[Owensmom]

HiPercilla's babies are doing well, 4 1/2 days old now. They are beginning to move around a bit more, not making nearly as much noise as they were, and I don't see the milk in their little tummys anymore. Is this normal? Their skin is changing, some are getting spots, some are darkening etc, so I just wondered if I'm still supposed to be able to see the milk or not. I do have kitten formula on hand (wanted to be prepared just in case). Also, I've read that you can sex them at 3 days old, I've looked & I can't for the life of me, tell M from F yet!! I've also read that I should keep the cage with Mom & babies in a separate room from Dad, is this true & if so, why is that? HELP!!

 

[lost_whisper]

I'm not pretty sure about the milk-bands since I never seen baby rats, my experience is with gerbils
Around day 10 and 14 you should be able to tell the difference between male and female as females have visible nipples and males don't at all. Now, if you want to sex them now, you have to look carefully at their genitals. The space between the anus and the urethra is wider in males (there's a space where the testes will grow eventually).
Hope that helps!

 

[moonkissed]

By day 3 or so they start getting their pigment & it would be hard to tell anymore if they have milk bands. No worries. If they have been being taken care of by mom then it is all fine more likely. Them being active speaks highly of them being fine & healthy.

You can actually sex them from day 1 fairly easily. http://mainelyratrescue.org/rattieblog2/?p=42 is helpful. I find it best to compare the babies themselves. If you pick up two babies and they are different then you can tell which one is a boy & which is a girl.
If you are having a hard time wait a while and it will be obvious as only females have nipples. Then around 4 weeks or so the boys will be very obvious with testicles.

No there is no reason to remove the dad from the room. Definitely make sure the cages are secure. You do not want the dad to get to the mom at all as he could knock her up again and that would not be good for her.

 

[Mojojuju]

Unless Dad has been fixed for a few weeks, then it should be fine to have them in the same cage.

If he's unfixed and they've been together this whole time...you're probably going to have a second litter in a few weeks.

Edited because I have reading comprehension problems, apparently.

Yeah, have never heard of moving him to a separate room. He should be fine in the same room as long as the cages are separate.

 

[Owensmom]

Thanks,They are most definately in separate cages. There are no vets even remotely close to where I live who will spay/neuter rats!Actually I have the Mom & babies in one cage, the dad in one and the other female (who I was told was a male when I got her), in a third cage! There is a possibility she is expecting as well. How long should I keep the girls separated? (The adult girls, I mean).

 

[Mojojuju]

Hmm, if they were cage mates already? That's a good question. I think maybe once the babies open their eyes it would be a good time. But I'm no expert, my gal was a solo gal once we figured the gender swap out.

 

[moonkissed]

I wouldn't put them together until the babies are at the least 6 weeks or older. Babies r small and bickering could cause injuries.