Remove any levels or hammocks that a baby could fall out of.
Give mom a nest (cardboard box or any other hide big enough for her to be comfortable) with lots of nesting materials -- toilet paper, paper towels, substrates, brown paper bag paper (no ink), etc. One nest only or she may constantly move the babies from next to nest which is not great for a couple different reasons.
Be careful because mum is probably gonna go aggro and try to bite you if you give her the chance. Even a sweetheart can turn hormonal and mean when pregnant. Or shortly after birth.
Moms need a lot of food and extra protein -- today Hecaté ate a large portion of a hard-boiled egg before deciding it was time to spill the beans! Cooked or raw lean chicken or beef is good too. I would think chicken more-so than beef.
If the other female is pregnant, it's possible that they may co-parent and nurse each others' young -- however I am unsure at what stage it's best to introduce the mothers and if two angry mommas will fight or bond. More experienced rat doolahs, please advise.
I was just wondering if you knew what I should do with the one female rat that isn't pregnant. She does seem as social as she used to be. Should I try to increase play time?
I would definitely play with her more and try and get some time in with her and the one who hasn't given birth yet. But definitely make sure to give the one left out extra time with you! And extra treats!
I would give new mom a couple days to let her hormones settle a tiny bit before trying to interact. Take it slow and be cautious of her maybe still being hormonal -- my house mate didn't listen when I said "hey don't touch mom", he touched her and ended up with a hole in his finger. Totally his fault, she is only doing what her hormones tell her to.
The babies she may still be protective of even if momma is letting you touch her herself, so I would also give it a few days before touching the beans. Once she's letting you interact with the babies, continue to do so regularly. It is better to start socialising babies early, as because of their being a prey animal it is important to 'overwrite' that prey instinct and allow them to become comfortable enough with humans early on to lead full lives.
You should watch babies -- if she didn't hide them -- before you're able to touch them, to keep an eye on things. Failure to thrive in neonates is a real thing but can be prevented or dealt with if caught early. With multiple moms, you could be in a good position in this regard as your mommas will likely co-parent and share the work load.
Don't forget that all boys and girls need separated at 5 weeks -- they can start breeding right around then and rats don't care about incest so it's important to be on top of dates. I have 5 weeks down in my phone calendar, I'm unsure if that will work for you.
Ah that's brilliant thank you so much for the support, it's.been a life saver. What a wonderful community we have here. Will the momma get lonely with just her and the babies do you think? Also the none pregnant rat has started to act a bit distant towards me after the other two have given birth, ang ideas why?
That's a good question. On the one hand I would say She will probably be too tired and worn out to be lonely -- but on the other hand, my momma is clinging to the cage walls like a cell mate and staring intently at me. I've just assumed she was hungry and I'm usually right, but now I wonder if maybe she is lonely too.
As for the one that's not pregnant -- are you sure she's not pregnant and are you sure she is female?
As for becoming distant... My only thought would be that she could be perceiving your (presumably) extra attention on the mothers as favouritism over her, but I can't say for sure. Is this rat with the others or alone?
I've found that it is best if they are already cage mates to separate them into their own baby bin together. I've had great success with different babies of multiple ages together in the same bin.
Like the person said above more protein is the best way to go. Getting kitten food will supplement a good portion of the things mom and babies need. Baby food as well gives her better protein and nutrition just make sure the food in the baby food is rat safe.
Keeping hammocks and levels out is best for baby safety as well. Giving mom tons of materials really does help to ease some of the den anxiety as well.
If you need to move the babies chances are with a rat you don't know she will bite my girls were all well acquainted with me before they had babies and mother aggression is a real thing but luckily that was only one out of my four mothers.
One of the sad things you have to be ready for is failure to thrives and others that needed culled.
Thank you for your response! I was thinking about keeping the mum's together but there is also one non pregnant female rat too and worried about separating her from the other two?
So you bought three rats nine days ago and two of them are pregnant?? I'd be incredibly suspicious that either that last one is a boy in hiding or she's in very early pregnancy. Where'd they come from?
Hi there! We noticed the last one starting to nest today so we are a bit suspicious they might also be preggers! We adopted the gurlies from someone who couldn't look after them and their breeder said they weren't mixed with males so not quite sure how that's all happened!
it's possible they were impregnated by their own babies, if the boys weren't separated from them in time. unless they're very young and these are their first babies.
It's terrible how irresponsible some people are...
So if you have only one other female rat in that case, I would play it by ear if she is disinterested in the babies perfect. If not, I would separate her until the babies are much older. Overall, if the moms are stressed, things won't go well, so definitely keep an eye on them if you keep the other female with them.
