my pregnant ratties

[recycling goddess]

okay, i'm 80% sure my rattie girls did get pregnant as their tummys are changing shape.

the earliest they should give birth is the 12th of july.

so... they live in a very large bird cage and sleep up in hammocks. what do i need to do to get ready for these babies?

i assume they need to be moved to a rubbermaid container so the babies don't escape out of the cage (but the cage is high up on a stand so if the babies climbed thru the bars... i can't imagine them jumping to the ground)

so could they stay in the cage?

what do they need on the bottom other than the usual carefresh i use (both mamas are sensitive to aspen shavings so i prefer to use carefresh for them). should i give them something to hide in? like a cardboard box?

i'd like to keep both mamas together since they get along so well and lived together pretty much their entire lives... but if there's a problem... i have plenty of rubbermaids ventilated on the top at the ready!

they are fed becky's wonderful mix. lots of extras (i spoil them so much) i just can't resist their gorgeous faces when they look at me "hey, no snack for me? i'm a goooood girl! "

so... what can i provide for them?

(i noticed this was not discussed in the FAQ section at the top of this forum)

[recycling goddess]

here's their bird cage home you can see becky in the bottom left corner.

(and yes that's a broken hula hoop on the wall behind the cage LOL)

[frankykeno]

Personally I like to put each of my expectant female rats in her own maternity enclosure. I have a bunch of old 10 gallon tanks that work perfectly for that. I tried to leave two females that got along well together and darn it all one did the majority of the nursing and mothering and the other lazy bones rat laid around much of the time. Seperated them and the lazy mother rat had to mind her babies LOL. Sometimes too the females will tug newborn pinks back and forth between their nest and injure their delicate skin. I like monitoring a female and her own litter seperately too so I can watch for genetic defects or her skill as a breeding/mothering rat.

Lots of folks do leave multiple females in with their litters though so don't just go by the way I do stuff Aleesha. You should get a lot of advice on the ways everyone handles this as we have a pretty good group of rat breeders here with tons of experience.

How many days since the last day the male had access to your females? Are they developing a more pear shaped appearance when standing up? Do their bellies feel kind of hard?

[recycling goddess]

their bellies are feeling hard and yes... the pear shape has started as well. ricardo rodente' came (literally) and left on june 21 - 26.

i can totally seperate them jo... no problem there.

anything special they need in their new home and when should i move them?

[Jeanne]

I would house them in something else other than that cage after the babies are born...

mom rats love to pile bedding into corners, building them up... babies could spill over and out... and even when they get older, you dont want them finding thier way out through the bars, the drop may be enough to hurt or kill one at worst.

From my experience, babies dont seem to have a good depth perception early on, and may just jump.



Side Note: Ever try putting a rat on a bare glass table? If it has any wood they can get to in the edges or middle, they will walk on that rather than the glass.

[recycling goddess]

i think i'll watch for any nesting behaviour and then move them... so i don't have to disturb them once they birth.

good point jeanne... never thought of the "falling out" aspect!

[frankykeno]

Actually some won't nest Aleesha until almost the most of birth or less than 24 hours prior to it so you can watch for that or just move them now and let them eat and rest up for the big event. I have a female or two that don't nest build at all until they've given birth. Then they move the pinks to a new spot in the tank and build the nest around them. I have one that stuffs her pinks in the corner of the tank and then builds a retaining wall in front of them LOL. It's so high it usually takes all her bedding to accomplish her engineering feat but let me tell you her babies do NOT leave the nest early!

Just provide a bit extra bedding, extra food and water for the preggie female and they will normally give birth will little muss or fuss and almost no mess at all. I don't know if you've seen this picture before but this is one of my younger females in the middle of actually giving birth to her first litter. Amazing how they can pop all those babies out and leave almost no trace behind that they've just given birth!

Female about 1 week to delivery (litter ended up being 11)...


Same female the day before she dropped her litter...


In the act of giving birth to her first litter....


Pinks about 1 hour old...this is the area she birthed them in...note the amazing cleanup job the mother rats do...11 pinks and barely a spot of blood left on the aspen....(note she later moved them to a nest she constructed across the tank)....

[SnakesvsRodents]

I dont personally dont do rats but,.. I have a question...I started breeding my own mice for convenince(excuse my spelling), and just one question...Should i add some hides or toys? or will they do find with jsut their water bottle and food dish? Should i put one of those tubes so they can chew on or maybe hide in? What do you guys think about those iglos they sell for small animals? are they any good?

[frankykeno]

Bernie, mice and rats are both sociable, busy, always knawing creatures (like all rodents their teeth grow constantly through their lives) so adding in stuff they can climb and scurry around, through and over or knaw on is never a bad idea. Keeping them busy and occupied gives them other things to do then fuss amongst themselves or plan where to chew and try to destroy their home. If you give them anything, they will chew on it so make sure it's either safe for rodents or hard as all get out (little pieces of plastic not being so good for rodent digestion). We give ours toilet/paper towel tubes and believe it or a not a hugely favored toy is just thin strips from old telephone books. Apparently hours of fun can be had for a rat dragging that thin paper around, shredding it up and stealing it from another rat LOL.

[recycling goddess]

i agree with jo. mice love to have stuff to make a nest under (to sleep in) - i always gave ours igloo type containers, tp rolls, and a wheel. wheels are sooo important for mice... they just love them!

so don't forget a wheel