# Telling Genders



## Cookie and Mischief (Sep 30, 2014)

Hi! My girl, Holly, had her 9 pups on New Years Eve, (but one died for unknown causes) and I was wondering when they would be old enough to tell genders and how?

Thanks!


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## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

http://www.afrma.org/sexing101.htm
You can probably begin to tell genders apart now which will give you a boy and girl count if you're rehoming. However, you'll have to keep sexing them until the point where their markings are apparent and likely up until the moment you send them to new homes unless they all have unique markings. Before they grow a thick coat of fur, it's pretty easy to tell girls from boys because girls are the only ones with nipples (I wouldn't base your judgement off of this completely because they're hard to see sometimes). The link that I attached has pretty good photos of the different sexes based on their genital region. What I usually do is compare a few until I know for sure that I've got one girl and one boy and then compare the rest to them.


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## Mojojuju (Nov 15, 2014)

I was able to ALMOST accurately sex mine at three days using that guide. On the fourth day I swapped one over. Now at two weeks, it's extremely obvious, since the females have nipples. So since it's always good to double check, you can guess now and then wait till the fur comes in (but before it covers nipples) and check that way.

Mine are the result of an accidental litter because mom looked like a boy down there as a youngster, and was sold to me as a juvenile male. So some of her daughters possess this trait, as well, where their openings are farther apart than the diagrams and photos on that site show. Nonetheless, I kept looking at them every day, and by now it seems very obvious to me that even with the larger gap, my girls still have more closely placed openings than my boys. You can also look for the small bulge in males that will indicate their undropped testicles.

Still, nipples are the easiest way, at around two weeks. I can't believe my own girl slipped though the cracks--it is so easy to tell girls from boys that way. But I guess by the time she was weaned it was harder to tell, as the fur covers them.

Good luck!


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## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

Mojojuju said:


> I was able to ALMOST accurately sex mine at three days using that guide. On the fourth day I swapped one over. Now at two weeks, it's extremely obvious, since the females have nipples. So since it's always good to double check, you can guess now and then wait till the fur comes in (but before it covers nipples) and check that way.
> 
> Mine are the result of an accidental litter because mom looked like a boy down there as a youngster, and was sold to me as a juvenile male. So some of her daughters possess this trait, as well, where their openings are farther apart than the diagrams and photos on that site show. Nonetheless, I kept looking at them every day, and by now it seems very obvious to me that even with the larger gap, my girls still have more closely placed openings than my boys. You can also look for the small bulge in males that will indicate their undropped testicles.
> 
> ...


How are yours doing mojo? Have you posted any pictures yet?


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## Mojojuju (Nov 15, 2014)

Still trying to figure it out! I have them in the album, so I'm going to try and start a new thread and see if I can get them to show up. They're doing SO well! Though they should have opened their eyes by now, in my estimation, but whatever. Everyone's different, I suppose! Today is day 14, so I suppose we may see some peepers by this afternoon. They're certainly wiggly and like to explore whenever I get them out of the nest, eyesight or no!


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## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

14-17 days is completely normal for eyes opening, nothing to be worried about


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## Mojojuju (Nov 15, 2014)

Hmm, I can't seem to get my profile pic to show up. It was the cutest widdle rat butt pile!


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## Cookie and Mischief (Sep 30, 2014)

kksrats said:


> http://www.afrma.org/sexing101.htm
> You can probably begin to tell genders apart now which will give you a boy and girl count if you're rehoming. However, you'll have to keep sexing them until the point where their markings are apparent and likely up until the moment you send them to new homes unless they all have unique markings. Before they grow a thick coat of fur, it's pretty easy to tell girls from boys because girls are the only ones with nipples (I wouldn't base your judgement off of this completely because they're hard to see sometimes). The link that I attached has pretty good photos of the different sexes based on their genital region. What I usually do is compare a few until I know for sure that I've got one girl and one boy and then compare the rest to them.


Okay, great! I'll have to take a look at that! Their skin is beginning to change colors, and you can tell their markings. They all have markings only on their head (like their momma), so it is still a bit difficult to remember what they all look like. I could probably draw their head patterns and write their genders, so yeah.

I am going to be rehoming all but one of the jellybeans (yay, i convinced my mom to let me keep one!), and i'm not sure what to do with them! My mom was like, "Let's give them to petco." And I was like, "Okay, we can find someplace else, i don't want them to go to a crammed place with horrible conditions and often run out of food and are USED AS FEEDERS." I think maybe the local Animal Shelter would be a good place for them to go, but I will go into further research.


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## kksrats (Jul 25, 2014)

Petfinder or craigslist if your mom doesn't mind doing the foot work on getting them to people.


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## Cookie and Mischief (Sep 30, 2014)

Okay, thanks!


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## Grawrisher (Sep 10, 2013)

You can also just put them up on here and facebook, I found homes for 6 on here 3 by texting my cousin and 1 through a friend on fb...I took the babies on an 8 hour roadtrip to some of their new homes but when they go to people on here you know they're good homes (and you know you'll see pictures)


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## Mojojuju (Nov 15, 2014)

Got all of my litter adopted by taking them to school. I'm a teacher, and when I announced I had a litter I had so many applications from families I had to turn some down. It helped that the kids know and love our two class pet rats.

Sometimes having people meet adult rats as ambassadors does wonders.


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