# My two recently adopted girls are pregnant???



## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

So to start off, i recently adopted 2 girls around 12 weeks old at the time of adoption (nearly 2 weeks ago) from pets at home adoption bit, so over the course of nearly 2 weeks, I've noticed they've been eating a whole lot, constantly rearranging their bedding, sleeping alot more than my boys?? and putting on alot of weight which i thought maybe im spoiling them too much? until yesterday where when i woke up it looked they had swallowed a golf ball each??? I panicked and took them to the vets as ive always had boys and yes they are chunky but nothing like that (just wanna point out before anyone assumes, my boys have not been no where near my girls, separate cages, separate rooms and separate playtimes. The boys cage is in the living room and the girls cage is in my bedroom.) So vet examined them and i expressed my concerns and he confirmed they are both pregnant, which took me a good 5 minutes to process that i'm about to have two litters. He said they should be here in the next few days - upto 1 week. So I've had nearly 24 hours to process this and deep breaths, I'm no longer very very angry and wanting to storm down pets at home. Although i will be calling them later. The vet gave very good and detailed advice on how their births should go and if there's any complications to bring them in which he stated complications are rare. So my question here is practically asking for any advice possible. Like is tissue ok for nest making? I use bedmax is that ok? If not what should i use? Amazon links? What extra foods should i give them, i know scrambled eggs is one of them and plain yogurt, apart from their large rat cage these are the only two spare cages i have from previous rodents I've owned. Tank bottom, wired top, bar spacing 1cm. Wayfair.co.uk - Shop Furniture, Lighting, Homeware & More Online do i remove the shelves or just the bottom ladder so only the mum can climb up? I know to separate the mums into separate cages (the vet advised that) should i wait or do that now? I know these are alot of questions but i just want things to go smoothly for these little ladies and their babies, the girls are so loving and amazing personalities and i refuse to part with them. I'm planning on spending the next few days of doing tons of research also.


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

Hi and welcome Li1MissChrissy.
Congratulations on your girls and babies-to-come.
Firstly, if you are interested, you might want to have a look at our old thread called "Phantom Pregnancy". 
Our first rat we adopted was a neutered male - the best boy ever. We got him 2 female friends, who very soon became pregnant because our boy wasn't neutered after all! So we had 2 litters at the same time and all the fun that went with it. A bit like your situation.
Like you, we separated them into separate bin cages before the birth (and the Dad had to live alone for a few weeks while the babies grew up and his (real) neuter worked). 
We just made sure the mums had lots of food/water, cashew nuts for milk production, privacy via a little hidey house in the cage, only one level to avoid falls, and good old kitchen paper towels for nesting material. They seem to love using the paper towels and you can clearly see how much blood they have lost during delivery. We also had to upgrade to slightly bigger bin cages at a few weeks old when the babies started to zoom around and play and grow. Then they eventually went into their proper permanent cages.
Our girls are normally very friendly, but they each got a bit bitey if we put our hand in the cage, from just before delivery time til a week or so after. Then they settled back to normal. Protective mother instinct. 
About setting up birthing cages, I would recommend the following link:






Keep us updated! Ask lots of questions. Other people on this forum will have good advice to offer - they did for us when our girls were expecting.
All the best, Ratbusters


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## Clarkbar (Oct 28, 2020)

This was a good resource when I had surprise babies. 








Baby Rats - A Guide To Baby Rat Care, Behavior and Development


A guide to life with baby rats. Discover how newborn rats develop week by week and how to look after them. A complete guide to baby rat care and behavior.



squeaksandnibbles.com


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

Thank you to you both! I'm just wondering whether i remove the shelves in the cage? Or just the bottom ladder? Also I've ordered some cashew nuts for them too 😊


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

Hi.
Those cages look good for little rat families in my opinion.
I probably would be inclined to remove the ladder and ledges, in case the mum wants to take the babies up onto a ledge and they fall.
I guess if you wanted to you could try leaving a ledge low down for the mum to take a break... if she moves the babies up there then remove it. A bit of trial and error.
Someone else might have advice to add, but I can imagine little babies being quite happy in there.


