# Seperate rats?



## Sowa (Jan 24, 2015)

I think one of my rats is pregnant. I'd say she is due any day now, she is nesting like crazy and suddenly got huge. She is living in a DCN with 5 other girls (2 are young and the others are older then her) should I remove her from my other girls? They have been helping her make the nest. I've been reading both ways so I'm not sure what is best. I don't want her to be lonely if it's not neccessary.


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## Sowa (Jan 24, 2015)

Oh one other question. I was thinking of getting one of those mixing bin things from Home Depot and putting bedding in it and moving the babies there when they are little older to help with smell etc, is aspine bedding OK for babies?


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

The SAFE answer is to separate the mom TODAY! Nest building can start the same morning that a rat delivers. And they don't really balloon up until the last few days...


As to whether it's actually necessary to separate the mom from her friends... I've herd plenty of stories where breeders breed rats in groups or in pairs so multiple moms can share in raising the pups... It was very common years ago especially among feeder breeders... But losing a litter or two wasn't a big deal to them... if things went pear shaped. It will work great... unless it doesn't.


So the safe advise is to separate now as your're either already having pups tonight or tomorrow.

Best luck and congrats in advance.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

To your second question, an old aquarium with a screen top or one of those sweater containers/storage boxes will do fine, use metal mesh to cover an opening you make at the top.. Pups will crawl out of a standard cage with normal bar spacing... Not likely to happen for the first few days, but once they can crawl, you will find them everywhere. I had a friend lose part of a litter that way.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Yes separate her from the other girls. Use a glass tank 30+ gallons would be better with a mesh top or a storage bin with a mesh top.


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## Sowa (Jan 24, 2015)

All I have is my DCN and a single. I'll be getting a bin to put in the bottom of it. I'll probably just put the other girls in the other half or something since she has already made her nests and I think she will be having them tomorrow or the next day so I don't want her too stressed....I'll likely move her to the single when the babies are settled a little.


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## Sowa (Jan 24, 2015)

Is aspin shavings safe?


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Yes Aspen bedding is safe. I used it in both of my DCN cages and love it. I haven't read anything about it being bad for baby rats but I never had a rat giving birth either. Be careful when cutting the mixing tub. If you cut too much, the rats might be able to start chewing at it. On the pic, you can see you only have to take a tiny bit out of both ends. The tub on the bottom has been cut, look at the holes.


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## Sowa (Jan 24, 2015)

Thanks I'm going to get one tomorrow. I just seperated the girls to be 100% safe. What did you use to cut the bin with?


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## Sowa (Jan 24, 2015)

*Gribouilli*, is it called cement mixing bin? I'm trying to find it on the website and am not seeing it. I'm wondering if it's not available here.


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## Sowa (Jan 24, 2015)

So apparently this item is not availiable in Canada. Any other ideas?


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Steralite makes some nifty sweater bins and Tupperware makes "totes"... The totes are the very best and can actually be used as long term rat homes. A 10 gallon aquarium is fine for a mom with pups. But you will have to let her out to play after the first day or two... Its perfectly fine to let mom free range and get away from the pups and even visit with her friends...

I haven't tried these but they look pretty cool

http://www.rubbermaid.com/en-US/clever-store-basic-latch---clear-lid But for temporary use, you can use the normal opaque ones.

In nature moms don't park themselves with their pups, they go out and get food etc...

Bunny would neatly bury her pups in the bedding and then wait by the door to be let out for a while a few times a day, then we would put her back in with them so she could nurse them again... After about two and a half weeks they were pretty much weaned and it got harder and harder to put her back with her pups...


Make sure Mom's water bottle is full, rats drink a lot of water in the last couple of days and after they give birth.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Sowa said:


> So apparently this item is not availiable in Canada. Any other ideas?


Oh no sorry. You're not the first one from Canada who wanted to try those cement mixing tubs but couldn't get them. Maybe you can ask in a new thread if someone from Canada found something else similar...I can't remember if they did or not. Do you have walmarts in Canada? Sterilite brand? That would be for the half shelves only though, let me know and I'll post a pic of the bins I use for the half shelves


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

Definitely separate the mom before she has her babies.

A tank will work in a pinch but I really strongly don't like them. They have horrid ventilation and that doesn't magically go away because there is babies lol

I use bin cages for my babies. They are very ideal and are fairly simple to make and not very expensive.

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

You can use any type of plastic storage bin and you should be able to find them at almost any big retail store.

Aspen is fine, I use it.


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## Ratloved (Oct 4, 2015)

Just out of curiosity, is it one of your new babies that u think is preggers? Oh no!, aren't they babies themselves?


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Sowa said:


> So apparently this item is not availiable in Canada. Any other ideas?


You can still find and order it from the US website.


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## Sowa (Jan 24, 2015)

Thanks. I'll go out shopping today and hopefully figure something out. She had her babies yesterday (11). Ratloved - no she is not one of the new ones I got thankfully. They are super young


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Best wishes for the mom and her new babies... and of course their humans.


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