Advice needed. Rat babies due any day!

[Aria.therat]

Okay so I'm having an unexpected litter of baby rats. I have read a lot so I feel pretty prepared. My girl Izzy is all set up in her cage with a huge nest that she built herself. Then I read here about wire cages being bad for mother cause of babies being so small, which I didn't think of- I should put her in a 20 gal tank or should i leave her? I am so worried about disturbing the mother by moving her and stressing her out. I don't want her to eat her babies or anything like that

Please give me some advice on this. Thanks so much.

[Sorraia]

What kind of cage is she in? If the wire sits on the floor of the cage and the babies could come in contact with it, you definitely want to get her into something else. If the cage wire actually sits above the floor, and the babies probably won't contact it, then she'll be fine. The issue with wire is if the babies can contact it, they might get pushed through or underneath it and be injured.

I personally don't like keeping rats in aquariums at all. They are heavy, hard to clean, etc. I prefer to use "bin cages" for pregnant moms, quarantine, temporary separation, etc. I use 60 gallon stearlite bins, cut the tops out and replace with hardware cloth, and instant cage! They are light, so easy to move around if needed, easy to clean, and when not in use can be used for storage.

[AMJ087]

I used a big bin when I had my unexpected litter also. If the babies cant get up to the wire no big deal but otherwise Id also move her.

[Aria.therat]

Thank you! I made a bin cage today with nesting stuff and she's all ready to go! She looks ready to deliver any moment now 

[Soybean]

Bins are great for expectant moms. I usually like to use wire mesh (hard wire cloth) on the side, rather than on the top as it provides better ventilation. The babies can't fall out of the wire mesh (if you use the 1/2" or 1/4") either.

I'd make sure she has plenty of fresh water and food. Other than that, leave her alone. When I have a litter of rats, I don't go into the cage unless I'm changing water or refreshing food. Try to keep her in a low traffic area. Lots of noise and bright light can stress the mom out and cause her to eat her babies.

[Sorraia]

If the mother is otherwise well socialized, she isn't going to eat her babies unless something is wrong with them. It is a good idea to keep a close eye on her. If you ignore her and leave her alone, and a complication arises, you may not notice until it is too late.

Spend LOTS of time with her before she has the babies to make sure she trusts you. When the babies are born, start handling them as soon as she will let you. If she is overly nervous and tries to nip you, bring her out of the cage to handle the babies. This early handling will make the babies better socialized.

How is your girl doing, has she had her babies yet? When you first posted it sounded like you were expecting them to be born within days.

[Soybean]

I didn't mean leave her alone the entire time. Its just that high traffic areas can make a new mother nervous and stress her out. We just had this problem with my sister's rat. She had her in the living room and she kept eating babies. As soon as she stuck her in the bathroom, she stopped killing babies. She checked on them a few times a day and began handling babies but she kept them out of a brightly lit area that has a lot of noise.

[Sorraia]

I didn't mean leave her alone the entire time. Its just that high traffic areas can make a new mother nervous and stress her out. We just had this problem with my sister's rat. She had her in the living room and she kept eating babies. As soon as she stuck her in the bathroom, she stopped killing babies. She checked on them a few times a day and began handling babies but she kept them out of a brightly lit area that has a lot of noise.

That's very unusual. 

[Aria.therat]

She's HUGE right now. I thought she couldn't get any bigger but today she was laying on her side and I counted at least 4 or 5 babies moving around inside of her. Right now she's up eating and she's been friendly the past few days when I give her treats and she lets me hold her but I put my hand in the cage to give her a treat a little while ago, and she lunged at my hand and bit it so hard there was blood dripping down my hand....

[Sorraia]

She's HUGE right now. I thought she couldn't get any bigger but today she was laying on her side and I counted at least 4 or 5 babies moving around inside of her. Right now she's up eating and she's been friendly the past few days when I give her treats and she lets me hold her but I put my hand in the cage to give her a treat a little while ago, and she lunged at my hand and bit it so hard there was blood dripping down my hand....

Uh oh, I'm sorry to hear about the bite! Sometimes pregnant or nursing rats can get very hormonal, and may bite as a result. As big as she is and with those babies squirming inside her, she is probably very uncomfortable and cranky too. Keep giving her attention, maybe bring her out of the cage to handle her (they tend to be more possessive of their cage). You can give her a little bit of space if it makes her more comfortable. Once the babies are born, give her a day or two to rest and bond before you start trying to handle them. When you do, lure her out of the cage with a treat and keep her away from the babies so you can handle them safely. For the first week you won't need to handle them much, enough to make sure everyone is alive and healthy with a full milk belly, maybe try to sex them, is usually sufficient. After the first week you can progressively handle them more. Many aggressive mothers typically start to tire of their babies between 2 and 3 weeks and will then happily let you handle them so she can have a break. Still approach with caution though, as some unusual mothers might remain possessive even after this point.