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

ratbusters said:


> Hi.
> Those cages look good for little rat families in my opinion.
> I probably would be inclined to remove the ladder and ledges, in case the mum wants to take the babies up onto a ledge and they fall.
> I guess if you wanted to you could try leaving a ledge low down for the mum to take a break... if she moves the babies up there then remove it. A bit of trial and error.
> Someone else might have advice to add, but I can imagine little babies being quite happy in there.



Thank you so much! That's the only thing I'm worried about is the girls taking their babies up there, I've been letting them come out multiple times a day (more than their usual playtime out the cage) just so they can see eachother, as i can assume they have been missing eachother, no babies yet but i keep noticing they are getting bigger, Midnight looks the biggest compared the Luna x


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

So checked on Luna and she’s in labor! I’ve left her alone to do her thing and watching from a distance quietly to make sure there’s no complications! Hearing the little squeaks is making me tear up 🥺


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

Luna has given birth to 9-10 healthy kits 😍


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

Congratulations on the babies! I'm so pleased that they all seem to have arrived safe and sound.


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## Newtorats (Jun 28, 2021)

Cute♥♥♥ How is midnight doing?


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

Midnight is doing well! She went into labor a couple of hours ago, looks about 12, everything seems to be going well so I think I’m gonna try and get some sleep 😊


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

Awww... reminds me of when our two sister rats had litters about the same time and they had 13 and 15 babies respectively. Double trouble! Hope the mums are doing well and enjoying their babies.


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

Mums are doing well! I was up till around 5am with midnight observing as at first she didn’t want to know the babies which was so worrying, I’ve not long woke up and they’ve got milk bands from what I can see! I’ll be doing a proper count later and weighing the little beans 😍


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

Midnights little beans are all doing well, all got milk bands and weighing between 6-7g 😍


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

Luna had 11 little beans :3 these little ones are weighing 6g apart from 2 that are 7&8g 😍


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## Tinytoes (Dec 23, 2020)

Aw, babies!!! And so many of them, congratulations on the beans


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## Clarkbar (Oct 28, 2020)

So many babies! Keep posting pictures as they grow up.


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

Babies are doing well! Weighed both litters they are all weighing 8g apart from 1 from each litter that are weighing 7g 🥰


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

Midnights baby’s are starting to go darker now 😍 and lunas babies are getting slightly more colour! Great weights too! Sadly one of lunas kits died last night, it was smaller than the rest so I’m guessing a runt 😞 but the other 10 are doing amazing!


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## Newtorats (Jun 28, 2021)

It is very sad that one died. I hope Midnight and Luna are still doing well and taking good care of their kits. Are you going to get a larger cage(s for the boys) or are you going to adopt the babies out


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

Midnight and luna are doing very well and taking good care of the kits 😊 i already have a spare large cage that the girls won't be using, so I'm considering of keeping some of the boys, but I won't be keeping them all ill be finding appropriate loving homes for some of them 😊


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## Newtorats (Jun 28, 2021)

I’m glad everyone is doing well. I do hope you keep us updated


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

I’m so in love with these little beans 😍


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## Newtorats (Jun 28, 2021)

Do you know why it says sensitive content?


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## Newtorats (Jun 28, 2021)

It won’t let me look


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

Newtorats said:


> Do you know why it says sensitive content?


I have no idea 😩


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## Newtorats (Jun 28, 2021)

Li1MissChrissy said:


> I have no idea 😩


Ok I managed to look at it it’s just a baby rat.


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

Newtorats said:


> Ok I managed to look at it it’s just a baby rat.


Not sure why they are marking a baby rat picture as that tho 😳


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

🥰


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## Tinytoes (Dec 23, 2020)

Aw!!! Thanks for sharing the pics. I've never had babies, but I can see why people are so over the moon when it happens.


