Will they have babies eventually?

[pythoncrazy]

I got a breeding pair of siamese rats on 10/10/11 and on 10/11/11 I know they hooked up at least twice that night because I saw it. After that she went into her hide I watched them for a couple minutes and she didn't come out again at least while I was watching. Basically I was wondering since they only breed when the female is in heat and since I know they hooked up at least twice surely they hooked up several times during the night and into the morning and she is pregnant right?I got another female on 10/14/11. I know that they bred the one night and he bred with one or the other a few nights later and I haven't really been watching them so I don't know if they have continued to breed. They are six-eight months old. I heard from the lady I got them from that rats breed like crazy and she's never had any problems with any of her mature rats not breeding. The one you can barely see a couple nipples but the one with the slightly bigger belly you can see a few of them and I looked at pics of female rats and you can't really see them at all when they're not pregnant. She looks pregnant to me and one of my questions is even if she's not pregnant right now they're rats and they breed like crazy and i'll have babies eventually right?

[rperry03]

It will come eventually, the female will look like a pear soon! Without looking, I believe the gestation period is 23-25 days.

[Johnny84]

It will come eventually, the female will look like a pear soon! Without looking, I believe the gestation period is 23-25 days.

I agree...from what Ive read! It take 21 to 25 days to be pregnant then she'll have her babies!

[bokuza]

No worries, as long as your male is doing his thing you'll have a nest full of babies give or two to the three weeks. :3

[pythoncrazy]

Okay so now i'm almost positive that she is pregnant. Their hide gets moved to the middle of the tank by the end of the day and the other two stays in that while she was curled up by herself in the corner like it's her nest. Also she's hoarding food which is a sign that she's pregnant. I crumbled some Cheez-its for them as a treat and she's the ONLY one who basically attacked them, grabbed like six pieces and ran off to eat them.

[Rhasputin]

Cheezits are not good rat treats. Give her some scrambled eggs, boiled lean chicken or beef, or a spoonful of plain, organic yogurt, instead.

[pythoncrazy]

Cheezits are not good rat treats. Give her some scrambled eggs, boiled lean chicken or beef, or a spoonful of plain, organic yogurt, instead.

Okay thanks for the advice

[Rhasputin]

You're welcome! Those are all things that will help mother rats bring up healthy babies, too.

[pythoncrazy]

You're welcome! Those are all things that will help mother rats bring up healthy babies, too.

Can I give the females cat food for protein to reduce cannibalism? Is so how much and how often?

[Rhasputin]

You can give them cat food in addition to regular rat chow. What are you feeding them regularly? Blocks?

Cat food is a fine addition, just be sure it's given in moderation, and be sure to get something that's corn and soy free, with a high protein value for best results! If you feed too much, the protein can damage the liver, and cause the rats to get fat, or have greasy coats, which you don't want. A heaping large table spoon full per day added to their blocks would be good for them.

Also giving pregnant mothers a dandelion leaf each day before they give birth for about the last week of pregnancy, can help increase milk production, resulting in healthy fat pups!