her in it and she found a way to escape,so idk what to do now :/ but I hope no babies,but from the way she lookin,she's gotten HUGE that past few days. Still no delivery yet


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

zombiedork said:


> Well I put her in it and she found a way to escape,so idk what to do now :/ but I hope no babies,but from the way she lookin,she's gotten HUGE that past few days. Still no delivery yet


I made wire tops for my aquariums a long long time ago. Wire top, and heavy wood frame that stopped them from getting out. This is before I knew tanks were bad, etc.


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## zombiedork (Jul 7, 2008)

Well there's no doubt that she wasn't pregnant. This morning she started giving birth. She's still in labor right now I believe. Well I was right on the calculation dates for today. she was 21days pregnant.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

zombiedork said:


> Well there's no doubt that she wasn't pregnant. This morning she started giving birth. She's still in labor right now I believe. Well I was right on the calculation dates for today. she was 21days pregnant.


I hope the labour goes well, and you see milk bellies later on.

You are going to definitely have to cover that top. Wire for now weighed down by something. If mom gets nervous she could jump out with a baby in her mouth to relocate her family and drop the baby to its death. I had that happen a long time ago too


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## zombiedork (Jul 7, 2008)

lilspaz68 said:


> zombiedork said:
> 
> 
> > Well there's no doubt that she wasn't pregnant. This morning she started giving birth. She's still in labor right now I believe. Well I was right on the calculation dates for today. she was 21days pregnant.
> ...


Well I counted the babies,she had 8 little kittens,you start checking the milk belly after 24 hours right? Mom is doing great. I gave her a bowl of carnation goodstart mixed with milk,that's what the package says,and a small bit of food she normally eats and gave her some veggies and fruit. She's just resting right now.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I would actually remove the milk and use water next time for the breakfast...some rats can be intolerant to dairy.

8 eepers is a nice small litter, you lucked out 

Now just cover that cage and make sure there's no water dish in there that she could drop a bub into by mistake and it would drown.


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## zombiedork (Jul 7, 2008)

lilspaz68 said:


> I would actually remove the milk and use water next time for the breakfast...some rats can be intolerant to dairy.
> 
> 8 eepers is a nice small litter, you lucked out
> 
> Now just cover that cage and make sure there's no water dish in there that she could drop a bub into by mistake and it would drown.


OH! I had no idea that I should just use water. I made sure I have a water bottle with water. Ima have to make a wire top for it. What could I use to make it? This sites helped me a lot with this. Lol. I've never thought id end up with baby rats.


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## zombiedork (Jul 7, 2008)

all 8 of swissguard's little eepers:









And Swissguard bein a good little momma:









Sorry for the bad quality,its from my cell as my laptop is on the fritz again. Ugh.


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## Three Deep (Jan 8, 2009)

Oh my gosh, freaking adorable. Plus, you're the only other rat person I have seen from good old Nuevo Mejico! What part? Good luck with the babies, maybe I'll drive down and steal a couple from ya.


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## zombiedork (Jul 7, 2008)

Three Deep said:


> Oh my gosh, freaking adorable. Plus, you're the only other rat person I have seen from good old Nuevo Mejico! What part? Good luck with the babies, maybe I'll drive down and steal a couple from ya.


I live in Albuqerque on Kirtland afb. :] And I'm more than willing to let you adopt a few when they get older as I don't know many who wants rats,at least that live here. As of right now,I'm keeping 2 out of the 8 babies :]


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