# (another) are they pregnant thread....



## chickenlicken (Mar 28, 2011)

Im pretty experienced with rats but a) ive not kept females for over 10 yrs and b)ive never had any so young

Ive been told these girls are about 7-8 weeks, 8 at the very very most. The last time they were in with an intact male was about half a week ago. I know the only sure way to tell is wait and see if babies appear, but ive been staring at the stomachs so long now i cant work out if they apear slightly rounded or not.....


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I don't see obvious pregnancy but at 1.5 weeks in, you wouldn't see much anyway. If they were 7 weeks of age, then they were 5.5 weeks when they were with the male. Extremely unlikely to be pregnant.

How old was the male, this can be very important. Was there an adult female in the bunch as well?

If they are 8 weeks then they were 6.5 weeks old and its still unlikely but more likely to have been impregnated.

I would advise getting your hands on a digital scale and weighing all the girls once a day at the same time every day. Record the weights and post them for us to help you determine whether its little babies growing up or a potential pregnancy.


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Is it true that young boys at like 5 weeks even though they are able to reproduce, usually don't because they are more interested in playing?


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2011)

I don't see obvious pregnancy, but like lilspaz68 said..

Kiko, I've seen 5 week babies try a couple of times on older females, but I don't remembering hearing of pregnancy.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Its mounting behaviour with baby boys (and girls) not true mating behaviours. And yes all babies just want to play


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## BVR.rats (Sep 17, 2009)

Like Lilspaz says - daily weighing is going to be the best way to determine pregnancy. They won't necessarily gain weight every single day, and sometimes may slip a few grams, but over the course of pregnancy, most does gain about 100g.

http://bvrattery.wordpress.com/2010/12/11/weight-gains-interesting/ That's a post I made with regards to weight gain - I find the average posted gains are pretty close to true for every litters I've had since!


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## chickenlicken (Mar 28, 2011)

they are growing so fast i wont weigh them, i dont think it will be conclusive unless i had some very expensive scales, which i do not. I will just play the waiting game, I guess really if its two weeks til they are safe then in a week they would have the famous tennis ball shape, or atleast starting with it, so im just going to enjoy them, as they will all be rehomed shortly, thanks


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## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

The babies are being rehomed, or the rats?


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## chickenlicken (Mar 28, 2011)

the rats, they are fosters, and more importantly not pregnant which is a relief! two have homes already so just three to rehome now


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## sorraia (Nov 10, 2007)

Those pictures don't make them look particularly pregnant, but if they are still early in their term they may not be showing either. 

At their age weighing isn't going to tell you anything other than the fact they are growing. They may be "growing" because of pregnancy, OR they could just be growing up because they are babies.


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