# Agh. Rat babies.



## amberdyan (Dec 6, 2010)

Okay, so my sister and I recently adopted 2 rats, Aria and Amelia. Long story short, I volunteer at a very small local shelter, and they were brought in with a bunch of others. We have an awesome vet who was willing to neuter the 4 boys at cost, so we went ahead and did it. Aria and Amelia were at the shelter for almost 3 weeks before I took them home, and they had had their health cleared on day one. So imagine my surprise when Amelia SUDDENLY BLOWS UP LIKE A BALLOON. I'm worried that she's sick- make a vet appointment for 3 days later. However, when checking on her, I'm greeted with this:
Five pink squirming rats.


















I was NOT prepared at all. I had done zero research, because I was so certain they wouldn't be pregnant.
I called the shelter and we had a meeting to figure out how this could have happened. One of our younger (like a freshman in high school) volunteers burst into tears and admitted that she let some of the boys and girls out at the same time, figuring it was okay since the boys were neutered. However, there's a period after the surgery when males can still impregnate females. Grr!

I've separated Amelia into a big bin with the babies and am still trying to decide on things like bedding, whether to keep the igloo or not... etc. Right now she has an igloo with CareFresh. Trying to find as much info as I can. mom is getting extra protein from chicken, salmon and eggs. 

Unfortunately, Aria also suddenly looks huge, and is a big biting grouch bucket. I really hope I can find good homes for them, since I don't think I can have like ten rats.. My cage is big enough for 4 max, so I would be okay with having three in there if we decided to keep one. They are ridiculously adorable and I'm sure raising them will be an enjoyable experience, but I REALLY did not want any more rats to come out of this bad situation. Especially since there are already so many in shelters. Gah. Any advice?

These were taken today, and they're about 2 1/2 days old.


----------



## rattiesalem24 (Feb 21, 2010)

Grr, that volunteer! 

Well, at least it was only 5, but fingers are crossed the other one is just chubby!

You could post a new thread in needing homes with your location, just in case.

Fingers crossed!


----------



## SmangoandFern (Dec 1, 2010)

*FACEPALM* Haha. Well, I hope you share you're journey with us! ;D Please post pics later if you can! I also really hope you can find good homes for these guys!


----------



## amberdyan (Dec 6, 2010)

I'll be sure to post pictures. It looks like people sometimes post pictures of daily growth, that could could be fun. And then if there was a problem I couldn't detect, others could comment on it 

I'll be sure to post in the needing homes section!

p.s. This is Aria. If she's not pregnant... is she sick? Does she need to see a vet? That doesn't look like chub... since it's so central to her belly. If it is chub, does she need less food?


----------



## SmangoandFern (Dec 1, 2010)

I'm no certified vet or anything, but to me, she looks PREGGERZ. :


----------



## amberdyan (Dec 6, 2010)

Blah. She HUGE isn't she?! She's even bigger than Amelia was... which scares me when it comes to litter size. And she didn't look big at all until the day before yesterday.


----------



## rattiesalem24 (Feb 21, 2010)

I'm no expert but I'd have to say she's definitely pregnant .

Lets hope that they are just big babies!


----------



## SmangoandFern (Dec 1, 2010)

Indeed she is TREMENJUS. She reminds me of one of those doll things where you pop off the top and there's another doll inside, then another, then another.. (You get the picture) It looks like a big litter. :


----------



## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

That is a pregnant rat tummy 
Give the nursing mom and pregnant mom extra protein in the form of eggs chicken and fish. Nothing fried though.


I hope she has a tiny litter!


----------



## eluin (Jan 25, 2010)

Yeah. I wouldn't be surprised you find babies in that nest come morning. That is one big preggers belly. Make sure you dont have both moms in the same cage though, or they might try to steal each other's babies and the babies can get hurt or even killed in the process.


----------



## amberdyan (Dec 6, 2010)

BLERG! Update: She hasn't had the babies yet, but she is GROUCHY. I had to use an oven mitt to move her to the bin we made. 
Amelia and her babies are in a big rubbermaid container that I modified using instructions I found on here, and I just moved Aria to(a separate) one too. They're both on their lab blocks and veggies and are now getting chicken, egg, and salmon. 
I'll try to sex them soon, I read that you can see the undescended testicles on the males? 
I know to separate them at 5 weeks on the dot- I plan on moving moms and a few lady babies into the Martin cage, and I have a smaller cage that either some males or some females can go into, and I'll have to buy another cage... it all just depends on the ratio of males to females. I've been asking around and my sister believes she's already found homes for 4 of them, and a friend who has some males says she has an extra cage she could potentially use to foster. 

I was one day off on when they were born. I found them and thought my sister said that she had already seen them the day before, but apparently not. So they aren't as many days old as I thought. Still, Should I be worried that their babies are at least 3 days apart (assuming Aria has them tonight)? Since I know they were impregnated on the same day? They were born either late Thursday night or Early Friday morning.


----------



## Zenia (Dec 3, 2010)

You can easily sex rats! I am not sure how old they have to be to see everything clearly as I have never handled pinkies (though I might soon). However...

