not breeding my rats... famous last words!

[recycling goddess]

okay so i decided after our last breeding attempt that i'm just not breeding our ratties... (remember our girls chewed on ricardo rodente's foot and there was lots of blood) - well yesterday when i was cleaning the girls cage i thought they looked bigger... but i thought they looked big last time so i figured it was just me being - well -=

so this morning i get up and rosie has made a nest with every speck of bedding... all piled in one corner of the cage. now the girls live in their hammocks... each have their own... and barely ever spend time on the bottom of the cage... so the fact that she's done this definitely makes me stop and ponder... hmmmm... is she preggers?

so i moved her into a rubbermaid today... with a screen locking top. her belly is big and i'm pretty sure that during the 24-48 hours ricardo was in the girls cage... he did his job!

i'll keep you all posted... and take some pics of course!

[frankykeno]

If she looks like a big fat pear or is even really round bellied then she's likely preggers, especially with that major nest building going on. Likely within the next day or two as most of my females don't start with the nest construction till just a day or two before the deliver. Some of mine don't even build their nest till after they have the pinks, then they build the nest and move em in (some rats just do NOT plan ahead properly LOL).

Best of luck on your first rat litter. We want pics!

[recycling goddess]

we have 2 pups so far...



as a first time mother she doesn't seem to be doing too well... the babies are on the plastic bottom of the rubbermaid, cold. i warmed them in my hands for a few moments and gave them back to her. i hope she'll warm them up but i think she's probably got more babies coming!

my little girl (7) is saying "i'm an auntie... no i'm a GRAMA!" and she's dancing around the room

[frankykeno]

Sometimes the first litter doesn't go as well as subsequent ones as the females aren't quite sure what to make of all these pink popping out of them. Just don't make too much fuss around her and she'll figure out what's up in pretty short order.

[recycling goddess]

she's off in a dark corner... where no one can bother her. i just went with a flashlight and took a one second peek... she was nursing her babies... so i think all is well at this point.

i don't know how many she's had... perhaps just the two, or perhaps more. i'll check on her tomorrow when i feed her.

i can't believe how much bigger a pinkie rat is than a pinkie mouse... blows me away!

[frankykeno]

Yep they can be quite large, especially if it's a smallish litter (though 2 is very small for a rat even for a first litter). One of my best females normally produces 12-15 and they are always consistently bigger than other pinks born in litters of that size. Probably something genetic sometimes when you see larger than normal pinks born.

[Ginevive]

Yup; those were the unmistakable signs of an expecting rattie. Yes, rat pinkies are pretty huge compared to mice pinks.
I would just leave them alone for awhile, except to toss in food and change water.. in a few days you should know if she accepted the babies and didn't eat them.. contratulations on the new arrivals.

[recycling goddess]

there are 6 in total this morning. she has slimmed down tremendously and the pinkies all had full tummies when i went in to add food a few minutes ago.

[_BoidFinatic_]

there are 6 in total this morning. she has slimmed down tremendously and the pinkies all had full tummies when i went in to add food a few minutes ago.

She probably ate the weaker ones and now you're left with six, which is still great! I have had some first-time moms that only had litters of 7-9 .

[recycling goddess]

well she's also pushing it in age for a first litter. which is another reason when her breeding last time didn't work... i hesitated to try again.

regardless i'm pleased with 6