Is my rat pregnant?

Aggy_Ratty said:

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So, I have girl and boy rats, and they are all in a critter nation cage. Boys on top, girls on bottom. The boy seemed to have chewed through the plastic and one of the girls got in with the boys! I have no idea how long she was in with them, but could you guys let me know if she looks pregnant? (This happened march third, and today is the 13th. It’s been a week and three days)

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She could be. It's not a good idea to have them in the same cage, even if it's divided. It's super risky and if the boy was in there for any period of time, it's likely at least one of your females is pregnant. The best thing to do with an accidental litter, which will most likely have tons of problems, is to cull them before they reach 10 days. You do this by putting them in the freezer, since they have no nerve receptors before they reach 10 days old. Good luck to you, I would definitely recommend getting two separate cages.

I have never had a pregnant rat so I can’t tell but in the case of an accidental litter you could raise them and find homes for them. It can certainly be tricky but it is definitely a good option. I would agree that you should probably put them in seperate cages to prevent this happening again.

Cheesefather said:

She could be. It's not a good idea to have them in the same cage, even if it's divided. It's super risky and if the boy was in there for any period of time, it's likely at least one of your females is pregnant. The best thing to do with an accidental litter, which will most likely have tons of problems, is to cull them before they reach 10 days. You do this by putting them in the freezer, since they have no nerve receptors before they reach 10 days old. Good luck to you, I would definitely recommend getting two separate cages.

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Whaaaat????

Aggy_Ratty said:

So, I have girl and boy rats, and they are all in a critter nation cage. Boys on top, girls on bottom. The boy seemed to have chewed through the plastic and one of the girls got in with the boys! I have no idea how long she was in with them, but could you guys let me know if she looks pregnant? (This happened march third, and today is the 13th. It’s been a week and three days)

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Were you not using the middle wire divider in the double CN with the ramp closed? I'm not understanding how the rat chewed through the plastic tray and got through the wire divider.

A week and a half is too early for signs of possible pregnancy. You'll see a bulging belly a closer to 14 days and later. You can also do daily body weights to see if the rat is gaining weight. if you see a bulging belly and / or weight gain, I'd separate all of the girls into their own separate cage away from the boys and wait for the litter. I would not put the girls back into the original double CN even if you fix the tray / divider issue. You could neuter all of the males but that's kind of expensive.

ratbusters said:

Whaaaat????

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That's the most ethical option if you aren't prepared to raise a litter with tons of likely health and aggression issues. If you can't afford the vet visits, ethically raising them, not handling them, etc, it's best to cull them before they can feel anything. It's unethical to raise a litter you aren't prepared for and can't raise right. Plus, they don't have a separate cage to raise them in. There are tons of issues with keeping a litter like that.