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

Sorry haven’t posted in a few days, it’s been a hectic few days 😅 babies are doing well! Is it normal for some litters to be smaller in weight size? Like lunas is perfect weight, smallest being 19g largest 22g, then the rest 21g then with midnights the smallest two are 15g one is 16g most of the others are 17g then there’s one that is 18g, one that’s 19g and biggest is 20g? Also here’s some cute pictures of them! Loving the colours, estimating by the curly whiskers midnight has 8 rexs and Luna has 4 😍


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

This is what happened with our 2 litters: the "children" from the larger litter (15 babies) grew into smaller adults than the "children" from the smaller litter (13 babies). (We have kept some babies from each litter and they are now adults). We thought it could be because the larger litter size meant smaller babies, or it could be that the mother who had the larger litter was more petite to start with. Or maybe its a combination of both. It is very funny to see one of the adult boys (who is now quite large) next to his tiny little mother.  (The boys are neutered in case anyone is panicking about that. LOL)


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

ratbusters said:


> This is what happened with our 2 litters: the "children" from the larger litter (15 babies) grew into smaller adults than the "children" from the smaller litter (13 babies). (We have kept some babies from each litter and they are now adults). We thought it could be because the larger litter size meant smaller babies, or it could be that the mother who had the larger litter was more petite to start with. Or maybe its a combination of both. It is very funny to see one of the adult boys (who is now quite large) next to his tiny little mother.  (The boys are neutered in case anyone is panicking about that. LOL)


Oh so it's normal? Thank god 😂 I was panicking thinking there was something wrong, oh god I bet he's huge compared to her 😂 I know midnight is slightly smaller than luna, so could also be why the babies are smaller


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

Li1MissChrissy said:


> Oh so it's normal? Thank god 😂 I was panicking thinking there was something wrong, oh god I bet he's huge compared to her 😂 I know midnight is slightly smaller than luna, so could also be why the babies are smaller


Yes. Definitely our smaller mother had smaller babies (and more of them) whereas bigger mother had bigger babies. We weighed them regularly when they were newborn so we know of their weights. (Same as what you're doing). I guess it would be reason for concern if one or some of the babies failed to gain weight. But I'd be pretty sure that gaining weight steadily = healthy baby.


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

ratbusters said:


> Yes. Definitely our smaller mother had smaller babies (and more of them) whereas bigger mother had bigger babies. We weighed them when they were newborn so we know of their weights. (Same as what you're doing). I guess it would be reason for concern if one or some of the babies failed to gain weight. But I'd be pretty sure that gaining weight steadily = healthy baby.


I guess the only ones I'm concerned about is the two 15g's but they are gaining weight everyday just not as much as the others


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

Li1MissChrissy said:


> I guess the only ones I'm concerned about is the two 15g's but they are gaining weight everyday just not as much as the others


Maybe just keep weighing them regularly and if you are still concerned like if their weight gain slows down, jump back on the forum and see if anyone's got any advice. 
We had a runt in the litter of 15. He was literally half the weight of the others, and he even looked a bit underdeveloped/prem. I didn't really expect him to make it. He's now a shiny black berkie boy who is very handsome and healthy. 
Hope you're enjoying your rat babies! 🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

ratbusters said:


> Maybe just keep weighing them regularly and if you are still concerned like if their weight gain slows down, jump back on the forum and see if anyone's got any advice.
> We had a runt in the litter of 15. He was literally half the weight of the others, and he even looked a bit underdeveloped/prem. I didn't really expect him to make it. He's now a shiny black berkie boy who is very handsome and healthy.
> Hope you're enjoying your rat babies! 🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭🐭


Thank you, I weigh them daily anyways, so I'm keeping an eye on their weights definitely! I definitely am it's such an amazing experience watching them grow and change each day, I love them all so much ❤


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## Newtorats (Jun 28, 2021)

I’m sooo happy all the little ratties are doing well. Welcome larger mischief (I think rat groups being called mischiefs is so perfect)


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

😍


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

❤


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## Clarkbar (Oct 28, 2020)

Such a cute huddle of fuzzy beans!


