# Uh-Oh. Worried.



## Roxy the Rat (Apr 7, 2013)

So I recently got a new female rat, since 88 had been taken in a drug bust. Anyways, recently her belly has starts growing a bit. I'm worried that she may be pregnant, since I have no. Idea what housing was like from hearing her previous home. Anyways, I've got her in a small cage for now until I introduce her to the rest of my pets. If signs progress, I should move her to a tank, correct?

I've never had a litter before and I've never planned for one, so I know very little about what I should do. I know I should give her lots of warm nesting stuff, some extra protein...what else?

I'll start adding scrambled eggs in with her food. What other precautions should I take? One more thing... I know that normally you can and should handle babies as soon as possible. Assuming that she is pregnant, would I still be able to handle the babies despite that she doesn't know me all that well, or will she eat/neglect the babies if they've got my smell on them? I know that's kind of jumping the gun - and hopefully not something I have to deal with! - but I'd like to be as prepared as possible just in case. I'd rather know and not need it than need it and not know. 

I'll take pictures as soon as I can and see what you think. 


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Contact the rescue you got her from. This shouldn't have happened, they normally quarantine to watch for this sort of thing. 
She'll only be pregnant 21 days. She needs something with no bars until the kits open their eyes. She needs about 18-22 % protein and you should socialize her soon or it can become biting and a problem passed to her kits (check immersion guide on rat behavior). She won't kill them unless she gets super stressed but petting her before handling can reduce her obsessive grooming of them post handling. 


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## Roxy the Rat (Apr 7, 2013)

I didn't get her from a rescue. It was through the humane society and more specifically a pet store since they couldn't house all the rats at the humane society. I know that they have always had a policy saying that if any pets are pregnant, you can bring them back and get your pet once the babies are weaned. However, what with the current housing situation, I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that. Aside from that, I was the first one to get one. I have a bad feeling that they may be forced to euthanize some of the rats later on down the road. 

And it's not that she's not socialized- I've been taking her out and she really doesn't mind me. She runs all over my bed but comes back to check on me occasionally, snuggles in my hair, and yesterday I had my legs bent and she sat underneath of them grooming herself for nearly five minutes. She's not a huge fan of prolonged handling, but then again few female rats ever are. Right off the bat she was very friendly, and she's definitely more comfortable with me now than she was before. It's just that she's not 100% bonded with me yet I don't think, and I didn't want to put babies at risk if that's what it came to.

I started immersion with her the first day I got her, but was interrupted and haven't had a chance to start again. 


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

With pregnant rats, you want their absolute trust. It makes it easier to handle and monitor babies. My girl would drag my hand to her nest for grooming while I inspected her kits, but one time I asked my boyfriend to grab one and be bled real bad from her bite. 


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## Roxy the Rat (Apr 7, 2013)

Thankfully, it seems as if she isn't pregnant. Her stomach is still big, but I'm think that she's just overweight, since it's been big for over a week now and from what I hear she'll only start showing just a few days before giving birth, correct? Her nipples haven't started showing, and she hasn't been nesting any moreso than my other rats. I'm so glad, to be honest. 

On another note, she seems to be settling in well. I've found that she won't explore unless I'm near, and even then she runs back to me every now and again. Her sneakiness is also starting to show through though xD Once she starts feeling bolder, I'm afraid that I'll have another trouble maker ^.^

Anyways, thanks for the help. I really appreciate it, even though I won't be needing it!


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## Roxy the Rat (Apr 7, 2013)

I think I spoke to soon. Her nipples started showing today.








It's not the best picture, but I wasn't easy to get. *sigh* it looks like the threat of babies is still looming.


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## abratforarat (Jan 12, 2014)

What I did was just cover her cage with a blanket when July was pregnant. Give her some egg and yogurt and anything else fatty. She did not trust me at first but when the 
babies started to grow and move around I opened one side of the cage and when she started to go out to gather nesting and food I picked up the baby's. Do this everyday 
until she starts to trust you. Then you can start putting her in a room if you have a pet that would eat her. Soon she will trust you so much she will let you put you hand in 
while she's still in the cage. But don't look at her when she's nursing! I tried that and she just stopped.


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