pregnant rat help!!!

[nattiekins]

so we rescued this female rat and I informed them she looked pudgey but then she lost a lot of weigth so I pushed it off as far as pregnancy go's. well its clear now that she is very very pregnant. what should I do? how do I raise the babies? I have never had rats as babies only hampsters.

 

[whirlytwirly]

So you have any idea how pregnant she is? I'd move her to a cage by herself and give her some nesting material (soft shredded paper or material that won't fray and entagle the babies). Just make sure she gets plenty of good food. Rats usually make great mothers and she should have the instincts to care for her babies well after they are born.

I'm no expert on breeding ratties but I've gotten a few pregnant rescues in the last few years. Good luck, though I'm sure the others on here will also have lots more great advice

 

[nattiekins]

thank you! um no idea she's just really really huge right now well huge for her. I've had one pregnant female before but she lost hers before hey were born. so this is different for me, she is a good rat though.

 

[jorats]

Move her to her own cage with very small bars, give her plenty of bedding for nesting and let her do all the work. You can feed her extra protein foods so she can keep her strength up. Good luck and keep up posted!

 

[nattykins]

I had the same thing happen to me...

You'd be amazed how good rattie moms are - All you have to do is make sure that the cage is clean and that momma has good food to eat

Hopefully she only has a tiny litter!!


*PS - we share names lol *

 

[SQ]

Besides her regular lab blocks, you can feed her extra protien as suggested by jorats -
things like baby cereal mixed up with water, ensure or soy baby formula.
You can also give her a bit of boiled egg, a small bit of cooked chicken, yogurt, etc.
As usual, be careful of salt and sugar.

Give her nesting materials but not anything that contains threads.
Threads can wrap around little feet, legs or necks and hurt or kill young babies.

 

[Moon]

There are lots of threads on the forum with people who raised rescue litters. Keep reading and you'll find lots of info

You could also use the Search function with pregnant or pregnancy, I'm sure that would return a lot of information.

Good luck!

 

[Godmother]

Good luck! It is rather nerve-wracking the first time, but a wonderful experience. Just feed mama well, and she will do the rest.

I remember wondering how often to clean out the nest. At first, many mamas don't want to be disturbed, though. You'll have to take your cues from her.

Here is a video of my dearest Corrie (RIP) washing her babies after feeding time.

 

[Christie]

I think everyone else said it all! Good luck with the babies and let us know how many she had!

 

[jorats]

Awww... Godmother, which litter is that?

 

[SQ]

Jorats, I think that was probaby her first litter ... so your babies would be in there ...
She had her second litter with me at my mom's house.

That video may be on the CD I sent with pics and video clips when the babies were adopted.