# Help?



## cookiebear<3 (Aug 2, 2013)

Cookie, my female rat was free range playing in my room while, my male was in his cage as he has his appointment to get neutered soon. He somehow managed to get out and I found him on my shoulder... Anyway since that incident (which was maybe 2 or three weeks ago) it seems that my Cookie has gained a large round belly, just limited to her belly. She's been sleeping a LOT and eating a LOT more too. Excrement's normal. I don't know how old she is...







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No discharge of any kind, and I do have her moved to a glass tank with nesting material and giving her extra protein....
So guys, do you think my baby girl is pregnant and if so how long would you say until she would have them?
How to take care of litter??  thanks guys!


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## Mitsy (Apr 8, 2013)

Rats are pregnant for 21 days so three weeks if it was three weeks ago then she should have the babies any day now.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

She does look pregnant. Like Mitsy said, 21 days. My female took to frenzied nesting a week before birth, got the round shape three days before. She didn't have any other behavioral changes -- what you may be seeing is just a lone rat being lonely.

Since you are expecting, make sure to give her blueberries and cheese-less scrambled eggs. Salmon cat food (wet) can be provided as a treat. You will want to put a heating pad half under one side of the tank. Remove any hideyholes, as it can be frustrating to try and see the babies when mommy hides them.
I am assuming your female is tamed well?
Cover half her cage. Check back often -- when my girl had birth, it was silent and uneventful. She just had bloodied bedding and then a pinkie. When you notice labor (which will be at night usually -- occured at 9pm here), leave her alone. Stress is Bad bad bad. Check back though for excessive bleeding or pushing for twenty minutes without a baby. Those signs mean you need to rush her to an exotic vet immediately. Once she has the babies, let her have the night alone.
The next day, on a spoon, offer her a treat far from her nest (make sure she isn't nursing). This is to gauge her response to you. Pet her. Now, you should count the babies (and post an add to rehome them). Leave her be again. Just baby-count once or twice daily -- when you do, gently pick up a few and check for a yellow or white band across their bellies. That indicates she is feeding them.

In case of abandonment, you need to find a breeder or rescue with a nursing female nearby immediately. They should be fed somewhere between 2-4 hours. You can attempt to handraise, but it is not recommended so I won't leave those details here.

After the first week, you can start to handle them more and should try to sex them. When they become two weeks, they need a wire cage so they can explore and be active.
Keep track of the weeks very closely.
At 4.5 weeks, they will be eating hard food and males should be separated from mom to prevent another litter. 

If you've any specific questions, I can try to help.


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## cookiebear<3 (Aug 2, 2013)

Thank you so much. When I rescued cookie, she hadn't been with any other rats for quite at least a few months and I had her for quite a while without cage mates before I rescued bear and then until his only escape. She has been nesting, but I simply attributed that to a normal habit of hers. Thanks again!

and yes, she's a well tamed sweetie  she had still been a little bit skittish in open areas, but hasn't been over the past two or three weeks.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Oh, no. When my female nested...it was nesting. She moved ALL the bedding to oneside of the cage, leaving the other half clear. Any toys or treats were added to the nest. It is usually in the corner with big raised sides. My female even tore apart her hidey box for nesting material, despite having tons. The blanket to cover her cage was sucked in 1/4in bar spacing and shredded for nesting.


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## cookiebear<3 (Aug 2, 2013)

Well no babies yet, but her belly has grown quite a bit.. she's also groomed the hair away from around her nipples. She's been sleeping on her back sometimes and occasionally stretching up the sides of her current enclosure... Is it normal for her to drink more?


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Unfortunately, assuming that the 5th was the 14th day you won't be able to signal the all-clear until the 15th. However, if her girth continues to grow or remains in a i-swallowed-a-baseball look and no babies or blood she should go to the vet.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Groomed hair away = babies. I should read closer. Sorry. Back sleeping is usually done while pregnant, but I have a lazy rat who does that. Stretching up the sides is also normal.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

(I should add: my rat's timeline:
7 days before - nesting
3 days before - babies 

You want an idea of when they are coming because you should be sure to keep her cage dark quiet and warm, and not to bother her at all and to ensure you can check every twenty minutes for distress)


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## cookiebear<3 (Aug 2, 2013)

Thank you, much appreciated


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## cookiebear<3 (Aug 2, 2013)

BABIES ARE HERE! In the wee morning hours cookie had 16 healthy babies!!!! Any suggestions on what should I give her to help her with feeding the babies?  Babies all have milk bands. 
Another thing that I was worried about was that some of the babies don't make any noises or anything but they do move around..? Is it normal that a few do that? <3


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Mine were quiet the first two or three days, upset me a lot. Now I wish they'd pipe down.
Scrambled eggs, wet cat food, dog kibble, and puppys milk should be offered.


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## CJMoore (Jul 30, 2013)

Wow! 16 babies, have fun with them, it sounds like mom is doing a great job


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## cookiebear<3 (Aug 2, 2013)

Whew! all babies are good so far. :3 mommy has this little habit of walking to the other side of her current enclosure and forgetting that sometimes babies are still clinging to her, and she proceeds to knock them off and leave them until they are freezing. -_- However, all have full bellies, so nothing to worry about, right? It looks like 8 boys and 8 girls! 
I'll post pictures soon but my thingy is messed up !
I have many more pictures
;D


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Aw their markings look cute! You should post an ad to rehome them on here, the community is really helpful.

Yeah, my momma would walk off with the babies leaving a trail of whimpering babies. As they got older, it got worse: she would climb up into a hammcok with babies still attached.


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## CJMoore (Jul 30, 2013)

so cute, thanks for the photos!


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