# Cannot get boy out of girl cage, help



## Sweetpea mom (Oct 19, 2021)

Hello and thanks in advance for any help.

First time rat mom here. Accepted a rescue female albino, and she had a surprise litter of ten. Let me say, I wish I had had better guidance and done better up to now with socializing them, but I have not had success and they will not approach my hand, let alone allow me to pick them up. They are super super fast and mostly nest together out of my sight. Now there is a boy in with the girls and I have no idea how to get him out.

They were born on September 5. On October 10 I was able to separate the boys (I thought) but it did not go smoothly and everyone was scared. There were escapes. After a couple days I was able to get everyone back into gendered cages, and since then they have been super shy. I sit with them for an hour each evening and mom eats from my hand, but babies won't approach me, and when they do allow me to see them they dart in and out of the hides so fast it's hard for me to tell much. Tonight I saw googlies and I started freaking out. They're already seven weeks, they could already be pregnant. It's effectively impossible to reach in and pick up the boy. I MIGHT be able to observe when he goes in the dig box and then block the digbox entrances, but there will be girls with him, and I can't easily remove the digbox, nor am I sure what I'd do next. I have NO IDEA how to get him separate from the girls.

To make matters worse, there was very little choice of cage when I was emergency shopping--global shipping delays left me with just the crappy local options, and being inexperienced I didn't realize how impossible the cage I got would be to clean or refurnish. Some furnishings, like the digbox, are too big to come out the doors, so I can only remove them if I lift the whole cage off the base, scare everyone, and risk another round of escapes. An upgrade is supposed to ship one of these days, but that is moot in terms of the immediate problem.

I similarly don't know how to transfer them into a travel container, even if the vet has an immediate appointment in the morning, which have been rare to come by since Covid. There is only one qualified vet and It's a 90 minute drive so I would need a solid plan.

I am at my wit's end. What can I do?


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

Wow. That does sound like a complex situation, and I can understand how you would be feeling at your wits end. 
Are there any animal rescues/animal welfare organisations in your area that might be able to come up with some kind of team plan if you contacted them? Also perhaps they have access to expert veterinary advice regarding what to do if you have a number of possibly pregnant females? 
I wonder whether female rats can be given medication to prevent pregnancy after mating. If you think your females might be pregnant would it be worth getting veterinary advice about that?
Anyway, I hope you can find someone with the right knowledge who can give you some kind of hope about the situation.
All the best, keep us posted.


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## Tinytoes (Dec 23, 2020)

Where are you located? Rescues and orgs like mine are there to help with these situations. Our last round of babies were 22 from one home, full siblings and half siblings. Hopefully they have the room. Most fosters (well, at least me lol) want to take care of the teen moms and their babies.


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## Tinytoes (Dec 23, 2020)

And don't be afraid to reach in and snatch them up. Do it quickly. Use one hand and transfer to a carrier. They'll squeak and holler but don't pay attention to them, just do it. Don't grab their tail, but use the 'bird' hold where you grasp them under their little front arms and around their chest area. When they are little this hold isn't too hard on them.


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## Sweetpea mom (Oct 19, 2021)

ratbusters said:


> Wow. That does sound like a complex situation, and I can understand how you would be feeling at your wits end.
> Are there any animal rescues/animal welfare organisations in your area that might be able to come up with some kind of team plan if you contacted them? Also perhaps they have access to expert veterinary advice regarding what to do if you have a number of possibly pregnant females?
> I wonder whether female rats can be given medication to prevent pregnancy after mating. If you think your females might be pregnant would it be worth getting veterinary advice about that?
> Anyway, I hope you can find someone with the right knowledge who can give you some kind of hope about the situation.
> All the best, keep us posted.


Thanks for the moral support. No real progress as yet. I've been calling around with no luck. Just getting a kind response helps me feel a tiny bit better. If I learn anything useful I will let you know. Fingers crossed.


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## Sweetpea mom (Oct 19, 2021)

Tinytoes said:


> Where are you located? Rescues and orgs like mine are there to help with these situations. Our last round of babies were 22 from one home, full siblings and half siblings. Hopefully they have the room. Most fosters (well, at least me lol) want to take care of the teen moms and their babies.


Thanks! I'm in Indiana, USA, and I have tried contact the Pipsqueakery, which is the local rodent rescue I know about. No response though. Their FB page indicates the person running it is pretty overwhelmed. ...I don't think there's a big culture of small animal care here. The local vets don't see them, the county animal shelter doesn't house anything smaller than rabbits, the pet store cage and toy selection is puny. I joined a couple FB groups but it seems like they only approve cute posts, not getting any traction on help requests. ... If you have any other contacts in the Midwest do let me know. If the girls are already pregnant, I'm going to have 50+ babies on my hands. And I feel like I'm not already so out of my depth.


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## ratbusters (Aug 28, 2020)

Sweetpea mom said:


> Thanks for the moral support. No real progress as yet. I've been calling around with no luck. Just getting a kind response helps me feel a tiny bit better. If I learn anything useful I will let you know. Fingers crossed.


Yeah, you probably feel a bit in over your head but I'm sure things will work out OK in the end, particularly if you can find some local people to help. 
Here's a bit of background about my comment... All of our males are now neutered, but before they had their desex op, someone once put a male back in the WRONG CAGE with 6 girls!!!!! He was only in there for about 5 - 10 minutes, but what I horrible feeling. We had already had accidental babies and the thought of another 6 litters was a bit overwhelming. That was when I wondered whether I should be contacting a vet to see if the girls all needed a morning-after injection (if there even was such a thing). In the end I felt peace about leaving things be because he was in there such a short time, and sure enough nobody had babies. But at the time all these options were racing through my head. The male was a bit traumatised too, poor chap. All the girls were very unimpressed that he dropped by unannounced for a visit and they did NOT make him feel at home. 
So yeah... goolies in the girls' cage = not a nice feeling.
I like Tinytoes' comments - obviously some rat rescues deal with this kind of thing so that sounded encouraging. 💞🐭


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## Tinytoes (Dec 23, 2020)

Sweetpea mom said:


> Thanks! I'm in Indiana, USA, and I have tried contact the Pipsqueakery, which is the local rodent rescue I know about. No response though. Their FB page indicates the person running it is pretty overwhelmed. ...I don't think there's a big culture of small animal care here. The local vets don't see them, the county animal shelter doesn't house anything smaller than rabbits, the pet store cage and toy selection is puny. I joined a couple FB groups but it seems like they only approve cute posts, not getting any traction on help requests. ... If you have any other contacts in the Midwest do let me know. If the girls are already pregnant, I'm going to have 50+ babies on my hands. And I feel like I'm not already so out of my depth.


I'm in MD, so I can't help  Unfortunately the non-profit orgs are understaffed, not enough volunteers, and not enough foster homes. It's a lot to take in a surrendered animals, and they need vet care and proper housing and socialization. I have 8 right now in two cages, and I pay for all their food and bedding, etc.

And don't assume the worst just yet. You may not have all of them preggers, but all babies are a lot of work. It's a wait and see situation, like @ratbusters said. You'll know soon enough, and then we'll help you figure it out.


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## Tinytoes (Dec 23, 2020)

You can also try Nextdoor, and see if you have anyone in your vicinity who could help. You'd be surprised 

I'd make the drive to Indiana but my hubby would kill me.


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## TwilxghtRat (Nov 27, 2020)

All I can offer is moral support as well. 
Your best bet would be picking him right up, but obviously that’s not really an option.


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