Females have nipples, males do not.
Not including the anus directly below the tail, males have only ONE other opening down there, females have TWO. Since just like in humans, the males urethra doubles for carrying urine and semen. Females have the urethra (so this looks similar on them both) plus the vaginal opening just below that. 

Good luck and I hope miss grouchy pants has a small litter too! Post more pictures! lol


----------



## eluin (Jan 25, 2010)

amberdyan said:


> BLERG! Update: She hasn't had the babies yet, but she is GROUCHY. I had to use an oven mitt to move her to the bin we made.
> Amelia and her babies are in a big rubbermaid container that I modified using instructions I found on here, and I just moved Aria to(a separate) one too. They're both on their lab blocks and veggies and are now getting chicken, egg, and salmon.
> I'll try to sex them soon, I read that you can see the undescended testicles on the males?
> I know to separate them at 5 weeks on the dot- I plan on moving moms and a few lady babies into the Martin cage, and I have a smaller cage that either some males or some females can go into, and I'll have to buy another cage... it all just depends on the ratio of males to females. I've been asking around and my sister believes she's already found homes for 4 of them, and a friend who has some males says she has an extra cage she could potentially use to foster.
> ...


It is just like people. Some moms deliver early, some moms go late, but 9 months is the average. Rats are 21 days, but I've seen breeders post 22-24 days regulary, so she might just be popping late. I wouldn't worry too much unless she is showing signs of distress (IE: staining, but not giving birth, bleeding, anything like that).


----------



## Kiko (Sep 18, 2009)

Me and other experienced members can determine the gender of a baby rat hours after birth but you dont have to. at 2 1/2 weeks it should be clear what genders they are since you would be able to pick them up and look for testicles on man rats and nipples on females.


----------



## SmangoandFern (Dec 1, 2010)

Any updates? Has she had any ratletts? ???


----------



## amberdyan (Dec 6, 2010)

Sorry for the lack of updates. I left my computer at my girlfriends which is an hour away, so im typing this on my e reader. Unfortunately that means i cant show you pictures of the 14 BABIES ARIA HAD LAST NIGHT. i was freaking out when counting. Its so many! Im really worried about finding them all good homes. Amellias babies are fat And healthy looking. Ill post pics as soon as i can.


----------



## Zenia (Dec 3, 2010)

Oh my gosh!! I hope that Pepper doesn't have that many! X__X Good luck with them, I can't wait to see pictures!


----------



## SmangoandFern (Dec 1, 2010)

Holy CHEEZITS! Do you know how glad I am that human women can't have twelvetuplets and so on? Well, aside that, I can't wait to see updates!


----------



## VictorianVanity (Mar 18, 2010)

Oh dear. D: I hope everyone makes it through healthy, and you can rehome them all successfully.


----------



## amberdyan (Dec 6, 2010)

Update: 
Aria had 14 babies. She separated them into two piles of seven shortly after giving birth. I read that they can sometimes do this since they don't have enough nipples to nurse more than twelve. 
However, unfortunately, she soon quit nursing the second set of babies (I think). I didn't realize it at first, and by the time I did, I think it was too late. I got milk for nursing kittens, but they all still passed away . 

So, now there are 7 (this was a few days ago. It seems like they're twice the size now)


















I'm worried, however, because it seems like Aria has labored breathing, possibly? I'm sure it sounds dumb that I'm unsure... but she isn't making any sounds that indicate problems breathing, yet all of the sudden I can SEE what I believe to be here breathing in and out quickly (when looking at her body). It just started last night, and my vet is still on holiday. I can't find another in my area who will do rats- except for one- and she won't see Aria because she's nursing. She says you can't give a nursing rat antibiotics so there's nothing she could do? Does this sound legitimate? I'm so worried


----------



## Zenia (Dec 3, 2010)

Awwww I am so sorry to hear that half of them passed away. T__T Maybe 14 were too taxing for her?


----------



## Alethea (Jul 14, 2010)

Aww I am sorry to hear that 7 of the babes passed. May they rest in peace :3


----------



## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

You can't give many antibiotics to nursing rats, but amoxicillin is safe.


----------



## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

amoxicillan or zithromax are fine. I prefer amoxi myself for nursing momma's 

Sorry about the 7 babies lost.


----------



## amberdyan (Dec 6, 2010)

I finally got her to my normal vet, and she prescribed Amoxicillin. She's on 10mg a day, twice a day, for a minimum of 15 days, although the vet told me she recommends that I go ahead and continue it for at least 21 days because if I take her off too soon and she relapses, the relapse will likely be worse. She's been on it for a bit over 24 hours and I don't really see much improvement. She's still eating and drinking, but is hunched, with the fluffy coat and heavy breathing. Also her eyes are a little closed (as if she was tired). I'm worried. I'm supposed to go back if she doesn't improve in 3 days. 

On a lighter note, her babies seem to be doing well, and are just starting to get some fuzz 
Amelia (the other momma) has 5 sweet beautiful babies, I'll post pictures tomorrow. They're ADORABLE! 

P.s. I feel bad that she's all alone... will cuddles make her feel better? Or is that me projecting human emotions on her? We haven't had time to truly bond, but when I try to take her out for free range time, she just presses her self up against my legs. So cuddles? Or leave her mostly alone?


----------

