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Post by pinkyandthebrain on May 13, 2009 0:49:26 GMT 10
Hi I brought a female rattie 9 days ago from the pet shop and noticed she is getting very ROUND lol...  I'm fairly sure she is pregnant.. (not 100% as never had a pregnant rattie before) Is there a way to tell for sure?? or How far along she is?? What can I do to help her during the pregnancy / birth and after I really need all the help I can get as I never needed to worry about pregnancy before now.. So many Questions lol I have a few photo's of her that I took today to show how round she is...    Thanks in advance everyone :0) |
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maesie
Aussie Rat Owner 
I pee, therefore I am!
Posts: 115
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Post by maesie on May 13, 2009 1:00:43 GMT 10
Hey... I'm pretty new to rats so can't offer to much advice, but from pictures I've seen here and on other forums, I'd say you have a pregnant rat on your hands  From my limited knowledge, you'll need to move her away from any other rats you have and into an enclosed bottom cage- tub tupe, or you'll risk loosing the bubs. Her nipples will apear enlarged if she is 'expecting' too. Good luck with her and I hope it all goes well.. |
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Post by christie on May 13, 2009 1:03:37 GMT 10
Oh noes. My housemate (Lioness on here) just had the same thing happen. I think your girly there does look very pregnant. No idea on how long she has left to go. We thought that Cookie might have been pregnant on the 3rd of April and she had 8 baby's on the 9th. She was about as round as your girl looks just 2 days before she gave birth.
What we did was separate her from the rest of of the group, in a smaller cage with no levels, give her white paper towels to nest with. Feed her extra foods, things like eggs, soy milk, things with extra protein and also extra calcium cause shes going to need it to feed the baby's. Baby food is good, the stuff in jars and also the baby cereal stuff that you mix up.
Also if you can find nutrigel it would be good to buy for her. Its full of vitamins and stuff. It can be mixed into baby foods.
Yep we got lotsa info from all over the place (Kim from this forum was also a HUGE help) and seeing it recently happened here all the info is still fresh in my mind.
I might have missed a few things, im tired so ill read over this again in the morning to see if there is anything else i can think of to add.
Good luck.
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Post by Lioness (Zoey) on May 13, 2009 1:05:39 GMT 10
Wow, she looks pretty pregnant to me! I brought my girl Cookie home from the pet shop totally ignorant to the fact that she was pregnant. She looked like your little one a couple days before she popped. Is she in her own cage? Give her extra protein - egg is good, and nutri-gel is a good thing, too. Although mix it with something else (like baby food) and warm it up - it's too sticky on its own. Make sure she has plenty of food and water. I've been told that the best lining for her 'maternity' cage is paper towel, it's easy to clean (and believe me, when the bubs come, you'll be cleaning the cage often!), and won't harm the babies. Give her an igloo or somewhere private to hide - my Cookie had an upside-down ice cream container with a hole cut for a door. I was freaking out before she had the bubs, waking up during the night to check on her, but she had them while I was fast asleep, after all. I found that mum rat will do most of the work, when I woke up to the adorable peeping sounds of the babies, there was very little mess in the cage and the babies were all clean and nursing. I've read of many things that can go wrong with birth, but I guess I was lucky that all went smoothly. I'm not really sure on what you should look out for during/just after birth, and I'll leave it to someone with more experience to advise you on that. Keep them in a quiet room with a comfortable temperature, and handle the bubs daily as soon as Mum will let you. I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, and I'm sure that Kim (who was a huge help to me) and several other members will have a lot more to add to what I've said, but good luck, and I hope all goes smoothly. Oh, and enjoy the bubs being unable to move around too much while you can - Cookie had 8 and when they open their eyes and start moving around more, they're damn hard to keep track of, adorable as they are.  |
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Post by Lioness (Zoey) on May 13, 2009 1:08:51 GMT 10
LOL Christie, perfect timing! |
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Post by christie on May 13, 2009 1:09:11 GMT 10
lol Lioness i thought you were asleep At least Pinky has lots of info now  |
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Post by Lioness (Zoey) on May 13, 2009 1:11:12 GMT 10
Just off to sleep now. Thought I'd check the rat forum once more. Night! /end hijack. |
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Post by pinkyandthebrain on May 13, 2009 1:35:11 GMT 10
Thanks for your very fast replies lol...
She is in her own cage and we have just moved her to a smaller cage that has the high sides.. Thanks for the food suggestions I would of never thought of baby food lol... Also with the egg do you cook it if so how?? (eg fry boil etc)...
I thought of another Question.. I have 3 boys who love the rats and already can't wait for the babies to arrive, How long should I wait to let them handle the babies?? I don't want the boys to hurt them or scare them etc.. (maybe when there eye's open??)
