# Is my rat pregnant???



## Rattieqxeennn (Oct 17, 2016)

Hi! So, I got a feeder rat about 2 weeks ago. I couldnt resist  She was around 7 weeks old when I got her and had been housed with males her whole life. I instantly noticed that she liked to make nests a lot. So I waited and put her in her own cage. She is now at least double the size she was when I got her and about 3 days ago, her nipples started showing. She is very restless (has been for days), she licks my hand constantly when I go to see her or give her treats and shes made a huge nest. (The pics do not show how big she really is and were very hard to take)


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## DamselChum (Jun 8, 2016)

Looks like a little baby bump to me. I've picked up quite a number of rats from feeder bins over the years that look like that a week or so before they pop.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

I can't tell from the pic but the behavior you are describing fit the pregnancy hypothesis feeder bin rats are quite often pregnant too. You will know for sure in 4-5 days as it will become evident if she is pregnant or not. Do you have a safe nursery cage ready for her?


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## Grotesque (Mar 19, 2014)

You've got a litter on the way. Yikes!


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

Its very likely shes pregnant, I would prepare for a litter.


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## Rattieqxeennn (Oct 17, 2016)

I have her in a 10 gallon long tank with a little cardboard box. Its the biggest size tank I have. I use fleece bedding and I rip up paper towels that she loves to pull into the box with her. She frantically jumps around with the strips of paper. And i've been giving her a little egg every day, and her favorite treat peanut butter. I have a 4 week old female myself and Ive read up a lot on caring for litters. I will be keeping one boy to keep my other boy company. (I have 2 girls and 1 boy in seperate cages) hopefully she'll have a small litter so I can find good homes for all of them


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## moonkissed (Dec 26, 2011)

Sadly this happens often when shopping pet store rats  She is very young and it is really not good for her or the babies. Honestly taking her to the vet and having the pregnancy ended is the best option IMO. Rats are awesome moms but things can go wrong. Young moms sometimes just are not mature enough to handle motherhood well, she may ignore them or worse.... just hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.

If you decide to keep them, Expect lots of babies. 8-12 is normal but rats can have over 20...and finding good homes is not always easy.

First don't feed her plain peanut butter, it is so ooey gooey that it poses a real choking hazard. It can be cooked into things but not given straight as is. I'd also cut back the egg to every other day. 

I'd also ditch the tank. Tanks are really bad for ventilation and far too small. Make a bin cage instead! I use bins for all of my babies. They are inexpensive to make, provide good size, easy to clean, and best of all actually provide ventilation. 
Use a 105qt or larger bin and make sure the hardware cloth is INSIDE.
bin cage:
http://www.onceuponamischief.com/#!How-to-make-a-bin-cage/yqplu/57b158f40cf2a28cd69e0068

Don't use fleece in her cage/bin. It is not safe. Moms can easily "lose" babies under fleece, it is very common among young moms as well. Also if mom chews a small nibble hole, babies can get caught and die. I'd stay away from paper also while they are in the pinkie stage, as it can stick to their skin. I use normal aspen.

You will want to leave the babies with mom until 5 weeks old. Then separate the boys. I'd us caution putting them with your other male as it can go fine but he could also decide to attack them. Just be careful if you do so, do an intro first.
IMO it is best to wait until 6 weeks or older to find them homes, and I would only sell them in pairs. 
Sex them as early as possible and start looking for homes far ahead of time.

Some helpful links for the babies development & sexing:
http://www.afrma.org/babyratdevdaily.htm
http://tigertailrattery.weebly.com/growth-picture-journal.html
http://ratguide.com/breeding/baby_development/birth_to_weaning.php
http://mainelyratrescue.org/rattieblog2/?p=42
my pages:
http://www.onceuponamischief.com/sexing
http://www.onceuponamischief.com/baby-development


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## Rattieqxeennn (Oct 17, 2016)

Okay, thank you Ill look into a bin cage! I have homes lined up for 7 babies so far and the last case scenario(if I absolutely can not get them homes) is to take them to a nearby rat rescue but like I said I wont do that unless I have to. I only give her little tastes of peanut butter on my finger tip so she doesnt choke. I also have tried baking them, rat friendly, low sugar, peanut butter cookie treats and they enjoyed them. I'll seperate the boys and girls at 5 weeks and give them to their new owners when they turn 6 weeks. I have a very good vet two towns over that I can call anytime if something goes wrong or I need help.

And I can try aspen bedding but it tends to make my girls sneezy and I have only heard of babies sticking to newspaper or paper, not paper towels. I might be wrong tho


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## Rattieqxeennn (Oct 17, 2016)

Every like 10 mins or so shes been standing on her hind legs(which she does all the time anyways), and then she'll kinda flinch/jump a little and bite and lick her sides. Is this normal? And tonight shes been very jumpy, she wont stop grooming my fingers and she will not let me touch her back or she jumps and nips at me gently. Shes also been franticaly tunneling in her fleece


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