# Rats need homes! Greenville NC



## ratatatat (Sep 24, 2009)

My rats just had babies, 14 to be exact! We cannot keep them all, they need homes! they'll be old enough to go in about 2 weeks!


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

Was it a planned litter? What's the background info?


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## ratatatat (Sep 24, 2009)

We bought the male and female back in May as a gift for our daughter. The litter came the weekend of Sept 5th (not really planned, but expected). We weren't expecting 14 babies. Duncan(the papa rat) and Tessa (the mama rat) are both very sweet. They both, we think, are hooded rats. Duncan is mostly white with a light tan head and stripe down his back. Tessa is mostly light tan (she looks like a dirty white color). Some of the babies are hooded, we cant really tell bc tessa is still a bit protective. I think it is a good mix of white, tan and hooded rats. Within the past couple days their eyes have opened and they are walking around the bottom of the cage.


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

Where did you get the two rats? It's quite irresponsible of them selling male and female to live together. A same sex pair should really have been bought. What are your plans for Duncan and Tessa now? I hope they aren't together now and won't be put back together, for the sake of Tessa's health and any complications with further babies.


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## ratatatat (Sep 24, 2009)

We purposely bought a male and female expecting a small litter of maybe 7, but got much more. We are going to have her spayed to prevent more pregnancies, but we can't separate them. They are miserable when they're not together. We will be separating the male and female babies when they reach 5 weeks until we can find homes for them. We plan to keep a couple, we just don't have room for them all.


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## chiklet1503 (Jun 12, 2009)

I hope the Duncan is separate from Tessa & the babies at this point... They should not be placed back together until Mom has weaned her litter and is spayed or she may wind up pregnant again.

What was your reasoning behind a male and female pair- it's quite obvious that the breeding was intentional/expected. Did you get your rats from a pet store or a breeder? 

Honestly, it worries me that you do not even know the color names of your rats yet you feel that letting them breed them is ok... I'm just letting you know from an outsider's standpoint, I would be very weary to adopt from you and I think this is something you should take into consideration while looking for potential homes. 

Also, have you not handled the babies at all yet? If they are ready to go in 2 weeks and you have not held them or bonded with them in any way, new homes should know that they have not been properly socialized and may time some time to come around. The babies will most likely be skittish and shy.

For your sake (and the babies), you should try to bribe Tessa away from them to figure out what you have as far as sexes, colors and such as well as some handling/bonding time every day.

I do hope that this was only a 1 time thing and that you do not plan to breed Tessa anymore... there are way too many rats in shelters and rescues who need loving homes :-(

Hopefully you are able to find homes and they grow up well...


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## ratatatat (Sep 24, 2009)

We have handled the babies several times but we haven't at this point checked if they are male or female yet. That it something we plan to do when we separate them next week. And yes this was a one time thing and I did not post this to get lectured and scolded from someone who is not my mother, I posted this to find someone who wants a pet rat so if you are not interested then please just move along.


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## MissaBees (Aug 27, 2009)

You obviously did not even look at the rest of the forum otherwise you would have expected a scolding...


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## pyronin (Sep 26, 2009)

Im so glad we have enthusiastic experienced rat owners out there to give wonderful words of encouragement. It was so helpful checking the forums when, as ametuers, we need some suggestions and advice. Thank you guys for not being judgemental to us newbies, your knowledge is overwhelming. From now on when I need help, I will stop and say "I know! I will ask those helpful forum folks on the internet!" We, and the baby rats, thank you.


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## chiklet1503 (Jun 12, 2009)

> We have handled the babies several times but we haven't at this point checked if they are male or female yet. That it something we plan to do when we separate them next week.


My post was rather 'constructive criticism' and not a lecture- I apologize if it comes across that way. I'm not trying to insult you at. I was trying to imply that if you knew how many males/females you had and their colors, you could begin to search for homes sooner with more luck. It's hard for someone to say 'I want a baby rat' and not know anything else about them, especially if they are already rat owners.

The reason I said that I hope Duncan and Tessa are not being housed together at this point is for the babies safety and for Tessa's health & safety. No need to get defensive, believe it or not we are here to help. We just don't like to hear that someone intentionally breeds since many people on this forum run or adopt rescues.


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## mishasmom (Jul 21, 2008)

Babies are not weaned until they are at least 5 weeks old. If they were just born on the 24th the earlies they should go to new homes is the end of October.


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## pyronin (Sep 26, 2009)

Ok, thank you. We have no problem with that, just trying to get a head start. If I had to classify them, some would be red eye champagne hooded. The coloring is very light on mom and pop, and a little more bold on the kids. At least one is almost all champagne (i think.) Thanks.


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