Thanks again ;D
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Post by Lioness (Zoey) on May 13, 2009 9:26:49 GMT 10
No worries, we usually hard boil the egg and give it to the girls - it's fun watching them try to get into the shell - but that's really messy. Maybe scramble it for her? And baby food is great, I don't think there's been one that the ratties have disliked yet. Also try and get some Farex baby cereal. They really like that, too. Oo, also dog biscuits. We picked up some Scooby Snack treats from the supermarket and they love them.
As for your boys handling the babies, it's up to you and Mum, I guess. Personally, I'd wait a couple days until Mum is used to you handling them, but if they're gentle and quiet and stuff I don't think you need to wait until their eyes open. As long as Mum isn't stressing about it I think it'd be okay.
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Post by christie on May 13, 2009 11:05:48 GMT 10
oh yeah baby food is fantastic for rats. So many different flavors they do get bored of eating the same thing over and over so its a great way to add some variety to their diets along with veggies and some fruits.
As for how long to wait for your boys to handle the baby's. I think that would depend on how old your boys are and how gentle and quiet they would be with them. Trust your judgment on that. You can handle them as soon as the mum will let you, and do it every day. That way you'll have really friendly baby's. The baby's we have here would all run to the cage door for attention a few days after they opened their eyes.
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Post by Kim on May 13, 2009 13:16:26 GMT 10
Your girl is pregnant .. but it looks like she hasnt even dropped yet .. meaning she could still have another week to go, or she could have only a few days.. Its so hard to tell sometimes if you dont know exactly when she got pregnant ... even when you do know .. sometimes they dont even show (litters of 1 or 2 babies only). hmm.. going slightly off topic there .. Expect anything from 8 to 20 babies ... If she has them when you are able to be there .. as in not asleep or out .. make sure that she has some goat milk / soy milk and a bit of baby food as giving birth can really tire them out and they sometimes like to have a little bit to eat or drink at some point, especially because she will eat all the after-births.. Also some babies may be born breach, epecially with litters of 8 or more, which adds extra strain on her so the baby food and drink will just give her a little bit more energy during the birth. Egg is great for pregnant rats, you can cook it anyway you like, if you scramble it you can ad some olive oil to it .. olive oil is great for rats skin and coat and helps to keep it in tip top condition.. Give her some cooked chicken or chop bones .. Rats can have bones raw or cooked, even the small chicken bones, as unlike dogs and cats, rats dont get bones stuck in the throat.. but the marrow in the bones will be great for her and her babies. Fresh fruit .. especially berries, like blueberries and strawberries are also great. Fresh veggies like Broccoli and Carrot are great. Tinned Oysters and chickpeas are also great .. not just for pregnant rats, but for all rats. Do you know what rats she was in with when you got her, as that would give you an idea of what the babies may be colour and marking wise. She looks like a very lovely girl and her marking is actually very good, she also looks like she is not a baby baby - 8 weeks old or younger - she looks in the photos as if she might be around 12 weeks old or maybe older .. but its so hard to tell in photos.  As to your boys handling the babies .. It in a way does depend on how old they are, but no matter what age they are I would wait until the rat babies are at least 1 week old. Your girl may become very protective and she may bite .. this can start around a week before the birth and can last until the babies are weaned and seperated into male and female cages at 5 weeks of age. So make sure you are careful when you go to get the babies, especially for the first time .. Sometimes you can just not tell which girls will be protective and which ones will be fine.. My carasilk girl was good during her pregnancy and for the first 2 weeks of the babies lives, but after they opened their eyes and started to get around, she became more protective and will nip you when you put your hand in her cage .. Of course with 11 babies running around I'm sure its enough to drive any mother into a bad mood .. |
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Post by Lioness (Zoey) on May 13, 2009 18:18:48 GMT 10
Heehee, I knew Kim would add more to this discussion. ;D
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Post by pinkyandthebrain on May 15, 2009 20:42:10 GMT 10
We have 11 babies that were born early this morning.. Mum and the bubs are doing well.. Thank you for all your help and great information I would of been lost without it.. Now to start finding homes for them all 
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Post by christie on May 15, 2009 22:58:48 GMT 10
Oh fantastic news. Now just make sure they have milk bands, they just look like a white band around the tummy. That just shows that they are eating well.
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Post by Lioness (Zoey) on May 15, 2009 23:13:17 GMT 10
Congrats! Enjoy them while you can. |
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From my limited knowledge, you'll need to move her away from any other rats you have and into an enclosed bottom cage- tub tupe, or you'll risk loosing the bubs. Her nipples will apear enlarged if she is 'expecting' too. Good luck with her and I hope it all goes well.. 
