Urgent advice - accidental litter

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lupusfiasco

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Apr 16, 2020
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Hi all,

Need urgent advice - earlier today I was thrown into shock when I saw that my female rat had given birth. She had shown virtually no signs of pregnancy. She seems to be caring for them well right now, and both her and the kittens seem healthy, but I'm very unsure of what to do. She has an un-neutered male sibling/cagemate (please dont judge, this was not intentional, he was incorrectly sexed upon purchase and he impregnated her before I could schedule his neutering after figuring out he was male, I was unaware he was even capable of impregnating her yet). Despite how much I love them now, I did not intend to have pet rats at all (long story for another day), and by the time they were brought to me, I hadn't yet done enough research on when they hit sexual maturity.

ANYWAYS... (here's where I need advice)

1.) I know I have to separate the male from the mama and her babies, but should I place the male in his own cage, or the mamas and the babies in their own cage? Right now they're all sharing a giant critter nation (the mama and babies are staying in this tent like thing I purchased for them), and I have a smaller cage that I was going to use to bring them to the vet in (Kaytee Rat Home). I put the male in the Rat Home until I figure out what to do. I know once the babies start exploring theres risk of them slipping through the cage bars, but the cracks seems so thin I cant imagine that happening? Even as pinkies they already seem too large. Who should I put where? If needed, I can also get an aquarium tank, or potentially find a way to section off the top level of the cage.

2.) Is there anything I have to do for the babies aside from handling them daily and making sure food/water is easily accessible once they're old enough to eat solid food? What about the mom? I've been giving her extra protein.

3.) These are very unfortunately kittens of a brother and sister, do I have to worry about any health conditions or deformities? I was going to keep 2 of them (and get them properly sexed this time!).

4.) If I separate the male, I worry about him feeling isolated. I can place the cage in a way that he can still smell and see the mom and the kittens, but wouldnt be able to interact with them. If hes going to be in there for a few weeks, should I get him a male cagemate? Prior to this litter situation I had wanted to get another rat or 2 anyway. I'd rather not, but if theres concern for his health in being isolated, I will.

Thank you!
 
Slight update to this: I spoke a little prematurely, I actually ended up putting the mom and kittens in the smaller cage instead, but can swap things around if people think that's better. Alternatively, the critter nation is big enough to put the smaller cage inside of it and still leave decent room, is that better? It would stay closed obviously. I'm just worried because she already seems antsy. I'll give her decent time to free roam around the room during the day and interact with the male rat under strict supervision, but shes pretty active.
 
Don't let her interact with her brother, as they can mate faster than you can stop them. Was he with her right after the birth or did you remove him right away? If you left him in there for up to 24-48 hours after she likely is pregnant again on her post-partum heat and could deliver in 4 or more weeks.

You have 2 options for the brother. You could have him neutered and then carefully reintroduce him after the babies are weaned and big enough to fend for themselves. Or you could carefully introduce him to the baby boys after they are weaned. He'll need to be alone until you sort this out but just use the time to bond with him yourself.

As for mom and babies, a smaller cage is best initially as mom is close to the pinkies and more likely to feed and care for them. My maternity cages for my rescues are smaller, no shelves, no hammocks just nesting material. I feed a lot of healthy food to my momma's, with extra protein. No water bowls as a baby could drown in one. Mom needs to have Out time at least once a day. 20 mins or so during the first week. 30 mins to an hour once the babies are older and have a fur coat to keep warm.

I usually remove mom and the girls at 5 weeks of age, and leave the boys in the maternity cage so they keep something familiar and have less stress over weaning.

How many babies are there?
 
Thank you so much for responding! I separated them immediately after finding the litter, so I dont believe theres any chance she could be pregnant again. I found them the second I heard squeaking, which I'm assuming was right after she had given birth. There are 10, and shes been a great mom so far. I let her out for around half an hour/45 minutes twice a day (I'll now shorten that to 20 mins, thanks!), and in the meantime keep the room very warm and handle them to get them used to human touch. Unfortunately because of the corona situation, no vets in NJ or NYC are doing spays or neuters, but I'll be sure to give him a male cagemate once the boys are old enough, and get him neutered as soon as it's available. In the meantime, I let him smell her through the bars of the cage (hopefully that's okay?)

Thanks again for all your help!
 

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Awww little dark eyed bubs. :) They look nice and healthy.
You won't need to neuter dad unless he starts becoming hormonally aggressive later on.
If she was doing good with 30-45 min out times you can continue. :) The babies look healthy so it's not disturbing their nursing that's for sure :)
 
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