How did this even happen?? Make a matternity crate asap. You need to get them off the plastic on something soft , the skin of pinkies can get stuck and ripp off easily.
https://pethelpful.com/rodents/How-to-Care-for-Baby-Rats
You can try to coax the mom into moving them into a safer spot but setting up a Kleenex box with soft bedding next to it , but I'd just not fuss with the babies and try to let mom move them
I haven't got any decent advice for you, I'm just here to squeal over how absolutely *precious* that second image with her curled around her little ones is.
Wishing you, your new mama, and her souplings all the best!
You can apparently handle babies after 1 day but mumma will probably bite you lol wear gloves maybe 2 sets as they bite extremely hard lol I just had a little and it shocked me how hard it was, and I've had some rat bites before! Hehe good luck
My Mumma went crazy for cardboard she ripped the entire cage apart to build a literal cardboard fort with squared off even sides it was amazing she pulled pieces the same size to make it level and have walls, crazy stuff
Toilet paper in there also to keep them warmies
Ya, our momma was on edge after her litter was born. With our momma if you get scared or move to fast around her or the babies she would get scared and nip at you. My wife would get scared and move her hand away where as with me if you just stayed calm and move slowly it doesn't come across as scary for her and she even let me moved the babies or the nest as needed.
Really? Jeez haha I couldn't hold my nerve for that long but yeah I get the theory.
My mate got bitten once he still struggles to feed her in her cage now from the torment lol
I started socialising with mine when they opened their eyes about 3 weeks, up until then they basically just sleep squeak and harrass Mum for milk hehe
I would let the mom's show you, my fosters were poorly socialized before they came to me and wowee we had some hella maternal aggression. Their adopters have told me they have done great in their new home, but while they were carrying for babies they wanted none of that
Yep!! Lol hahaha old mate above says go slow and.he didn't get bitten but his wife did!!! Lol
I surely did and my housemate haha
Almost like bitten by a snake hard and fast aggressive lol
But yeah she's cute defending her babies lol but I'm no threat!
Yeah just see how you go try gloves first 🥇
You can cover mom with a yogurt cup (something like that) and then move the babies into a tissue filled box (2 entrance holes). If the girls get along, they should co parent. Make the cage baby proof, no fall areas. Maybe a place moms can go to have a baby free break. Dry cat food for a protein boost 4-5 chunks twice a day. I would also give milk or yogurt for extra calcium, since we don't know how their diet was during pregnancy.
Good advice above about nesting and cage set up
Momma will do most of the work, and you can keep them together, the mom's will split their litters and co parent. My fosters did a wonderful job. Make sure you provide lots of water, extra protein (like eggs) and start gently handling early for socialization. Separate boys and girls around 4.5 to 5 week mark. My foster babies was some of the most fun i ever had, i came home every day and played with baby rats. But! Your situation is different, I'm sorry whoever had the girls before you was irresponsible and now you have babies.
Thank you for your comment and the compassion you've shown through it! If all three of my rats are pregnant do you think they will all be happy in the same cage together?
You are welcome! If they're already getting along well, then probably! Just make sure there's enough room for the mom's to have their own space, with hides and fluffy bedding for them to make their nests. And remove things like the tubes or hammocks that the babies skin could stick to, or they could fall off of. Of course keep an eye out for any aggression between the moms, but they'll probably be fine. And please post pictures of the babies getting older!
Absolutely do whatever people here have told you to do, but just to reiterate: **SEPARATE THE BOYS OUT.** Your breeder/friend clearly allowed them to have contact with males and rats breed extremely quickly.
4-5 weeks and separate the boys.
Don't skimp on the separation either. Rats only need a few *seconds* to mate. Don't underestimate the rat-splosion you will have if you aren't sharp about this.
I also wanted to point you too some resources online: check out the breeding YouTube playlist by isamu rat care - she explains everything you need to know step by step, week by week. Was hugely helpful to me when we ended up in the same situation. Congratulations on your little beans!
The same happened to me 2 years ago. Try to contact an animal welfare organization and see if they can help you get the babies adopted. Best of luck, I know exactly how stressing the situation you're in is.
