sexing a trouble baby- opinions appreciated
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Big Schpog
Well-Known Member
Looks like male to me.
lilspaz68
Well-Known Member
Is this baby smaller than the others? The distance between the anus and genitals seem to be more than a females which indicates a male. Look for nipples (males have none) and also feel the lower abdomen to see if baby hasn't retracted his testicles or they haven't descended yet. I'll dig out sexing pics of 5 weekers with diagrams and 3 weekers for comparison...pics can be hard to sex from.
lilspaz68
Well-Known Member
lilspaz68
Well-Known Member
thank you so much, very helpful. i felt for nipples and did not feel anything, and parted his fur but did not see anything. i feel confident he is a male. i was concerned because he is smaller than one of the others, but bigger than another, and the smallest male DOES have visible testes. i will simply assume this guy is a bit younger but better fed than the other male.
lilspaz68
Well-Known Member
Can you post a pic of the babies together from the side? I've seen so many rescue babies that I might be able to guesstimate ages.
ah, just realize you said together, I took them all separate but they are in my hand for size comparison, hopefully it is ok!
for reference, the grey hood is the one who's sex I was questioning, so I included two pics of him.
lilspaz68
Well-Known Member
He or she is definitely younger. They all are well under 5 weeks so you don't have to worry about pregnancy yet.
thank you for the advice! honestly i've owned rats before but usually i've adopted them at an older age. so it seems the grey hood is the youngest of the three? i was suprised to hear that! i just expected that the smallest one (the lilac unicolor boy) to be the youngest but i've just now started to consider thagt maybe he is just a runt. regardless i'm glad they're safe from pregnancy, though i do suspect the grey hood is male, time will tell i hope!
lilspaz68
Well-Known Member
they shouldn't be away from their mom this young (5 weeks is the norm) so they might need some dietary supplementing like baby cereal, and softer foods til their jaws get stronger and can chew on lab blocks for sustenance. Try frozen/thawed/warmed peas and corn as well.
I agree with Dena, that's what they looked like to me too.
I agree with Dena, that's what they looked like to me too.
Rocket99
Well-Known Member
He doesn't have testes for the obvious reason, lol. Only boys have them!!!
Rocket99
Well-Known Member
BTW, HER feet look a bit inflammed. What substrate are you using? Might want to go to fleece for a while and clean it every day. Just buy enough to change it out daily and wash the dirty fleece on a regular basis where you never run out of clean ones. Her feet look like classic pee burns due to walking and sitting in their urine, which burns them pretty easily and quickly. But, just as it burns quickly, it will heal just as quickly. But a baby with feet looking like that is a putting your ratties on a fast track for bumblefoot, and once they have that problem it's almost always a lifelong battle to keep it from being infected and it's painful, so please keep an eye on it, especially with older, overweight, lazy (as far as not being motivated enough to pee where they are supposed to, in their litter tray) rats who will be severely affected by it and often succumb to complications from it, usually secondary infections or even sepsis. Anyway, just thought I would mention that before it gets infected, which is always what happens when left unchecked, and then it's too late to reverse, and you're spending time every day diligently changing out fleece and dressing their hind feet. I was only successful one time in clearing a fat, old guy from his long-term bumblefoot, and then he passed away not long after, which was probably due to a general infection somewhere else, or everywhere else. Bumblefoot is a really difficult injury/infection to treat. You have to really do due diligence in that you're obligated to tend to them every day for the rest of their lives. It's not fun and they are in some moderate pain a lot of the time. It's so sad because its always 100% avoidable.
Rocket99
Well-Known Member
Oh, and if the hooded is younger than the 2 bigger boys by a week, then wait the week til he/she is the age that those 2 boys are now, and then you should see testes (as you do with the other 2), or else it's a girl. BUT, I think it's a girl anyway. IDK how someone can give you babies that young and say for sure that they're all boys when they are not old enough to tell yet (at least in that hooded, ahem, girl!) Lol
woah, thank you for the info. I will definitely pick up some soft food for them! he honestly didn't tell us how old they were but had them separated from mom already so I assumed it was ok. I'll be more careful in the futurethey shouldn't be away from their mom this young (5 weeks is the norm) so they might need some dietary supplementing like baby cereal, and softer foods til their jaws get stronger and can chew on lab blocks for sustenance. Try frozen/thawed/warmed peas and corn as well.
I agree with Dena, that's what they looked like to me too.
