# Noob to all this.



## keiyako (Aug 16, 2012)

I've had rats before but they were all Males. I recently decided to half these beauties back in my life, I picked a Male and a Female. Both very skiddish ans I could tell they had little human interaction. I kept them in seperate cages till my cats knocked one of them over and broke it. They were with each other for only a few days before I was able to get another one. My female, Aria, just had 11 ratlets on Tuesday and I was NOT expecting it at all. The night before when I picked her up, I could tell she was pregnant because it looked like she swallowed a small peach and her belly was bouncing every which way. I figured I would have another week or so to prepare myself, as I have never had dealt with babies before, well... I only had 12 hours to prepare myself. I'm doing everything that I've read to make sure she has enough in her diet and checking on them daily to make sure there is nothing wrong with them and they are all still healthy. I just want to know what you suggest that I do. I have them caged in a 15 gal long sliding lock lid terrarium, and Gandalf, the dad, in his own. I wish I could buy them a wire cage setup for better ventilation but my cats won't leave them alone as it is.Is there certain things I should feed the mother or even put in the tank to ensure they are healthy and happy? Any help and/or suggestions would be awesome.I would love to show pictures but I'm currently on my phone and it won't let me.


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## Phantom (Apr 4, 2012)

Feed her a bit of protein such as some scrambled egg.


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

Make sure she gets plenty of protein, and a bit more fat, like mealworms, boiled/scrambled eggs, sunflower seeds, Maybe a small amount of cooked fish. 

Its best to keep her in the tank or a modified bin, it keeps babies from falling out and helps keep it warmer. I suggest getting either a Much better wire cage, it shouldn't fall apart if a cat knocks it over, in fact most wire cages are too heavy for a cat to knock over to break.

What I do suggest though is to get Gandalf, and any of the male young you keep, neutered so they can live together and keep accidents like this from happening. It would also be a lot less stressful then having two groups (males and females separated).

Don't worry everyone makes mistakes, I would do much more research though.


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