Time frame questions

[amon]

According to this FAQ: http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...ad.php?t=31106

Rats are weaned between week 3 and ½ to 5, but they are sexually mature at week 5 to 6?? Meaning they can get pregnant almost right after weaning?? Is this really possible?

What is the ill effect of breeding too early, before the 4-5 months rule?

Thanks.

[littleindiangirl]

Have you seen a 5 to 6 week old rat compared to an adult rat? HUGE difference in size.

If you raise them to 250 - 300 grams, you'll lower the risk of pregnancy complications and are more likely to have a good sized litter.

Even 250 -300 grams is small compared to the adult size of a female rat. I have a couple that remained that size into adult hood and they are tiny compared to the rest of my girls, and reflect it in litter size as well.

[truthsdeceit]

It's better to er on the safe side and wean earlier for this reason. I wean as soon as I see the runt of the litter eating solids and drinking from the water bottle.

Getting prego too young can stunt growth of rodents or result in complications at birth. Both mother and the litter can die of these complications. The size of the rat can make a big differernce in future health and litter size so better to wait for them to grow up a little.

Plus unintentional incest is never good. I say 'unintentional' because some people do line breed their rodents with no ill effects.


Hope that helps,
Cheers!

[Somed00d]

I have never seen a really young one give birth but i guess its possible

[amon]

So is it safer to wean them earlier than later?

I was afraid if weaning early will deprive them from getting the milk from mom that they might need. So I weaned my first couple litters at between 80-100 grams( I forgot to mark the dates so I don't have the age, I guess around 5-6 wks). Is that too late?

I just couldn't imagine they can get pregnant while that small.

If I lose track of the age, can I go with 250g as a guideline for starting to breed? The male can be any size from 250g and up, right?

Thanks.

[littleindiangirl]

80-100 grams is probably between the 4 and 5 week mark. Not terrible at all. I constantly have 60-80 gram weaners and the 3 1/2 week mark, so it sounds like your safe. It seems like they jump up to 100-115 grams (males anyways) the following week.

And yes, I always have an idea how old my girls are, but the biggest deciding factor for me is weight, right around 250-300 grams is when consider them ready to breed. Once they get pregnant they will pack on the grams too.

[amon]

Thanks for the info. I thing I'm going to weight a few different sizes and get used to their size and weight, so I can judge by looking at their size and know in the future. I think marking the age for each one is complicated.

Thanks a lot for all your input.