easy way to tell if rats r pregnate?

[Shenzi Sixaxis]

Yup! Definite sign.

[Tidus10]

just an FYI.. my female rat popped! i think i seen 8 babies :-)

[Capital Rodents]

There’s an easy way to tell if your rats have bred and are potentially prego. Hold the rat by the base of the tail and use a clean, sterile probe and gently push down on the lower end of the rat’s vagina. If the female has been bred recently you will see a sperm plug (white, milky substance in the opening). This doesn`t guarantee that she is pregnant but if there a plug there’s a good chance.
This method works great if you pull prego females, just check for a plug the morning after the female is introduced to the male. If there’s a plug pull her, if not leave her in and check again the next morning. Rats with fresh plugs will give birth in 21-23 days. If a male isn’t producing any plugs it might be time to replace him.
I know this may sound like rat porn but it’s the way the pros do it.

[tomfromtheshade]

I know this may sound like rat porn but it’s the way the pros do it.

LMAO! Oh man. I couldn't imagine checking all 600 females this way LMAO. Umm..."Yeah honey, won't be able to make it for dinner tonight...have to probe a few hundred rat vag's" LMAO.

[Shenzi Sixaxis]

I think maybe they meant the professionals who breed for temperament and all that crap? X)

[Capital Rodents]

I think maybe they meant the professionals who breed for temperament and all that crap? X)

No, not at all. I breed for quality and quantity. There are many great advantages to knowing if your rats have bred. If the females are plugged I’m able to pull them and put them together in the same bins, this way all the babies will be born at basically the same time. If I didn't check the plugs some females might be sitting around not pregnant for a couple weeks.
I can also tell if the male is doing his job. If I have a tub of females and there doesn't seem to be as many babies as the other tubs I can separate those females at the next breeding and see who is producing less.
Knowing how many prego females I have allows me to have a better understanding of what my inventory will be in the coming weeks.
Using this method also allows me to keep just 1 male for every 35 females.

Quote"LMAO! Oh man. I couldn't imagine checking all 600 females this way LMAO. Umm..."Yeah honey, won't be able to make it for dinner tonight...have to probe a few hundred rat vag's" LMAO.

Actually it doesn't take all that much time. I can usually check a tub in less than a minute, but it’s not something I talk to my wife about at the dinner table.

[paintballerpunk722]

ok i figured my rats are preg but they been the size of a base ball for over a month and a half whats up with that?