Can we put a neutered male with a female?

[carbonmmonoxide]

So the story is this, I have a female rat, was already pregnant when I got her, and I figured that instead of getting another rat as a cagemate, I'd keep one of the babies. Turns out that my favorite one out of the litter, Hector Lousianna,

is most definately a male. Could I get him neutered and put him in the same cage as the mother, like permanently? Or if even neutered, he would not go well with a female as a cagemate? I really hope someone has some experience with this, because I only have a couple of days to decide :cry4:

 

[KatTheHippie]

Yes, you can keep a neutered male with a female. There are plenty of people around here who have mixed gender colonies, their pipsqueaks are just fixed

Just make sure you go to a vet who has experience with ratties.

 

[lilspaz68]

neutered males with intact females are just fine, BUT when will your vet neuter a boy? Both the mom and the boy could be alone for months until he is big/old enough, and then another 2-3 more weeks after the surgery until he is infertile.

Can you keep a girl baby as well for Mom at least?

 

[Unepuce]

Currently, I have 2 neutered males living with 4 intact females - and I am getting Chester neutered on Tuesday to join the crew later on. I have always had the mix and it always worked wonderfully!

 

[rhapsody]

I've got two neutered boys living with intact females, and hopefully one more neutered boy will be joining them.

lilspaz68 brings up a good point though. Most vets like to wait until a rattie is more than a month old before attempting a neuter, and you've also got a couple weeks waiting period post-neuter to ensure that er ... all the sperm is gone. Once your baby boy is weaned, it could be several months before he's able to safely join his mom as a cage buddy.

 

[victoria]

neutered males with intact females are just fine, BUT when will your vet neuter a boy? Both the mom and the boy could be alone for months until he is big/old enough, and then another 2-3 more weeks after the surgery until he is infertile.

Can you keep a girl baby as well for Mom at least?

The vet Unepuce and I go to in Montreal will neuter young boys. Spaying the mom would be more beneficial, but it's a lot more expensive. I have two groups of mixed sex rats (one was a neutered male and a bunch of intact girls - all the girls are fixed now though, the other is an intact make and spayed girls) and they are both happy colonies.

 

[rhapsody]

neutered males with intact females are just fine, BUT when will your vet neuter a boy? Both the mom and the boy could be alone for months until he is big/old enough, and then another 2-3 more weeks after the surgery until he is infertile.

Can you keep a girl baby as well for Mom at least?

The vet Unepuce and I go to in Montreal will neuter young boys. Spaying the mom would be more beneficial, but it's a lot more expensive. I have two groups of mixed sex rats (one was a neutered male and a bunch of intact girls - all the girls are fixed now though, the other is an intact make and spayed girls) and they are both happy colonies.

:emb: Merg, completely forgot about the spaying option! It'd be less waiting time all around if you get the mom spayed instead. Plus you'd greatly decrease her chance of getting mammary tumors down the road. The surgery is a bit more invasive than a neuter though.

 

[carbonmmonoxide]

Apperently, they can be neutered from 8 -10 weeks, but I will call the vet today to get more info. Also it takes 8 days for all the sperm to be gone, 10 days to be completely sure. The 2 girls currently with my rat are going to a friend, so I'm sure they can stay a while to keep company. I am looking for another rat for a 3rd cagemate, because I find the cage a little too roomy, so I guess I will spend my time on Kijiji today lol. I was going to get my female rat neutered too as soon as possible, but from what I read, it's best to get the boys fixed as early as possible, so I think it would be best to neuter Hector first

 

[carbonmmonoxide]

I'm just so worried about traumatizing my girl! First we get her and she's pregnant, so change of environment while shes like 3 days from giving birth, then the new cage, then the boys are seperated and so on. Lol I'm probably just being a big baby about this, but I just dont want her to be stressed out.

What are the general prices for Neutering vs. Spaying?

 

[hopefloats]

I'm just so worried about traumatizing my girl! First we get her and she's pregnant, so change of environment while shes like 3 days from giving birth, then the new cage, then the boys are seperated and so on. Lol I'm probably just being a big baby about this, but I just dont want her to be stressed out.

What are the general prices for Neutering vs. Spaying?

Neuters are always cheaper than spaying. They are less invasive than the spays. the actual price will depend on the area you are in.

I just went through this intro my females are not spayed yet, but my males are. It was a full month since the neuters. the first few meetings they try to mount the girls but girls do the dance for them so they are equal to blame. It has came to an almost total stop now that they are adjusted. I have never seen my male rat so happy, and the girls are equally accepting of them. It was by far the easiest intro i have done.

I would prefer to have boys done earlier, the less time they spend with those evil things the happier they appear.

I am sure she wont be traumatized in the end when you have a group of rats that are happy, all the work to get them there is beyond rewarding.

 

[rhapsody]

It was $60 to get my newest boy neutered, and I just got my baby girl spayed for $275.

 

[victoria]

I already sent a PM but it's approximately $200 for a neuter, $350 for a spay at my vet. Plus a $55 exam fee before any surgery and taxes.

