# How old are my rats?



## bonercrave (Oct 3, 2007)

I've googled this to death but haven't been able to find an answer: is there any way to tell how old my rats are? 
A month ago, I adopted two males, Arthur and Nathaniel, my first rats, from Petsmart the first day they arrived there from whoever supplies the store. The girl working there had no idea how old they might be (and kept subtly accusing me of buying them "for experiments for a class.") 
Does anyone know how I can get a rough estimate of their age? Or at what age the company that supplies Petco (I've heard it's something with "Labs" in the name) typically sends rats to be sold? 
They were not small when I got them and already had huge testicles; by looking at them you wouldn't think "baby rat," but they have been getting noticably larger over the past few weeks. They also wrestle constantly. Can anyone help me?


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## twilight (Apr 20, 2007)

Hmm...I heard that Petsmart doesn't sell Rats over 8 months. I could be wrong.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

The rats I see at PetSmart and Petco are often 6 weeks or so, often younger at Petco.

Petsmart may tend older, perhaps up to two months, but no more.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

If you post clear pics with side views etc, we can attempt a guess. Did you buy them from there or did you adopt them?


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## zimmyzam (Sep 9, 2007)

The one I saw at petsmart recently-DARLING grey hooded- they said she was about 2-3 months. The ones at Petco seem almost full-grown.

(The poor rattie at petsmart was all alone ;__; )


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## jellybeanqueen (Sep 6, 2007)

zimmyzam said:


> The one I saw at petsmart recently-DARLING grey hooded- they said she was about 2-3 months. The ones at Petco seem almost full-grown.
> 
> (The poor rattie at petsmart was all alone ;__; )


aw, poor baby. 
i hope someone took her in soon!
..and i ALSO don't know how old my rats are.
i'm guessing 8 weeks & 10 weeks now ( i got them 2 weeks ago) but i can't be sure.
i'll be posting pics soon so you guys can try and help me get their age right!


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## Nova (Sep 14, 2007)

pictures would help a huge help. take the pick with an object we can all identify with so we can compare their size to it. Something like a dollar bill or a soda can

as for their testes, those boy parts are huge by the time they are 4 weeks old LOL

another good way to guess their age is by their weight but not everyone has access to a scale that measures small amounts.


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