Is my rat pregnant?

I got a two month old rat from the petstore(I know I shouldn't get it from the petstore. Trust me, I know.) and suddenly she gained a lot of weight. Her nipples are a bit obvious but since this would be my first pregnant rat(if she is indeed pregnant), I'm not too sure. I'm not sure if she was kept with other males either. What do you guys thinks?

Edit: I got her almost two weeks ago and she was on the skinny side when I got her. It doesn't look like a normal fat rat. She only seems fat around her lower abdomen.

Hmm. Her belly looks a bit pudgy... but when they're closer to birth, the hair around the nipples falls off and the nipples are way more obvious. That's the standard amount of showing for nipples on a girl. You're going to have to weigh her every single day, around the same time, to truly determine pregnancy.

You mentioned "fat rat" but honestly she doesn't look fat or overweight at all to me. The way she's held in the last pic focuses on her belly but she looks pretty normal... a weight would answer that though.
Also pregnancy is about 3 weeks, so if you've had her for 2 it's really vital that you very closely monitor her weight.

Ok, I'll see if I can find a scale for her. I guess the best way to tell is to wait though.

What I meant by fat, which I'm aware I worded it a bit confusingly,is that she gained weight really quickly but only in her abdomen. I have another female rat that is 3 months old and she is a bit chunky all around. That rat gained weight all over her body evenly.

No the best way to tell is to weigh her so you're prepared if she is pregnant haha.

You can use a food or postal scale, there are some dirt cheap ones at places like staples and other office stores.

If she's pregnant you'll have to separate her from her cagemates, feed her a better diet with more protein, and be prepared to watch her closely while she gives birth to make sure that no babies are stuck and that she doesn't need to be rushed to a vet for care... she's very very young for this. And of course you will need to make sure you have a place to keep about 20 babies for at least 6 weeks and find homes.

It would be a bit more helpful to see the belly from the side instead of straight on... but honestly the only way you will really know is by monitoring weight... many rats will gain weight when they first go to a good home and are fed properly. They are often fedno poorly at petstores so they will put on some weight when you put them on a good diet.

Oh I forgot! I only have spayed females but! Rats go into heat every 4-5 days, give or take. If you've had your girl for nearly 2 weeks she should have gone into heat at least once. Have you seen her go into heat?

Well, I have a large cage being mailed to me some time next week so she can have the old cage(which is big enough for my five girls currently) for her and her babies. Honestly I hope she isn't pregnant. I really don't know what to do with that amount of rats. Plus, rat keeping isn't very big near my home so it will be hard to find homes. However, if she is pregnant, I'll have to just work with it. She is currently already on a high(ish) protein diet and is constantly eating and drinking.

Is there any other reason she would be gaining weight only in her lower abdomen?

Edit: I don't think she has been in heat. She hasn't been the easiest to handle, always squirming except in the beginning, but I think she was just so terrified she didn't want to move. She was also emaciated and sickly looking at the time, so she might not have had the energy to move. The vet said she would be fine though and she did recover. All my girls are intact and I have seen some signs of the others going into heat. also, my other girls gained some weight when we got them as well, but not as much as she has and she is on the same diet as them. They are all fairly young. Under 6 months.

From your description and your pics I would say your girly is pregnant, but definitely weigh her...same time each day, and then we can try to determine if she's close or not. The maternity cage has to have small bar-spacing, a deep base where the wire cage doesn't sit in the base, and no shelves or hammocks. I usually put my momma's on soft paper type bedding, or even just ripped up papertowel. Give her lots of paper towel to see if she's nesting. Watch her when she grooms her bellies as they groom off the fur around their nipples for easier access to the "milkbar" for her babies.

Velo: She is squirmy so this was the best side pic I could get:



lilspaz68: Ok, the cage they are in currently sounds like it will be good if I remove the shelves. She is also grooming her belly a lot. Plus she seems to be nesting (rips up paper, stuffs blankets into and igloo and sleeps in there). Plus they are currently using paper bedding (I tried to litter train, but that failed. I will try again in the new cage.)

Oh man! Be prepared to be a grandma because things are looking more and more like it!
I really really hope she has a small litter!
We will do everything we can to help you and help them find homes if there are indeed babies.
Thank you for making the commitment to care for her and her babies even if it's not what you were expecting when you got her.
For now, you hopefully have some time to prepare... normal gestation is 21-23 days. If we can make it to 28 days after you adopted her then you are in the clear and she is not pregnant.
If she is pregnan, some things she will enjoy are privacy, nesting materials, and scrambled eggs.
Fingers crossed that she isn't and if she is its a super small litter!!

