lilspaz68
Well-Known Member
Darn. Lethargy is a bad sign. How does her belly feel? hard and lumpy, or soft and squishy?
HELP! Is my rat pregnant??
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Darn. Lethargy is a bad sign. How does her belly feel? hard and lumpy, or soft and squishy?
Awich
Member
When she was younger we would actually call her squishy belly because she was just so squishy! It feels kinda squishy when I pick her up, but when I lift her up under her arms, it definitely feels firm - idk if it's just because I'm stretching her out though. She seems to get agitated when I touch her belly. As for the lumps, I'll attach this pic of her facing forward rearing up.
lilspaz68
Well-Known Member
Belly pics are pretty useless overall unless there are enough babies in there that make them really show a pregnancy. So no point giving us more of these.
We need to go by your observations. If there are pups in there and its 23 days into pregnancy then you would likely feel the little hard lumps and they should be moving, preparing for birth. You never got a scale did you?
Now we have to worry about other things like closed pyometra, dead pups decaying in her womb, tumours, etc.
Give it one more day and I would take her to the vet if the lethargy continues.
We need to go by your observations. If there are pups in there and its 23 days into pregnancy then you would likely feel the little hard lumps and they should be moving, preparing for birth. You never got a scale did you?
Now we have to worry about other things like closed pyometra, dead pups decaying in her womb, tumours, etc.
Give it one more day and I would take her to the vet if the lethargy continues.
Awich
Member
I did not get a scale as I thought it would be a waste of money if she just ballooned up and had babies. I am awful, I definitely should have gotten one shouldn't I? She seemed fine all this time, eating well, drinking well, being friendly so I thought she would be fine. I'm praying that there's nothing wrong and she'll either have babies or perk up tomorrow. If she doesn't I will definitely take her to the vet. Thanks for your help.
Reepicheep
Member
Sorry no advice to add, but wishing the best for you both!
Joanne
Well-Known Member
I concur - off to the vet if there's no change. Fingers crossed.
Awich
Member
As you may have guessed by now - no babies! I am extremely happy about this as I am not expeierienced whatsoever with rat babies. :-D I just wanted to tell everyone thank you so much for all your help!! I would've gone crazy without this forum!! Here's a pic of Harper munching on some treats with her sister Delilah! Once I put them back in the same cage they were ecstatic! Harper was much more happy to have walls to climb on, toys to play with and hammocks to snuggle in! Again, thanks everyone for all your help!!:love2:
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Joanne
Well-Known Member
No pic. 
But yay! No babies!
But yay! No babies!
hopefloats
Not active.
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2010
- Messages
- 8,668
There is no truth to that people tend to lie so their screw up litters look like they did nothing wrong. It is impossible to bred through bars. Under the bathroom doors yeah that is a new one...... And beyond impossible.... Dont believe babies happen in any other way other than the male mounting a female. That is the only way and half the time the males miss the spot that way.
Sheldon
Rataholic
Lol they need to work on their aim!!
trihkal
Senior Member
Oh good! That must be a relief. I had unaltered males and females in the same house when I was fairly new to rats. Luckily we never had any accidents but it seems like such a high potential that we don't keep both sexes anymore. One day we're going to do a mixed group with altered females but until then I'm staying clear of any more risks like that.
Maybe. I guess my biggest fault is to give people the benefit of the doubt, especially where our fellow rescues are concerned. It is better to err on the side of kindness I find, than to shoot down others with whom we have a common goal. Maybe the rescue was afraid of attack or gossip, and therefore shy of admitting their mistake?
YokaiRatRAR
Active Member
Sad to say it just takes 1 split second. V.V;;;; they go into heat every four days and about 12 hrs after giving birth.
Rats are champion breeders, hence why your girl's ancestors were chosen as lab animals. All domestic rats descend from a single mutation of Rattus Norvegicus (sp?) the Norwegian Brown Rat, which was white and more docile.
In a year a rat can have over a thousand descendants from just one litter. There's a reason why I NEVER let my foster leave my hands around Oracle's cage because I know jail house conjugation (pardon the expression) is possible with them.
BTW, don't forget the wet catfood, mumma needs it to make milk. If you look carefully, Petco frequently has sales on the good stuff. Although my cat hogs it I suspect Soulistic Wetfood might be better for rats due to having recognizable vegetable content and either broth or gravy. >.> hell, wet catfood, given the stuff in it, may be better for rats than it is for cats. all that grain and veg matter mixed with the meat. V.V;;;;;;;
Rats are champion breeders, hence why your girl's ancestors were chosen as lab animals. All domestic rats descend from a single mutation of Rattus Norvegicus (sp?) the Norwegian Brown Rat, which was white and more docile.
In a year a rat can have over a thousand descendants from just one litter. There's a reason why I NEVER let my foster leave my hands around Oracle's cage because I know jail house conjugation (pardon the expression) is possible with them.
BTW, don't forget the wet catfood, mumma needs it to make milk. If you look carefully, Petco frequently has sales on the good stuff. Although my cat hogs it I suspect Soulistic Wetfood might be better for rats due to having recognizable vegetable content and either broth or gravy. >.> hell, wet catfood, given the stuff in it, may be better for rats than it is for cats. all that grain and veg matter mixed with the meat. V.V;;;;;;;
SQ
Senior Member - Vegan for the animals
Catfood is not good for rats and pregnant and nursing rats do not need it
Glad she is not pregnant
Glad she is not pregnant
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trihkal
Senior Member
Catfood is not good for rats and pregnant and nursing rats do not need it
Glad she is not pregnant
Agreed. Cat food is not necessary or a good thing for rats. Mother rats will be able to nurse without it. Some people choose to supplement their moms with a bit more protein but not from cat food and it's isn't necessary.
