# Pregnant Rat from the Petstore...



## Nicholicious (Jan 28, 2011)

Good evening all.

I have been reading up on your wonderful wealth of knowledge here and I know this is a long shot but was hoping someone could help me estimate when my baby girl may be having her own babies.

Background: I was at the pet store about 2 weeks ago and fell in love with a PEW feeder rat. They had moved them to the front of the store while they cleaned cages or some such. She was super sweet (crawled right up in my hand and wouldnt leave. I had to pry her off.). I just couldn't let her meet that end.

About 2 days ago I noticed that her belly had expanded almost overnight. I knew she had been gaining a little bit of weight but just assumed as a feeder rat she wasnt being provided the best care and was flourishing with a better diet. But 2 days ago it started to look as though she swallowed a tennis ball and her nipples became more pronounced. That is when I came to the realization that I may have purchased more than just one rat from that petstore.

She is not nesting and her personality hasnt changed. Of course she would have been pregnant the entire time I have known her so I suppose I wouldnt know. I know the gestation is usually 21 days but does anyone have any tells or suggestions to identify when she may be getting close.

This is definitely more than I bargained for but she is worth it. She gives the sweetest kisses and always comes when she is called. I call her Ms. Tinkles because she scent marked me every time she touched me that first week. Thankfully that has calmed a bit now.

Thanks all!
Nikki


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## Autumnrose (Jan 24, 2011)

I've had an accidental litter before, and I gotta tell you, you WILL be overwhelmed. I've known rats to have up to 12 babies. Although that may be rare. Mine had nine. I didn't have any complications, and all mine survived. I couldn't provide good homes for all of them though, I kept three (and the parents of course) and found the rest good homes. Hopefully you can find your rat's babies good homes too. Please keep updated!


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Autumn Rose said:


> I've had an accidental litter before, and I gotta tell you, you WILL be overwhelmed. I've known rats to have up to 12 babies. Although that may be rare. Mine had nine. I didn't have any complications, and all mine survived. I couldn't provide good homes for all of them though, I kept three (and the parents of course) and found the rest good homes. Hopefully you can find your rat's babies good homes too. Please keep updated!


Hahaha Autumn, I have known rescue litters of 16 so 10-12 babies is actually average.

Nicholicious - Do you have a digital scale you could weigh your girl on? Weighing her every day at the same time will give the more experienced people an idea of when she is due.


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## karinulph (Jul 19, 2010)

Make sure to keep a female for your girl as cagemate 
Congrats on the babies, you're gonna have your hands full!


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## Nicholicious (Jan 28, 2011)

I do not have a digital scale  I will definitely keep her a friend (girls of course) or two though and try to find suitable homes for the rest. I think she is close now though.

She just started nesting like crazy a few hours ago. She wont sit still. She has rearranged her whole cage several times. She's a like a furry flash of lightning lol I've had her around 2 weeks so I believe it has to be this week. I will keep you all posted.

~Nikki


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

Nicholicious said:


> I do not have a digital scale  I will definitely keep her a friend (girls of course) or two though and try to find suitable homes for the rest. I think she is close now though.
> 
> She just started nesting like crazy a few hours ago. She wont sit still. She has rearranged her whole cage several times. She's a like a furry flash of lightning lol I've had her around 2 weeks so I believe it has to be this week. I will keep you all posted.
> 
> ~Nikki


Shes in a regular cage? If so, you need to move her to an aquarium or make a bin cage.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

smesyna said:


> Nicholicious said:
> 
> 
> > I do not have a digital scale  I will definitely keep her a friend (girls of course) or two though and try to find suitable homes for the rest. I think she is close now though.
> ...


I have used cages every time for my momma's. But there are rules to using these cages.

1) bar spacing has to be very small
2) the wire part of the cage has to sit into the top of the base, so no newborns can get stuck into the bar spacing.


