female rats

[Candaloo]

Ok, well I have had my little female, Bella, for about 3 weeks now (never had females before this), and I can't seem to get her to gain any weight. She is ALWAYS running on her wheel and shots around the room whenever I let her out. I know that girls are much more active than boys but, are they always so skinny? She came with my other girl Rose who passed away two weeks ago, who was as skinny and boney as you could get (pneumonia), Bella doesn't make those horrible breathing sounds that Rose did but could she have the same thing? I keep her warm but I also have to keep her alone, I haven't found any girl that I can get and I am not sure, with her recent lose, if I should get one. It would have to be a baby but I don't want that baby to get sick or vice versa, and I can't put a boy in there with her (no babies). I let her run around on me with one or two of my boys, but I have to watch constantly so she doesn't become prego. but she always giving them a good push with her back legs. Kind of funny to watch.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I live in WA, and have contacted little mischief rescue but they won’t adopt to me because I have males in my house and none of the human Societies around me actually keep rats.... Should I neuter a male and have him become her friend? I have heard that rats can die on the table from a reaction to the anesthetic?? What should I do?

~Candace and the rat pack

 

[smilez_n_hugs]

Oh please dont let your female come into any contact with the males EVER....supervised or not it takes a very short amount of time for the male to impregnate the female. If you are considering altering a male then why not get your female spayed then she can live with your males?

 

[Chevalrose]

I know that girls are much more active than boys but, are they always so skinny?

I've never had girls, but I believe they're supposed to be around 400g (please correct me if I'm wrong!). They certainly should not be skinny...but they are smaller overall. If her bones are prominent through her skin, then something's wrong.

Bella doesn't make those horrible breathing sounds that Rose did but could she have the same thing?

If she's not having breathing problems, it's probably not pneumonia. If she is skinny as opposed to small, then it could be something else. A vet check should be in order.

I let her run around on me with one or two of my boys, but I have to watch constantly so she doesn't become prego.

Please stop this! Rats can mate in only a few seconds...in less time then it would even be to stop it if you even noticed it happening. They must NOT come in contact with each other at all unless those boys get neutered or she gets spayed.

Should I neuter a male and have him become her friend? I have heard that rats can die on the table from a reaction to the anesthetic?? What should I do?

Personally I think that instead of neutering one of your males you should consider spaying her. It has many more health benefits to spay a female than to neuter a male. Plus, since you have more males you wont have to split it up into two colonies, you can just keep them all together.

 

[Moon]

Personally I think that instead of neutering one of your males you should consider spaying her. It has many more health benefits to spay a female than to neuter a male. Plus, since you have more males you wont have to split it up into two colonies, you can just keep them all together.

Yeah that. Plus, instead of waiting around for week after the male has been neutered to start intros safely, you can start introing her post spay as soon as she has healed.

Rats can be safely anesthetized but you want to make sure your vet is very comfortable doing it.

 

[LA]

My girls range from 300g to 390g. I would spay your girl and put her in with the boys.

 

[fenshae]

Seconding what's already been said in terms of not letting the girl play with the boys, even for a second, and getting the spay done -- the spay would be a good idea anyway for the little lady, as it will GREATLY reduce the chance of tumors, and after having gone through a half dozen tumors with my girls...yeah, it's something you want to avoid if you can at all.

I did have a rat die from anaesthesia complications; I take the blame for this because I didn't research independently but believed the (misadvised) vet tech who told me not to feed him the day before. Do NOT withhold food from a pre-operation rat! They can't vomit so it's pointless and it can cause their blood sugar drop dangerously. Be sure to discuss it with the vet, be sure they KNOW that fact about rats and also make sure they know to put a heading pad in with the recovering rat as their body temperature can drop in post-op. But if the vet knows what their doing, sugery risks are minimal.

As for girl's physique, it really differs from rat to rat. My lady Velvet was always very petite and slim, but she was pure muscle -- no bones sticking out, but definitely no flab either. Her daughter Lily was downright chubby and had a big squishy belly. So ya never know

 

[dogsnbears]

i find my girls are really skinny too, espec. the ones that run a lot. though i found in the past a spay makes them a bit lazier, they then run less and gain a bit more weight.