# Surprise litter



## LaurenFox (2 mo ago)

Hi all,
My daughter got two pet rats for her birthday in October. We were told they were two 10-week-old brothers, but turns out they weren’t two brothers at all but a male and a female! Our female got pregnant (obviously), and two weeks ago she gave birth to 16 healthy pups. I’ve done lots of research on this forum and learnt so much about the pregnancy, birth, and how to care for mama and her babies. Everything has gone really smoothly and I’m very grateful for all of the advice I read on here. 
The pups have now opened their eyes and are beginning to explore the maternity cage. Mama is amazing with them and they’re all super healthy and unbelievably cute. 
Most of the pups will be rehomed - we’ll keep one boy to live with his dad and a girl to live with her mum. The shop that we got them from have been amazing at supplying us with everything we need and will handle the rehoming for us. 
the reason for my post is that I’m not sure when to move mama and the babies to a bigger cage. Obviously they’ll be separated by gender at around 4 weeks to avoid anymore surprises - but should I move the whole litter before this? The maternity cage is pretty small, so I don’t want them to get stressed out!
Thanks all.
Lauren x


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## CorbinDallasMyMan (Feb 24, 2017)

What an adventure!

The Isamu Rat Care youtube channel has a good playlist on [breeding rats]. She even goes week by week letting you know what to expect and what kind of care to provide. Perhaps it would be helpful!


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## LaurenFox (2 mo ago)

CorbinDallasMyMan said:


> What an adventure!
> 
> The Isamu Rat Care youtube channel has a good playlist on [breeding rats]. She even goes week by week letting you know what to expect and what kind of care to provide. Perhaps it would be helpful!


Thank you, I’ve now watched all of the week-by-week videos and the one about setting up a baby cage. I feel much more prepared now. Thanks again!


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## Rileywolf (4 mo ago)

Wow You sound like me one of my girls gave birth to a litter of 11


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## AdoreRats (3 mo ago)

How do you get rats and not know the sex? They're very young to have babies as well.
Good luck though!


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## PotHeadSteve (Jan 2, 2022)

I don't have any advice. But they are so adorable. If i was in your area i would so pick up one when he is ready to leave his moma.


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