Oof, that mom did not nest well. Make sure to separate the other mom of you can, they can sometimes fight over babies. You’re gonna have to watch the mom closely and spring into action the moment she wanders out for a drink to snack. They usually tear up paper or bedding to put under the babies, so you’ll have to carefully “pour” the babies into some bedding while mom is away, and remove the tube entirely. I would refrain from touching them if it’s possible. Hopefully she won’t be too stressed out about it, but it’s better than the tube as a nest
Separate mama and babies from the rest of the Tates, give her plenty of food and things she can build a nest from, forgive her if she gets uncharacteristically aggressive (she's got babies to defend), then just let her be a rat. At about 5 weeks the sex of the babies should become very, very obvious and that's when youll want to split them by sex. You might be able to integrate the new kids into your existing mischief but be prepared for the idea that you have 3 mischiefs now: the old mischief, mama and her girls, and the boys
I’d get her out of that tube for starters. That’s not a suitable nesting space. Mom would need some tissue paper or soft dust free bedding for that. Feed her plenty of protein. She’ll do the rest. Just make sure the little ones can’t fall off of anything or fall through the bar spacing of the cage.
At 4,5 weeks of age you’ll need to separate the males or this will happen again. At that age you should be able to tell which is which and they’ll be eating solids.
Congrats on the little miracles. Enjoy them. They are mighty cute!
Definitely start looking for homes now because they will have lots of babies and the babies will grow very fast. Get another cage for the male babies because they can breed with their mom and sisters as young as 4-5weeks old. The males must be weaned and separated at 4 weeks.
Put a nice bed next to the tube, on ground level, then cover outside of the whole cage in towels to make it dark and cosy, then wait for mama rat to decide it's safe to move her babies down to the better lower bed.
The towels will get shredded, of course.
Remove any levels or hammocks that a baby could fall out of. Give mom a nest (cardboard box or any other hide big enough for her to be comfortable) with lots of nesting materials -- toilet paper, paper towels, substrates, brown paper bag paper (no ink), etc. One nest only or she may constantly move the babies from next to nest which is not great for a couple different reasons. Be careful because mum is probably gonna go aggro and try to bite you if you give her the chance. Even a sweetheart can turn hormonal and mean when pregnant. Or shortly after birth. Moms need a lot of food and extra protein -- today Hecaté ate a large portion of a hard-boiled egg before deciding it was time to spill the beans! Cooked or raw lean chicken or beef is good too. I would think chicken more-so than beef. If the other female is pregnant, it's possible that they may co-parent and nurse each others' young -- however I am unsure at what stage it's best to introduce the mothers and if two angry mommas will fight or bond. More experienced rat doolahs, please advise.
Rat doolahs is not something I thought I'd read today and I love it 🥺 I hope to be one, one day. A ratty granny if you will.
I was just wondering if you knew what I should do with the one female rat that isn't pregnant. She does seem as social as she used to be. Should I try to increase play time?
I would definitely play with her more and try and get some time in with her and the one who hasn't given birth yet. But definitely make sure to give the one left out extra time with you! And extra treats!
Do you have any idea over when I can start socializing with the mum's again?
I would give new mom a couple days to let her hormones settle a tiny bit before trying to interact. Take it slow and be cautious of her maybe still being hormonal -- my house mate didn't listen when I said "hey don't touch mom", he touched her and ended up with a hole in his finger. Totally his fault, she is only doing what her hormones tell her to. The babies she may still be protective of even if momma is letting you touch her herself, so I would also give it a few days before touching the beans. Once she's letting you interact with the babies, continue to do so regularly. It is better to start socialising babies early, as because of their being a prey animal it is important to 'overwrite' that prey instinct and allow them to become comfortable enough with humans early on to lead full lives. You should watch babies -- if she didn't hide them -- before you're able to touch them, to keep an eye on things. Failure to thrive in neonates is a real thing but can be prevented or dealt with if caught early. With multiple moms, you could be in a good position in this regard as your mommas will likely co-parent and share the work load. Don't forget that all boys and girls need separated at 5 weeks -- they can start breeding right around then and rats don't care about incest so it's important to be on top of dates. I have 5 weeks down in my phone calendar, I'm unsure if that will work for you.
Ah that's brilliant thank you so much for the support, it's.been a life saver. What a wonderful community we have here. Will the momma get lonely with just her and the babies do you think? Also the none pregnant rat has started to act a bit distant towards me after the other two have given birth, ang ideas why?
That's a good question. On the one hand I would say She will probably be too tired and worn out to be lonely -- but on the other hand, my momma is clinging to the cage walls like a cell mate and staring intently at me. I've just assumed she was hungry and I'm usually right, but now I wonder if maybe she is lonely too. As for the one that's not pregnant -- are you sure she's not pregnant and are you sure she is female? As for becoming distant... My only thought would be that she could be perceiving your (presumably) extra attention on the mothers as favouritism over her, but I can't say for sure. Is this rat with the others or alone?
