# possible pregnancy



## saosin (Jan 6, 2008)

I've never had this problem yet. Ok so my rat got out of her cage Saturday morning and I found her in the boys cage later that night. I'm not sure how long she was in there. She was in heat that day. I'm worried that she is pregnant because she is young so I want her to be healthy. Does anyone know how I can tell if she is pregnant?... I know its early to tell but I just want to be ready if she is.


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## miloandroxie (Dec 19, 2007)

Sadly, there really is no surefire way to know. But if I were you, I'd make preperations for a litter. She most likely wont start to balloon until the late second or early third week, and her nipples wont show until then either. But you can look for little signs, such as unusual aggression or irratibility, nest building, etc. And no matter how short of a time she was in the boys cage, rats can court and mate in 2 seconds, or less. Too be extra extra sure, you may want to visit the vet, but all he'll tell you is to prepare for a litter. And if you do that from the beginning, you're set if she *is* preganant and hallellujah if she isn't. Glad to help and good luck!


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## saosin (Jan 6, 2008)

Thanks I'm just a little nervous and worried. I've never had a pregnant rat or a litter. If she is its a big deal for me. Its a good thing I have the space and money just in case. I've been saving money for my rats for a while just in case of surgeries or anything like that.


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## Screechy (Dec 28, 2007)

saosin said:


> Thanks I'm just a little nervous and worried. I've never had a pregnant rat or a litter. If she is its a big deal for me. Its a good thing I have the space and money just in case. I've been saving money for my rats for a while just in case of surgeries or anything like that.


Thats good that you have space and money for your ratties! But as said above, it doesn't matter how long(or short) or a time they were together, rats can become successfully pregnant in the blink of an eye! If I were you I'd prepare for a possible litter. The pregnancy will last 21 to 23 days, but you should be prepared for her to give birth on day 20 just to be safe. In the first week you won't notice much change other than slight weight gain and some possible agression. You May or may not also experience her nesting......some rats start nesting as soon as they know they're pregnant and others wait till the last second, its all depende on her. The same usually goes for the second week, but around the end of the second week, you may notice(depending on the litter size) that her stomach may begin to get a little bigger and more rounded, and her nipples may begin to show as the fur around then gets thinner and the nipples may get larger to the point where you can feel them. In the beggining of the third week, these things usually begin to occur if they haven't already, but another big sign is appetite. She'll most likely(again, depending on litter size) begin to eat more and of course, poo more too! As the third week progresses, these signs will become more noticeable but it all has to do with the rat and litter size. sometimes you'll never know she's pregnant at all or till the day before when she suddenly seems HUGE!! 

But the fact of the matter is you should start preparing for babies, because its better to be safe than sorry. You know when she was with the male, so her due date shouldn't be hard to figure out! Good luck! I'll keep my fingers crossed that she isn't!

Brittany


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