[Naku]

Okay, I am freaking out and I have been since this has happened. On the 11th we got new cages for the rats and set them up, however me and my friend misjudged the bar-spacing and thought they couldn't get through. She went home and I left the room for a couple hours then came back to check on them. I did a rat count, starting with the boys and counted 6 instead of 5. I panicked and noticed everybody was in the right cage except my Amity who was sleeping with her brother Joel in the hammock.

I opened the cage and put her, along with a couple of the other similar sized girls back into the old cage until I could plaster wire over the one they were in.

Now... Amity, along with her siblings are not normal sized rats. Amity was half the size of her brother and half the size of all the other girls in the cage. The boys are the same size as my large girls. Waverly is even smaller than Amity. I have a group of small rats, they are healthy, happy, just tiny. Amity is nearly a year old.

It's been about 15-ish days... how likely is it she is pregnant? I can post a picture of her now but she definitely isn't showing if she is... help?

 

[moonkissed]

Rats actually don't often show very much until they are close. You could take some pics. Have her standing on a solid surface and lift a treat up over her head to take a pic of her belly. A pregnant rat will kind of look like she has two small balls on each side of her stomach lol

The pregnancy lasts 19-23 days (21 being average). So for now it is just wait and see. I'd remove her from the cage with the other girls and put her by herself if u think she may indeed be pregnant.

Buy she may not have been in heat.

 

[Isamurat]

I've found that most girls not used to being around bucks tend to go onto heat as soon as they meet them so it may not be great.

I tend to leave separating until the morning of day 21 (taking day 1 as the day after mating) where they move into a birthing cage with a friend, who comes out morning of day 22 (22-24 is normal here, with day 23 being the most common). I would do this even if she doesn't look heavily pregnant as she could have a very small litter. After about day 25 you should be safe.

There are alternatives, you could look into an emergency spay, or cabergloin (brand name galastop) is an effective abortative med, though useually prescribed for PT's or mammary lumps. Its effective at any point during pregnancy but I would want to be using it beyond day 19. It may be kinder for her if shes such a small lady.

 

[Naku]

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Do you know how I might go about getting the drug? She doesn't look pregnant as of right now but rats do only show towards the very end of their pregnancy. I don't want to rule out the possibility. She would be on week 2 if she is.

However, if I can't get it. Would it be alright for her to have them in a cage with a deep pan instead of an aquarium? What should I need to purchase if she doesn't nurse? What other steps can I take to help prevent possible problems?

Another possible issue. She's HW and so are most of her siblings... what is the likelyhood of MC showing up in this litter?