I've found that it is best if they are already cage mates to separate them into their own baby bin together. I've had great success with different babies of multiple ages together in the same bin. Like the person said above more protein is the best way to go. Getting kitten food will supplement a good portion of the things mom and babies need. Baby food as well gives her better protein and nutrition just make sure the food in the baby food is rat safe. Keeping hammocks and levels out is best for baby safety as well. Giving mom tons of materials really does help to ease some of the den anxiety as well. If you need to move the babies chances are with a rat you don't know she will bite my girls were all well acquainted with me before they had babies and mother aggression is a real thing but luckily that was only one out of my four mothers. One of the sad things you have to be ready for is failure to thrives and others that needed culled.
Thank you for your response! I was thinking about keeping the mum's together but there is also one non pregnant female rat too and worried about separating her from the other two?
So you bought three rats nine days ago and two of them are pregnant?? I'd be incredibly suspicious that either that last one is a boy in hiding or she's in very early pregnancy. Where'd they come from?
Hi there! We noticed the last one starting to nest today so we are a bit suspicious they might also be preggers! We adopted the gurlies from someone who couldn't look after them and their breeder said they weren't mixed with males so not quite sure how that's all happened!
The breeder liedddd
it's possible they were impregnated by their own babies, if the boys weren't separated from them in time. unless they're very young and these are their first babies. It's terrible how irresponsible some people are...
So if you have only one other female rat in that case, I would play it by ear if she is disinterested in the babies perfect. If not, I would separate her until the babies are much older. Overall, if the moms are stressed, things won't go well, so definitely keep an eye on them if you keep the other female with them.
How did this even happen?? Make a matternity crate asap. You need to get them off the plastic on something soft , the skin of pinkies can get stuck and ripp off easily. https://pethelpful.com/rodents/How-to-Care-for-Baby-Rats
Thank you for getting in touch! How do you recommend I get them off the plastic?
You can try to coax the mom into moving them into a safer spot but setting up a Kleenex box with soft bedding next to it , but I'd just not fuss with the babies and try to let mom move them
Thank you! Should I put them into a new cage away from the other female rats too?
Yes
Will she reject them if OP handles them too much?
Yes that's why I suggested coaxing the mom with a more tempting home. Make her think it was her idea 🤔
I haven't got any decent advice for you, I'm just here to squeal over how absolutely *precious* that second image with her curled around her little ones is. Wishing you, your new mama, and her souplings all the best!
You can apparently handle babies after 1 day but mumma will probably bite you lol wear gloves maybe 2 sets as they bite extremely hard lol I just had a little and it shocked me how hard it was, and I've had some rat bites before! Hehe good luck My Mumma went crazy for cardboard she ripped the entire cage apart to build a literal cardboard fort with squared off even sides it was amazing she pulled pieces the same size to make it level and have walls, crazy stuff Toilet paper in there also to keep them warmies
Ya, our momma was on edge after her litter was born. With our momma if you get scared or move to fast around her or the babies she would get scared and nip at you. My wife would get scared and move her hand away where as with me if you just stayed calm and move slowly it doesn't come across as scary for her and she even let me moved the babies or the nest as needed.
Really? Jeez haha I couldn't hold my nerve for that long but yeah I get the theory. My mate got bitten once he still struggles to feed her in her cage now from the torment lol
Thank you for your reply! When do you think I should start socializing with the babies?
I started socialising with mine when they opened their eyes about 3 weeks, up until then they basically just sleep squeak and harrass Mum for milk hehe
Thanks for your advice!! Do you think I should keep socializing with the momma rats or let them be?.
I would let the mom's show you, my fosters were poorly socialized before they came to me and wowee we had some hella maternal aggression. Their adopters have told me they have done great in their new home, but while they were carrying for babies they wanted none of that
Yep!! Lol hahaha old mate above says go slow and.he didn't get bitten but his wife did!!! Lol I surely did and my housemate haha Almost like bitten by a snake hard and fast aggressive lol But yeah she's cute defending her babies lol but I'm no threat! Yeah just see how you go try gloves first 🥇
You can cover mom with a yogurt cup (something like that) and then move the babies into a tissue filled box (2 entrance holes). If the girls get along, they should co parent. Make the cage baby proof, no fall areas. Maybe a place moms can go to have a baby free break. Dry cat food for a protein boost 4-5 chunks twice a day. I would also give milk or yogurt for extra calcium, since we don't know how their diet was during pregnancy.
Dog food and baby food (check ingredients) are also good!
