Rats have amazing maternal instincts! They are such great moms they even take in other babies who are fostered to them! Here is a list of common questions and answers from the start of pregnancy until the babies are ready to move on in their lives.
- Is my rat pregnant? * View THIS page for more information!
- How long are rats pregnant for? * Rats are pregnant for 21 days. It is common for them to go a couple days overdue. If they go over 5 days overdue its time to start very closely monitoring them and getting prepared for a vet visit.
- When do rats become visibly pregnant? * Rats become visibly pregnant at around 14 days along. Their bellies will become very round at the bottom(it will change from a "V" shape to a "U" shape). Some rats may loose some hair around their nipples preparing for nursing(not all rats do this). Some rats may even start nesting this early.
- Can she stay in her cage? * That depends on a few things. Is her cage tall? Does her cage have a deep base that holds bedding? Does her cage have bar spacing larger than 1/2"? Does her cage have a lot of hanging activities? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then no, she cannot stay in her current cage.
- What is the best cage to use? * When choosing a cage, you need to think for the heavily pregnant moms safety, and for her babies safety. When mom is heavily pregnant she will have a difficult time getting around. We want her to have a small amount of climbing space because if she looses balance at the top of a tall cage and falls to the bottom, she can injure herself and her unborn babies. Tall cages are also a no when the babies arrive. Mom could carry her babies to the top and accidentally drop them, leading to injury and even death. Then when the babies turn 2 weeks old and start exploring, they will climb up and can fall and get injured. So you need a short cage, around 15" tall. That cage will need to have a deep base to hold bedding and to prevent babies from being pushed out of the cage bars. I highly recommend Prevue 528 cages or bin cages.
- What can be inside her cage? * Her cage should be mostly empty. Lightweight hides and some chew toys are safe. But we do not want any hammocks, baskets, shelves, or other Hanging accessory's. No heavy bowls/dishes or heavy hides. These all pose a danger to the babies.
- What bedding and nesting materials are best? * Kiln dried pine, kiln dried aspen or hemp bedding's are best. Give 3+ inches of bedding. Do not use the "fluff" nesting material you find in stores, it is very dangerous. Until the babies are born, extra bedding is all mom will need. After the babies are born and all dried off, you can offer mom some paper towels or shredded paper. These should be given afterwards because these materials will get stuck to the wet, newly born babies and if mom doesn't clean it off in time it can dry to them and can lead to suffocation.
- Can moms female cage-mate stay with her? * This depends on how mom is handling the pregnancy. Sometimes moms can have an overload of hormones(maternal aggression), causing her to become aggressive towards other rats. If mom is showing any signs of aggression and/or stress, it would be safest to keep her alone. If mom is not showing any signs, then yes, her cage-mate can stay with her, but you still have to be cautious and keep a close eye on them. The nanny rat(moms cage-mate) could try taking the babies to raise herself. This would not be good because she will not be lactating, and the babies will starve to death.
- Should mom receive extra protein while pregnant? * No. While there isn't any scientific proof to this(that i am aware of), extra protein before birth can cause the babies to grow too large before birth, leading to a difficult delivery or other birthing complications. I have myself dealt with this from 3 moms who had received "extra foods" instead of just rat foods during their pregnancies. I lost all of the litters, but thankfully the moms made it through with vet intervention(one had an emergency C-section and others get some meds.).
- How long should birth take? * Only a few hours! This depends on how many babies she will be having. If she has 15+ babies it will take longer than if she only was having 8. Its good to make an educated guess based on the size of her belly before the babies are born to know what to expect. Try not to bother mom during labor or delivery. Mom will already be stressed and in pain, and having someone bother her constantly can lead to her having issues giving birth if she isn't comfortable with the situation. Just leave her be in a dark, quiet area and quietly check on her every couple of hours to make sure everything is going smoothly.
- Is it supposed to be bloody? * Yes. Birth is very messy. The majority of the time, mom will do an amazing job at cleaning up after it and you will find very minimal traces of blood. Then other times some moms just don't care and will leave a huge mess. It just depends on the rats themselves.
- Mom had her babies and now she is being aggressive? * This is called maternal aggression. This is not normal and something to take very seriously. Mom has too many hormones in her body and they are taking over! Unfortunately this is genetic and will be passed on to the babies through moms DNA. The babies should either be hard culled(humanely euthanized) or not leave your ownership. No amount of handling can stop this, as its in their genetics and that cant be changed. Re-homing aggressive animals is so irresponsible and puts other people and the rats at risk of being hurt. In most cases, mom will calm back down after the babies are gone, or weaned.
- When can the babies be handled? * The babies can be touched right away if mom allows it! Its good to check on them a couple hours after birth to make sure all is well.
- What are milkbands? * Milkbands are white bands on the babies bellies. Their skin is so thin/translucent you can see the milk in their stomach! The babies should always have milkbands. You will be able to see them until they are around 7-10 days old.
- When can the babies be sexed? * They can be sexed from birth! Please see our SEXING 101 page to learn how!
- When can I clean the cage? * You can clean the cage whenever it is needed. If you believe mom will get stressed out, just clean around the nest(she should keep the nest clean anyway).
- When will the babies open their eyes? * Their eyes open at around 14 days old! Sometimes they can open early and sometimes they can open late. To see how quickly rats develop, see our RAT DEVELOPMENT page!
- When will the babies start eating? * The babies will start nibbling on food after their eyes open(at around 18 days old). By 4 weeks old they will be eating mostly solid foods.
- How do the babies get weaned? * Mom! Mom will wean them when they are ready. You do not need to intervene with this at all. By 5-6 weeks old the babies should be completely weaned. Being weaned does NOT mean they are ready to move on in their lives. Their brains are still developing and they need an adult rat to continue to learn from until they are at least 8 weeks old.
- How long should the babies be with mom? * Babies need to stay with mom until they are 5-6 weeks old. Do not separate earlier than 5 weeks or later than 6 weeks. Female babies should stay with mom. Male babies should be housed with adult males. Being with an adult rat is crucial for proper brain development.
- When can they be re-homed? * 8 weeks at the earliest! You need to be sure they are ready to go mentally and physically. While they may be physically ready at 6 weeks old, they are not mentally ready until at least 8 weeks old.