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## Nicholicious (Jan 28, 2011)

We are having babies RIGHT NOW. 1 and counting. We are also in the process of moving but I will try to get some pictures up tonight or tomorrow.

She is being very sweet (as always). I reached my hand in there to pet her before I noticed what was under her and she didnt give me any attitude at all- just moved the baby gently out of the way.


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## Nicholicious (Jan 28, 2011)

Update: I believe I may have hit the accidental litter lottery. She appears to have stopped at 5 babies. I was terrified of the 20 count litter stories. Whew.

Now I know even if I cant find homes that I find acceptable I will be able to care for all of them. It is a big relief.

Pictures still to come.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Congrats to you and the new momma. Happy birthday eepers! ;D


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## begoodtoanimals (Dec 6, 2007)

Happy Birthday!
I hope you'll keep them and have the males neutered. you are going to have sooooo much fun with them. They only live a very short life so you are not stuck for the next twenty years.
You soound like the best rattty mom they could find. Lucky ratties. Please post pictures!


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## Sampson (Feb 7, 2011)

We're new rat owners and just bought a couple at the pet store on Friday night. One of them looked a little fat and was nesting pretty hard yesterday so I did some research on your forum and separated her from the other girls just in case. Sure enough, we came home to 12 pups this afternoon. I've got mom some high protein cat food and she seems to be doing everything she needs to. 

When is it ok for us to move pieces of her paper towel nest, start handling the pups and check to be sure everyone is alive and well? Mom sees to be prety good natured.


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

Sampson- you can handle babies the next day, and need to hold them every day. I'd wait until tomorrow just to be safe before holding them. Mommie's stressed enough, don't need to make it worse.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

you can actually handle them right from the first day, and it's best to do so. just make sure to take mom out first for a while... she'll appreciate the break too  just keep the handlings short but frequent while they're still young.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

and please don't feed the cat food its just too high in protein, a good staple diet like quality lab blocks, extra veggies, and protein sources like eggs, fish and chicken, rather than cat food are what you should be feeding.


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## Sampson (Feb 7, 2011)

Thanks guys!! I'll take mom out tonight for a break and hold the babies. She has one in particular that she has kicked out of the nest twice now. Whenever I reached in yesterday to put it back she ran and grabbed it, so I'm hoping it's still in the nest when I get home.


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## Autumnrose (Jan 24, 2011)

If she's rejecting one of her babies, it may be best that you take things into your own hands. I've had someone give me a rejected baby once, and I guess I don't have too much experience, but I was able to keep her alive with cat formula. I don't know if it's the best though, and hopefully someone else can be of more help, but it sounds like the mommy isn't feeding this one. They should sell bottles at your local pet store for the kitten formula, and I was lucky enough to find a nipple for a ferret that was just about the right size for the rat. I hope it works out and that I'm worrying for nothing.


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

Look at the "reject" baby. If he/she has a milk band, don't worry too much, but keep an eye on it. Otherwise, you may want to try hand feeding, but it's very difficult with a ratty. They're so small.


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## Sampson (Feb 7, 2011)

My husband stayed home today and checked in on them. For some reason there's always one out of the nest and he kept putting it back, but they all have milk bands, so that's the good news. I'm wondering if I should mark it to see if it's the same one she keeps kicking out. 

All 12 survived the night though, so that's good news! Now that we've gotten over the shock we're so excited about handling them. Mom is actually very nice and lets me take the babies out while she's in there keeping watch. I did let her out for about 20 minutes so she could get a break and get some exercise.

She inhaled some scrambled eggs, so good call on those. I also gave her some veggies and rat pellets.


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

Sounds like you are doing a good job, and marking is a good idea. A small sharpie mark will do fine. 

Eggs are good, veggies are always good, and you do want to keep up the regular food. You could also offer a bit of cooked oatmeal if you want to give a tiny bit more variety.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Sometimes with larger litters mom's will shift feed...have a main group the she feeds and a separate pile she feeds after,


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