 

[Moon]

What are the general prices for Neutering vs. Spaying?

Unfortunately, asking this question will get you lots of lowball prices and a very good chance of not getting any quotes close in your area, LOL. It really varies hugely.

 

[zenia wulfe]

Also it takes 8 days for all the sperm to be gone, 10 days to be completely sure.

I know a girl who waited FOUR weeks and her boys still managed to get ALL of her females pregnant. When I had a male neutered, I made sure he was 5 weeks post-op before introducing him to my ladies. It was ok for me though, since he was rescued quite a way away from me (I am on Vancouver Island and he was rescued and neutered in Idaho) he was done for cheap (I paid $35 for him) and he had male cagemates to keep him company until someone I knew was going down there and could bring him back.

What are the general prices for Neutering vs. Spaying?

In my area, I know that neutering costs $125, but I don't know about spaying.

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

Also it takes 8 days for all the sperm to be gone, 10 days to be completely sure.

I know a girl who waited FOUR weeks and her boys still managed to get ALL of her females pregnant. When I had a male neutered, I made sure he was 5 weeks post-op before introducing him to my ladies.

I'm pretty sure that's next to impossible, I have heard people claim this before but there are always other explanations (like other intact males in the house or they started play times too early etc.)

I would prefer to have boys done earlier, the less time they spend with those evil things the happier they appear.

I agree with you if you are just looking at personality but the earlier a female is spayed, the less chance of mammary tumors and/or PT which is why I would recommend spaying the Mom. Also depending on how old the Mom is you might want to consider keeping 2 babies so that they have someone their own age to play with rather than harassing Mom.

 

[zenia wulfe]

I'm pretty sure that's next to impossible, I have heard people claim this before but there are always other explanations (like other intact males in the house or they started play times too early etc.)

*shakes head* I believe these were the only two males she had. She is also a very responsible pet owner, so I don't think she would let them have 'playtime' before the post-op time was done. It happened a while ago, so I might be missing some details. Still, better to wait a little longer than recommended!

 

[hopefloats]

[quote="smilez_n_hugs":2taeqje3]I'm pretty sure that's next to impossible, I have heard people claim this before but there are always other explanations (like other intact males in the house or they started play times too early etc.)

*shakes head* I believe these were the only two males she had. She is also a very responsible pet owner, so I don't think she would let them have 'playtime' before the post-op time was done. It happened a while ago, so I might be missing some details. Still, better to wait a little longer than recommended![/quote:2taeqje3]


just FYI you are scaring me to death LOL mine were 4 weeks before i did intro with my girls, if they get pregnant, i will just scream LOL

 

[zenia wulfe]

In any case, I sent her (at least, I think it is her) a message via Facebook and linked to this thread. If she has an account here, she can probably clear it up.

 

[hopefloats]

Good lol It is hard watching a male mount my girls, this scared me :laugh4:

 

[craze_176]

It was 4 weeks and 2-3 days actually and Hazel (I know it was him from the phenotypes of the litter of 15 babies) only got Eva pregnant when I intro'd them all. Eight was showing too but apparently she had either a phantom pregnancy or a miscarriage.

I thought Eva was having a phantom too because she had never been around boys before (these were indeed my only 2 in the house at the time, safely caged far away from the girls pre-op) but then I was holding my round baby girl (she was only 4 months old!) and then I felt little KICKS and I was like WTF. I seriously thought it was a phantom because I've heard rats become 100% infertile like 8 days after surgery. Eva ended up having 15 babies, I kept 5 (decided to keep 1, fell in love with my heart rat and kept her, then no one wanted 3 triplet boys) and still have 3 (this happened 2 years ago). I did not pay $250 just so I could struggle to rehome 10 babies who all looked the same and had hoods XD

I'm extremely lucky neither of them impregnated the two rescues I had at the time; Baloo and Peanut. Both were 1.5 years and Baloo almost died from a pregnancy in a pet store before I had her and needed surgery (not sure if she was spayed at that point though) and both had very bad genes.

I don't believe in the unethical breeding of animals and I can't believe *I* had an 'oops' litter. I was still in high school at the time and I ended up with 19 rats and two guinea pigs! Now I'm the most paranoid person ever with keeping my boys and girls separate because I never want an explosion of babies again! I also have old girls again like I had back then and I can't believe how close I potentially came to losing them or having their lives endangered by pregnancy. I think about precautions so much now I have repeat nightmares of someone in the house or myself leaving cage doors open and there's dozens of rats and babies EVERYWHERE! lmao

I'm kind of tired of explaining the whole thing for people to just not believe me but I gave a few reasons above why I didn't plan the whole thing. It's not my issue if people don't believe me and their rats get preggo or anything; just know I waited 5 FULL weeks before introducing Hippo to my girls after his neuter for anxiety with males.

BTW Hazel is still kickin', 1 month away from his 3rd birthday and still living with all his girlies Lucky B!