Ok...Well, my mom is panicking just a bit, but I'm staying calm. Thank you for offering to help! I have experience with a young cat which was no more than an older kitten giving birth so hopefully it will go just as smoothly as hers did. I've been pretty lucky with baby animals so lets just hope for the best. The new huge cage for my other rat girls is scheduled to come in Friday and if she can make it till then(if she is pregnant), she can have the other cage. My main concern is not only for her own health but for the baby rats that I will have to find home for. I've been pretty good with finding baby dogs and cats homes but I've never dealt with baby rats. What are baby rats called?

I'll get a scale in the morning and monitor her. I'll keep you posted on how she is. Hopefully this will be a false alarm!

I actually gave her leftover scrambled eggs this morning, hehe. She also distances herself from my other girls a lot, is that normal? They adjusted to her almost instantly and I do find them in huge piles of fur from time to time(sleeping on each other) and they play, but most of the time she is by herself or with the other loner of the group(That girl doesnt distance herself much but she likes to stay with Snow, the possibly pregnant one, a lot.

Unfortunately most pet stores never intend for their rats to be pets so the care they get is bare minimum She could just be gaining so much from eating better and just being in an overall better environment cause at the pet store they probably feed a crappy seed mix and they only get so much everyday and depending on how many rats are in the tank it is pretty much every man for himself in there atleast that is what I have seen in my local pet store and the boys and girls are all tossed together as well so like the others have said her being pregnant is a big possibility. Just watch her behavior and weigh her everyday and if she starts acting uncomfortable and starts stretching alot then that could mean she is going into labor and you will need to be prepared in case it happens before the other cage gets there cause you have had her for 2 weeks and if she is pregnant you don't know how long she was pregnant before you got her so realistically it could be any day now. I am sure that your mom is freaking, I freaked out when we realized ours was about to pop and my daughter was the one ensuring me everything would be ok. So fingers crossed that it is just her getting healthy and if not then get prepared for little squeakers Baby rats are called kittens or pups whichever you prefer some call them peanuts,pinkies..the list goes on lol I called mine little squeakers cause they can be quit vocal in the first weeks of life

It will be okay for everyone! We will find a way to make it through this no matter what.

Her distancing behavior could be either because she is pregnant and wants to be alone for birth or because that's just her personality and she's adjusting, it's hard to tell.

As far as I know, that belly would be way bigger and her nipples would be way more exposed if she was about to give birth. It's a really confusing time to try and figure out if she's pregnant or not.

If she has babies I will help you find homes and we can all give you tips, I can promise that. You are not alone in this!

Where are you located? Like city/state (or province) we may already have some members located near you and looking for rats. Or maybe a member can help you find homes. Members have even organized rat trains to help find homes.

It's likely best to separate Snow now as you don't know when she got pregnant (if in fact she is pregnant). You could make a bin cage for her for now.

I am so grateful for the information, tips, and overall support from you guys! It's one thing to research this stuff from a website, but it's an entirely different thing to hear what works for other and how they're rats acted. I'm going to try a lot of the tips and recommendations and I will hopefully be able to get a scale tomorrow. I'll keep you guys posted! Also, she was most definitely meant to be a feeder rat, I just thought that she should have a home. The males, three huge rats, we're separated from her when I got her but she had only been there a couple of days. She could have had contact with males at her breeder or during shipping. Fingers crossed that it is only a false alarm!

Edit:I plan to move her to a temporary cage soon. I'll need to make sure it is safe for her and her pups (if she is pregnant) and then I will move her. I am located in the Tampa, FL area.

She looks larger today. I've ruled out megacolon, seeing as how she is eating and pooping fine and her only symptom is the bloating. She seems rounder around her lower abdomen. I'll try to get a scale some time today. She is grooming her belly a lot. We will be moving her to another, smaller enclosure today.

Noka said:

She looks larger today. I've ruled out megacolon, seeing as how she is eating and pooping fine and her only symptom is the bloating. She seems rounder around her lower abdomen. I'll try to get a scale some time today. She is grooming her belly a lot. We will be moving her to another, smaller enclosure today.

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My gut says pregnant, so this is a good idea, especially if she's going off by herself. Fingers crossed for a easy labour, and a small healthy litter.

Good stuff! Still hoping she may be just got very fat haha.
How many days have you had her with you now?
Babies won't be ready to be adopted out till 6 weeks after birth so we will have time to help you look for homes and you can get the word out during that time.

I'm hoping for her just to be fat but every day she looks larger with no change in diet or treats! Today we've had her for two weeks. She is still very active and we'll be watching her nesting behavior and all that fun stuff.

Quick Update: She is removing the fur from around her nipples. I just checked and two are exposed. They weren't like that this morning!

Guys, we moved her to the smaller enclosure and gave her nesting materials. Once she got over the initial shock, she started nesting.