# Boy rat actually a girl! Now what??



## 18snickers (Sep 4, 2012)

I bought 2 "boy" rats from a Petco store about a month and a half ago. I noticed one had much larger testicles than the other, but I assumed it was because that one was so much bigger. Well now George has lots of nipples, no penis, and no sign of testicles. The only reason I made this observation is because I noticed him/her getting bigger. She's been in the cage with my other rat who's definitely a male this whole time. I'm so afraid she's pregnant and I don't have the slightest idea what to do right now as I just made the discovery! Please help :/


----------



## Korra (Dec 11, 2011)

Why does this seem to happen to people so much 

Post some pics of the girl and her belly, but you can about guarantee that she is pregnant.


----------



## 18snickers (Sep 4, 2012)

I don't know, I'm so upset! I specifically asked the workers at the petstore and they assured me they were all males. On top of that, I thought they were sick and had the pet store keep them over night one weekend to monitor them and they never said a thing about one being a girl! I will go take picture right now. Do you have any advice? I've got the money for a new cage or whatever she'll need, but I don't have a clue what to do  I'd hate to have to get rid of her or my boy.


----------



## 18snickers (Sep 4, 2012)

You know upon taking these pictures, I think I answered the question myself..she's definitely pregnant. Her belly does NOT normally look like this.


----------



## 18snickers (Sep 4, 2012)




----------



## aripatsim (Jul 26, 2012)

Oh my god! This happens far too often with people. I'm not usually the confrontational type when it comes to stores/businesses but I'd let them know exactly how I feel about them selling me a so-called "male" rat and that they need to get their friggen facts straight!!

Anyway! I'm sorry, I don't have any advice on what to do with a pregnant rat, but I wouldn't get rid of one. If you don't want to seperate them and get them each a new friend, then you'll have to take your boy to get neutered. I've heard neutured males are wonderful lol

If you MUST get rid of one I'd say give the male to a good home. It might be too much stress on the female right now to switch homes, get used to something new, etc. Plus you'd have to make sure that the new owner is experienced with pregnant/baby rats. Unless you know of something offhand that is reputable...


----------



## 18snickers (Sep 4, 2012)

Yea I'm quite angry at them! I suspected earlier, but i figured he was just young still and I didn't know what I was looking at. Surprise! Now he's a she and she's pregnant. Well I recently bought 3 babies who I just checked and are definitely all boys, but they're too young to put with the male yet. I'd like to have them in one cage though and was think what if I just got her spayed and she lived with them. do you think that would be an issue? Also I've heard there's more risk for some reason in spaying??


----------



## Korra (Dec 11, 2011)

Yup totally pregnant. And gonna drop in a few days. The other day I went to a pet store and was looking in the feeder bin with someone who just happened to be trying to purchase two of them as pets. She wanted to save them, they were cheaper than the ones labeled as pets, and she liked how they looked. 
Well she asked the attendant to help her and the person goes..."Why do you want specific ones back there...there are pets up front." The girl said she liked the one hooded blue dumbo alot and the woman said their are no dumbos back here that is all up front."
I interjected and said "there are 3 blue dumbos in here alone, 2 blue rex pups in the mouse bin, and a giant blue pregnant female back here as well. The line between pet and feeder is non existent. They are all the same animal and probably from the same breeder."
Well she shrugged and went around to get the two males the girl asked for. The girl asked me if I could tell the genders of the roughly 2-3 month old ratties. I barely glanced at them running around and said males. The worker went in back and GRABBED THEM NEAR THE END OF THEIR TAILS and said "Hey you do know these are females right?"
Without a second breath I said "No they are males, both of them."
The woman shrugged again and struggled for 5 minutes trying to get the rats into the girls carrier. Needless to say it is obvious that this is how this keeps happening. Pet stores cannot tell the difference between a boy and a girl. I mean, it is one thing to glance at a baby and mistake the clitoris for a penis, but totally another to look at a nearly full grown male and say it is a female...it is unreal.

You can definitely have her spayed. DO NOT keep her in with the male anymore until after her babies are weaned. I would suggest separating her into a tank by herself now. A male can get a female pregnant again the day she has pups. So she needs to be alone for that time.


----------



## trematode (Sep 8, 2012)

This is why I really dislike petstores :/

Let them know how you feel and don't go back.

Best of luck with your situation. Wish I had more advice other than that.


----------



## 18snickers (Sep 4, 2012)

I went and bought a separate rat cage for her today and she's in there now hopefully getting used to it. I know this is hard to tell, but can anyone with experience tell how far along she is? I have no idea when she mated with my male, but I hate to have them in separate cages like this. I feel like they're lonely.  Also is there anything I need to do to help the mom or the babies?? From what I've researched it seems she will take care of most of it, but is there anything else i need to do, buy, or be prepared for? And yea I no longer have any respect for Petco. I suspected after I brought them home she was a male, but dismissed it because they assured me they were males. Some of them even said they had rats themselves so for them to have them overnight and be handling and checking out my rats for illness and NOT inform me I have a boy and GIRL is just rude and wrong.


----------



## YellowSpork (Jul 7, 2012)

I hate Petco so much now. -_-" It's like I hear nothing but bad things about them, and I've only had bad experiences with them.  My girl from them was sexed right, but they refused to treat her until I brought her home overnight and "proved" she was sick even though the lady working there KNEW she was! And then they tried to tell me I had to leave her at their vet for two weeks instead of them reimbursing me for a visit to a vet I know and trust... Ugh.

Anyway. I'd send them a complaint or something... idk. They're really just awful in general. lol.

I've always read that when a female is about to give birth to put her in a tank or bin cage with a mesh lid because babies can get caught in wire and such, or escape wire cages. Provide her with nesting material (like kleenex or papertowel) and don't have anything the babies could get on and fall off of to hurt themselves. Also feed her some extra protein to help make her milk more nutritious for the little ones. 

That's all I can really remember... but I'm sure someone else with more experience will chime in! Good luck! It's still rather unfortunate, but at least you get the cuteness of baby rats in your home! lol


----------



## halfmoon (Mar 29, 2010)

There's a sticky in the accidental litter section of the forum that has pretty much everything you'll need to know. Check it out and good luck with your bubs!


----------

