# Male or female? Help, please!



## StrikerGreenBean (Apr 29, 2021)

We just got my kids there first two rats. Intended to get 2 females but now we’re wondering if this little one is a male. Can anyone ID? We think ratty is about 4 weeks.


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## Shadow <3 (Jan 25, 2017)

Ooh yup, that's a little boy. The distance between urethra and anus is the biggest give away if they are late bloomers, but soon enough he'll be super easy to tell from the other (you might want to post a picture of the other to make sure its really a girl). Considering their age (which I would agree on due to their size) I'm guessing feeder bin babies? I had a similar experience with mine, didn't check in store and went off an employees sexing and then at home I knew right away that I made a mistake not checking in store. 

Anyways if the other is female then you will need to separate them in a few days - rats are sexually mature at a very young age, only 5 weeks old, and while its fairly rare for males to try and breed for another few days after that its still best to separate them by then. If you decide to keep both then they will need same sex friends, or one would need to be neutered/spayed (although most vets prefer waiting until they are older, so you'd still need to get friends while they wait). Otherwise another option is to swap one for another of the same gender - not everyone will like this idea, but its definitely the easiest and a perfectly fair option. This is the route I went when I had a similar issue and while I felt bad for the boys (I had older females which I got the babies to introduce to) I was glad that the rats I exchanged them for really were girls and those rats ended up being absolutely amazing and some of my favorites. Its a hard decision either way, but no matter what they do need to be separated by 5 weeks in order to prevent breeding.


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## StrikerGreenBean (Apr 29, 2021)

Ugh. You’re exactly right. Feeder babies. Thanks so much for your thoughtful info. We are not prepared for babies or twice the cages and buddies. Will have to have a tough talk with my son tomorrow. And we’re already so attached to Ratty after just 2 days!


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## Angels with Whiskers (Jan 20, 2021)

Is Ratty the male? If you're more attatched to him, you could give up the female for another male instead.


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## StrikerGreenBean (Apr 29, 2021)

@Shadow <3 could you help me ID the other one? Make sure she’s female before we rehome the little boy? Thanks!


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## ratmom! (Mar 11, 2021)

For the future, you can mention someone by typing their username. EX. @StrikerGreenBean 
and this will alert the person you mentioned. So, you can say @Shadow <3 blahblahblah. Its just a cool way to mention someone


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## StrikerGreenBean (Apr 29, 2021)

ratmom! said:


> For the future, you can mention someone by typing their username. EX. @StrikerGreenBean
> and this will alert the person you mentioned. So, you can say @Shadow <3 blahblahblah. Its just a cool way to mention someone


Thanks @ratmom!


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## 28murdieka1 (Nov 19, 2021)

it is a girl because their is no balls and i have had a boy and i know what its privits look like


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## Fofo (Oct 21, 2021)

An easy way to sex them is check for nipples. Male rats do not have nipples.


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## Boxes_scree (Oct 1, 2021)

28murdieka1 said:


> it is a girl because their is no balls and i have had a boy and i know what its privits look like


Hi! Just a little tip here. Since these rats are babies they won’t necessarily have visible balls yet. A good way to know whether a baby rat is male or female is by looking at the stomach for little pink nipples or but looking at how far apart the anus and urethra  For example, the first picture StrikerGreenBean posted is a male while the second picture is a female. The female’s genitals are closer together while the male’s are further apart.


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