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## Newtorats (Jun 28, 2021)

😍😍😍😍💜💜💜💜♥♥♥♥🥰🥰🥰🥰


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

All babies are doing well 🥰 can’t believe they are 16 days old today!! They are getting more lively and playing more now 😍


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## Newtorats (Jun 28, 2021)

<3


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

Luna and her floofs ❤


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

Midnight and her floofs ❤


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

The babies are looking lovely! There's such a lot of variety. Looks like some Rexes, a couple of Dumbos, and quite a few different colours. Thanks for posting the photos.


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

Midnight has 8 rexs 4 normal and luna has 4 rex and 6 normal 😍😍 id love to know what colour variety they are, they are absolutely gorgeous! One of midnight's babies (the black and white one) fur feels rougher than the other rexs so I'm thinking maybe a double rex?


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

Li1MissChrissy said:


> Midnight has 8 rexs 4 normal and luna has 4 rex and 6 normal 😍😍 id love to know what colour variety they are, they are absolutely gorgeous! One of midnight's babies (the black and white one) fur feels rougher than the other rexs so I'm thinking maybe a double rex?


Awww... I love the Dumbos. We don't have them in our country; only top eared. When our litters were born I kind of hoped we would get a random throw-back dumbo baby or two, but no.
Are you starting to pick out which one/s you will keep? You probably love them all.


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

I adore dumbos too they are so cute! Top eared are cute too 😁 I've picked a few out yes but I'm seeing if they change their colours during their molt stage and how their personalities turn out, I won't be doing any adoptions for any of them till they are 8 weeks so still got plenty of time with them to decide 😂 I'd love to keep them all but my other half says no 😂 I've definitely bonded with the black and white one, he's a boy by the looks of it, and he keeps walking back and forth at the door wanting trying to get to me 😂 I've moved the girls and their babies into a split off pet planet cage now since the babies have become very mobile so they can progress their motorskills which who knew babies could be amazing climbers especially at that age! So luna has the top of the pet planet and midnight has the bottom 😊 but yeah the ones I've got my eye on the most is one of the black smooths, the black rex, black and white since we have bonded already 😂, the blazed ones, and then there's one I'm really intrigued about he's like a greyish brown with a white belly then when the sunlight is beaming through the window he has a greyish blue tint to him so I'm wondering if he's a type of blue


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## Newtorats (Jun 28, 2021)

So cute. 50 posts on this thread. I don’t think I have seen that many and I have been reading rat forum posts since Christmas when I got my girlies. I’m so happy all the babies and the mommies are doing well. Good job Li1MissChrissy.


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## Clarkbar (Oct 28, 2020)

So cute... I can't handle it! I especially love the gray one with a white v on his neck.


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## Ratsypatsy (Feb 27, 2021)

Li1MissChrissy said:


> View attachment 306048
> Luna has given birth to 9-10 healthy kits 😍


Congratulations on all the new babies. Last year, I had a surprise litter of my own. My rat, Creamsicle, had 9 babies on June 15, 2020. There were 7 males and 2 females. Enjoy them. They are so fun to watch grow up


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## Newtorats (Jun 28, 2021)

Ratsypatsy said:


> Congratulations on all the new babies. Last year, I had a surprise litter of my own. My rat, Creamsicle, had 9 babies on June 15, 2020. There were 7 males and 2 females. Enjoy them. They are so fun to watch grow up


The male to female ratio is really weird.


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## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

Newtorats said:


> The male to female ratio is really weird.


How so?


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## Newtorats (Jun 28, 2021)

CorbinDallasMyMan said:


> How so?


Wouldn’t it be closer to half female half male? It’s very possible that 7 males and 2 females would occur but abnormal right?


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## Li1MissChrissy (Aug 6, 2021)

Newtorats said:


> Wouldn’t it be closer to half female half male? It’s very possible that 7 males and 2 females would occur but abnormal right?


Not at all, I sexed the babies luna has 6 girls 4 boys and midnight has 9 boys 3 girls 😂


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## Newtorats (Jun 28, 2021)

Li1MissChrissy said:


> Not at all, I sexed the babies luna has 6 girls 4 boys and midnight has 9 boys 3 girls 😂


Ok. I don’t have a lot of experience with rats so I thought I was like most animals were they have a similar male/female ratio.


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