breeding rats

i'm going to start a breeding my own rats here in the next few days and just wanted to check whether there are any common sense issues i'm missing. i have enclosures set up, food, water, ect..

after the rat pups are born, is there any special care i need to do that the parent female can't/won't do?

Have you tried posting in and/or checking out the feeder section of the forums? There is a whole sub-forum dedicated to breeding rats and it's filled with useful info.

well, that certainly answers a few questions. and to think after all this time i didn't even realize this sub-forum existed :oops:

Lol, don't worry. I'm still finding things myself!

I don't think you are missing anything. Although I do like to separate my mothers to be. Especially first time mothers. I lost my first litter to a first time mom, sometimes there's nothing you can do about it.

I'm not sure what all you're planning but I leave my male and female together for at least a week, longer if I don't have another companion for them to be with. A week insures that they have been bred, pretty much no matter what. I keep track of my breeding dates and the projected due date. Once that due date rolls around, about a week before, I put the momma's by themselves. You'll easily detect if they are prego or not the week before, and especially three days before, they get HUGE!

I can't sleep and I noticed no one had posted :D

Good luck!

Most female rats are excellent, instinctive parents. Just provide her with lots of food, access to a full water bottle, clean her enclosure as required and she'll pretty much do the rest. Do watch your fingers. Some female rats can get very nippy when they are on a litter and a rat bite is no fun at all.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Most female rats are excellent, instinctive parents. Just provide her with lots of food, access to a full water bottle, clean her enclosure as required and she'll pretty much do the rest. Do watch your fingers. Some female rats can get very nippy when they are on a litter and a rat bite is no fun at all.

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Yes Getting bit by mama rat sucks, you will learn real fast on how not to get bit. :D