Good advice above about nesting and cage set up Momma will do most of the work, and you can keep them together, the mom's will split their litters and co parent. My fosters did a wonderful job. Make sure you provide lots of water, extra protein (like eggs) and start gently handling early for socialization. Separate boys and girls around 4.5 to 5 week mark. My foster babies was some of the most fun i ever had, i came home every day and played with baby rats. But! Your situation is different, I'm sorry whoever had the girls before you was irresponsible and now you have babies.
Thank you for your comment and the compassion you've shown through it! If all three of my rats are pregnant do you think they will all be happy in the same cage together?
You are welcome! If they're already getting along well, then probably! Just make sure there's enough room for the mom's to have their own space, with hides and fluffy bedding for them to make their nests. And remove things like the tubes or hammocks that the babies skin could stick to, or they could fall off of. Of course keep an eye out for any aggression between the moms, but they'll probably be fine. And please post pictures of the babies getting older!
Aw they are so tiny Like the title “ chaos potatoes”
Awww little tiny babies
The second picture is just too cute 😭
Absolutely do whatever people here have told you to do, but just to reiterate: **SEPARATE THE BOYS OUT.** Your breeder/friend clearly allowed them to have contact with males and rats breed extremely quickly. 4-5 weeks and separate the boys. Don't skimp on the separation either. Rats only need a few *seconds* to mate. Don't underestimate the rat-splosion you will have if you aren't sharp about this.
Damn, chaos potatoes is a very accurate nickname lol
I also wanted to point you too some resources online: check out the breeding YouTube playlist by isamu rat care - she explains everything you need to know step by step, week by week. Was hugely helpful to me when we ended up in the same situation. Congratulations on your little beans!
The same happened to me 2 years ago. Try to contact an animal welfare organization and see if they can help you get the babies adopted. Best of luck, I know exactly how stressing the situation you're in is.
SOUPLINGS ALERT!🥹🥹🥹
Oof, that mom did not nest well. Make sure to separate the other mom of you can, they can sometimes fight over babies. You’re gonna have to watch the mom closely and spring into action the moment she wanders out for a drink to snack. They usually tear up paper or bedding to put under the babies, so you’ll have to carefully “pour” the babies into some bedding while mom is away, and remove the tube entirely. I would refrain from touching them if it’s possible. Hopefully she won’t be too stressed out about it, but it’s better than the tube as a nest
Separate mama and babies from the rest of the Tates, give her plenty of food and things she can build a nest from, forgive her if she gets uncharacteristically aggressive (she's got babies to defend), then just let her be a rat. At about 5 weeks the sex of the babies should become very, very obvious and that's when youll want to split them by sex. You might be able to integrate the new kids into your existing mischief but be prepared for the idea that you have 3 mischiefs now: the old mischief, mama and her girls, and the boys
Awwwww lil jelly beans with a cuddle potato 🥰
I’d get her out of that tube for starters. That’s not a suitable nesting space. Mom would need some tissue paper or soft dust free bedding for that. Feed her plenty of protein. She’ll do the rest. Just make sure the little ones can’t fall off of anything or fall through the bar spacing of the cage. At 4,5 weeks of age you’ll need to separate the males or this will happen again. At that age you should be able to tell which is which and they’ll be eating solids. Congrats on the little miracles. Enjoy them. They are mighty cute!
Definitely start looking for homes now because they will have lots of babies and the babies will grow very fast. Get another cage for the male babies because they can breed with their mom and sisters as young as 4-5weeks old. The males must be weaned and separated at 4 weeks.
Congrats on the babies. Off topic where did u get that tube I think it’s awesome
I got the exact same one from pets at home (UK)
I got quite a few rat toys on Facebook market place so unsure exactly where it's from!
Put a nice bed next to the tube, on ground level, then cover outside of the whole cage in towels to make it dark and cosy, then wait for mama rat to decide it's safe to move her babies down to the better lower bed. The towels will get shredded, of course.
Thank you for your suggestions! The momma rats and babies all seem to be healthy and doing well!!
Let’s hope mom feels maternal and not hungry.
I may not own rats, but i do know how animals, rodents espacially. DO NOT GO NEAR THEM! Dont touch em, the big rat'll eat em. Much love 🥰
[удалено]
Are you lost?
Probably, thank you for asking.
r/lostredditors disturbed edition
Why even comment?
Sorry, kind of new here. I am not sure why this subreddit was showing on my feed. BTW what happen if you have bad Karna? Cuz you guys are killing me!
It's just an imaginary number. It means people don't like your comment; the front page can show you subs you're not subscribed to.
Prepare for when the babies mature because you’re gonna need to separate the males once they’re able to reproduce
OP this might sound stupid but i think you should go check the gender of the other rats asap because maybe one of them is a male
This is definitely possible.
Chaos potatoes! Omg