Rats getting prego with out male presence?

I have 4 rats in a tub without a male. They had had a lot of litters, so I've been letting them have a break. When I took the male out, they already had a litter, and that litter has been euthanized already. Then, without the male, 2 of them got prego and had another litter. Then, after that litter, MORE babies. And now, I just looked and I got ANOTHER one thats prego!

Keep in mind there is not a single male with them. Just the girls.

Did they store sperm inside them and then got prego with that preserved sperm?

They can store sperm, but what it sounds like to me, is that you might have a sneaky wild, or loose male running around.

If you take photos of the mothers, the litters, and the fathers, genetically we can tell you who the father is.

Also, make SURE that you are not mistaken and have a male in there that you just think is a female.

Just checked all the tubs, no holes, no possible escape routs for a male to get out. I checked again to make sure there weren't ANY males in the tub, and there are not.

Your story is EXACTLY the same as mine, so I know what it's like.
I had three black hooded females (sisters) together in a bin, they had had a good amount of litters, so I wanted to give them a break. They each had 3 litters with no male. Same exact babies popped up as if I still had that same male in there....black hoodeds, black berks, and mink, with a mixture of dumbo and standard ear.
I've never had a loose rat or any chew out. And it'd be impossible for that male to go in their bin anyways, as he was in my boa's belly...
It was actually kind of annoying! Haha. I wanted to give those girls a break!

I don't know about rats, but gerbils can store sperm up to a year

My guess is, you didnt take male out in time. Females go in heat almost within a hour after giving birth. The male had to of gotten to her right then before you took him out.

If it happens once, then I put my money on not taking the male out in time.

If it happens to a female several times in a row, AND the litters get smaller each time, then it may be sperm storing. That's generally how it works, the litters are born close to one another, and get slightly smaller. I've had one doe mouse do it 3 times in a row before.

There is not (that I I have found) hard core scientific proof that rats have the ability to store sperm. However, there is a lot of information about male rats reaching sexual maturation early. My thoughts are that you are not removing the weanlings early enough and in the absence of an adult male, the largest and/or most dominant male offspring is maturing early to compensate. This is very common in mammals where sperm storage is not so common. Have ALL the females in the tub given birth multiple times without an adult male? The answer to this question is your solution.

That is crazy.... I have never heard of that.. :)

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Originally Posted by llovelace

I don't know about rats, but gerbils can store sperm up to a year

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ladybugzcrunch

There is not (that I I have found) hard core scientific proof that rats have the ability to store sperm. However, there is a lot of information about male rats reaching sexual maturation early. My thoughts are that you are not removing the weanlings early enough and in the absence of an adult male, the largest and/or most dominant male offspring is maturing early to compensate. This is very common in mammals where sperm storage is not so common. Have ALL the females in the tub given birth multiple times without an adult male? The answer to this question is your solution.

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I separate my pregnant rats before they give birth. I had one who, without a doubt gave birth alone in her tub and had no access to any males other than her babies. The babies were four weeks old when her next litter was born. There's no way a week old baby impregnated her, and there's no physical way for any other male to get to her. The only explanation is sperm retention. Wouldn't that be hard core proof?