Pregnancy - Tips appreciated

Well, apparently Cookie got some action at the pet store. She’s pregnant, likely expecting next week, and now our little duo has become a full blown mischief. ‍

Does anyone have any reliable sources to turn to for guidance?

I got them teklad 2018 since they’re young (was going to switch to 2014 or Oxbow Adult, since that’s more easily attainable), stopping that (they’ve only had a few blocks) and switching to Oxbow so the babies don’t get too big... then I’ll give the 2018 to her while she’s nursing.

Nesting box? Tissue box? Old prefolds (cloth diapers) cut into strips? Cheap Walmart fleece blanket cut into strips?

Should I separate Cookie and Cake? I’m getting mixed info on this... Cake is two weeks or so younger than Cookie.

Anyway... advice, guidance, tips, tricks, links?

I’m not a professional at all, but when we found out our girl was pregnant when we bought her, we keep here together with her cage mate until she had the babies, we help remove all the babies to a small cage and had soft nesting material for them, we never had to do to much, rats are such amazing mommas

How long have you had her?
Normal gestation is about 21.5 days and rats gain a great deal of weight in the last week ….. so you may want to weigh her once a day at the same time with a digital scale that weighs accurately to 1 gram (and has a tare function). By recording her weights you can see the pattern

What type of a cage do you have? Can you post pics?
She will need to be in a one level cage with small bar spacing
When she is close to giving birth, you will want to separate her from her sister, but allow her to visit with her sister daily.
You can use bedding in the cage such as unscented paper based bedding, hardwood shavings or a fleece blanket - make sure all bedding is frozen for 36 to 72 hours after purchase to kill any parasites that may be in it.
You can give her strips of paper towel (not Kleenex) for nest building.
Some people provide rats with a nest box, others do not.
No hammocks etc as babies could fall out of them if taken there by their mama

Please see the links in the Reference Thread for good info re pregnancy and babies. https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/
Make sure you have access to a good vet with the knowledge and experience to treat rats in case you have a labour emergency and she needs a C-section

I would suggest you get that double critter nation cage now, because you will need it
- if you do get one, cut a piece of coroplast to fit snuggly over the bars in both the bottom and the top full floors, under the pans, because babies have been killed by the bars after crawling under the floor pans

all the best to both of you