# sleepy....my girls sleep...A LOT!



## Twister (Dec 28, 2011)

So every night for at least two hours I spend time snuggling with the girls. I curl up on the couch with a blanky and they curl up and...go to sleep! The are not interested in anything...although if I bring yogurt they wake up...get covered and then go right back to sleep! They are supposed to be about 7 weeks old now...is it normal for them to be so sleepy? Would they still be considered babies?? Do baby rats, like baby humans, sleep a lot? Is this normal baby rat behaviour?? We have hardly seen them do much at all. My son and his b/f played with them quite a bit on the weekend...not sure how much they liked that! But they still seem very shy and want to hide in the blanket when I take them out.


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## CarolineRose (Nov 18, 2011)

First off rats are nocturnal, they generally sleep pretty much all day and reach peek activity at around 3 o'clock in the morning (this might be a little of but this is what mine do) Are you sure of their ages? Baby rats and older rats tend to sleep more as they tire easier, but seven week old female rats are generally wired, at least mine were. A picture might allow the more skilled members of the forum to give you an approximate age.

As for the socialization, it can take a few weeks to humanize a new rat if it hasn't been exposed to people from a young age.

You're the best judge of your pets health, so if you believe they are acting lethargic then it is probably time to take them to the vet. This can signal many illnesses like URIs or a secondary infection, which are very common in rats.


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## Twister (Dec 28, 2011)

Sorry...can you tell me what a URI is?


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## binkyhoo (Sep 28, 2008)

Upper respiratory infection. Like a rattie cold. Sneezing and drippy nose.


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## Twister (Dec 28, 2011)

Hmm....they don't seem to be exhibiting any symptoms like that. How young can they be weaned from their mothers? I mean this woman told us that they were 4 weeks but they're pretty small...I think. They HAVE grown since we brought them home but they still fit in the palm of my hand. I guess I should take some pics and post. brb!


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## CarolineRose (Nov 18, 2011)

Generally rats stay with their mothers until about 5 weeks. Some separate them sooner, but studies show that it is beneficial to both their physical and emotional development if they are kept with their mother.


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## giggles_mcbug (Sep 10, 2011)

CarolineRose said:


> You're the best judge of your pets health, so if you believe they are acting lethargic then it is probably time to take them to the vet. This can signal many illnesses like URIs or a secondary infection, which are very common in rats.


This.This.This.


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## Twister (Dec 28, 2011)

Well ironically after this post I had the girls out and they were HYPER!! Normally they just want to curl up in the blanket and sleep...but this time they wanted to skamper all over the place! So I'm pretty sure they are fine.

Ok..I know I said I'd BRB with a pic but I got distracted playing with them! LOL! Here is a pic of Sprocket.








Anyone care to give a guestimate on age? All three are sisters from the same litter and are all pretty similar in size although Cricket seems to be a tad bigger. Sprocket was still sleepy/cuddly last night but Skampers and Cricket were very active! We brough them home three days before Christmas but they spent most of their time up to boxing day in a very small hamster cage. Boxing day we got the Critter Nations cage so it's been just over 2 weeks for them and during that time there has been quite a bit of cage re-arranging with my son and his best friend. We were told they were 4 weeks when we picked them up but I'm not so sure??


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## Twister (Dec 28, 2011)

Anyone have any ideas on age?


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## giggles_mcbug (Sep 10, 2011)

they're pretty little. Maybe 6-7 weeks?


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