Preg Female rat! Does she need a companion?

I have a preg rat that is about two and a half to three weeks along! :) She is fat and waddeling around. She has pushed all the aspen and newspaper strips to one end of her enclosure. My question is does she need to have a companion in there with her or will she be ok by her self? I know they are social animals and I want her to be happy. Thank you in advance for any input.

At this point I would leave her alone. Normally I would say having a "friend" is much better for rats as they are so social. But since she is already pregnant and nesting trying to introduce a new girl might cause her stress. They will also do the wrestle (I am the boss) kind of thing (just like dogs do) and she really doesn't need that now.


Once her babies are weened either leave one of her daughters with her to be her friend so once all the babies are gone you can get her a friend.

Now how those pics.:D

Thank you for the quick reply. I took the male out today becasue he kept wrestling with her and I figured when she started waddeling it was time to take him out.

Sorry I forgot about pics

Nesting
http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/c...r/DSC05388.jpg

Kinda shows her belly, but is looks a lot bigger in person
http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/c...r/DSC05391.jpg

Here are one of my trios of ASFs Since I had the camera out.
http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/c...r/DSC05367.jpg

awe, look at that pregger tummy!

we keep all the girls together until they are ready to deliver. we currently have one mommy with her four babies in a "maternity" bin. she will be with them another 2-3wks before we will seperate them. once babies are weaned she will go in with the other nonpregnant females. babies are kept in a much smaller cage until they are big enough to fend for themselves. if you are breeding these for pets or you care about the female i would just be sure to spend some gentle time with her if shes not too stressed out so you dont think shes so lonely. your tank looks very similar to mine (having only water, food, bedding materials) but i also put a few fresh fruits and veggies in with our girls quite frequently.. again mine are pets so they are a bit pampered (you would be shocked to see their cages, haha) good luck hope momma has a safe delivery

I'd probably also offer mom some more variety in her diet. Becky's diet mix is great - it's stickied above (Satanic Intention's rat mix).

We are breeding for feeders but the breeders are pets and are very spoiled, they get a bite of everything I eat. My girlfriend says that I spoil them. But they are cool. I like them, one of the females is going to have to get "replaced" because she is agressive and bites anytime she get a chance.

Thank you all

I also breed for feeders, and my breeders are spoiled pets as well. I have 2.8 right now. They get Mazuri lab block mixed with dry oatmeal, tri-color pasta and usually a variety of Kashi cereals, but sometimes other cereals as well. I try to avoid the sugary cereals. I spend a little extra for the Kashi cereal, but I want them to have a nice variety of quality food to choose from.


They also get some left-overs from our dinners, they love bones, and spaghetti particularly! Every now and then I'll boil some eggs and put a whole boiled egg (shell and all) in each enclosure. They LOVE to eat it all, including the shells!

She had her litter last night :carrot: , this is my first!!!!! There are ten little ones and they are cute. I pulled her out for a few quick pics and now she is back in. Thank you again. I think she has all the companions she needs now..LOL

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/c...r/DSC05392.jpg

i was going to say.. good thing you didnt rush out and get her a friend! she sure will be a busy lady now