Santa left my daughter a pregnant rat for Christmas and on New Years Day she had 10 pups. I want to tame the pups but don't know whether to touch them or not.
2007-01-05 15:24:20 · 6 answers · asked by Sally 1 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
CongRATulations on the new additions. I just had a New Year's Eve litter, just four babies. Your ratty was from the pet store, yes? Not my first rat, but my first *pregnant* rat was also from a pet store.
If your dog had puppies, would you not touch the puppies until they were four weeks old? You need to handle the dog's puppies from day one in order to properly socialize them to humans, right? Same with rats.
By rights, rat pups should be handled from day one to socialize them and make them into good pets. Personally I just pick up the little boogers and "play" with them, but I'm experienced in breeding now, and I know the temperaments of my mom rats.
I understand how this can be nerve-wracking for first time rat owners because I was there too some years ago. Most of the time new moms are ok with you handling the babies. If she makes you nervous put a piece of cardboard, or a dust pan between her and the babies. Just touch the babies, roll them over, and then leave the family alone. All you are doing is getting them use to your scent. If she makes you really nervous, then don't handle them until their eyes are open at 14 -16 days of age. They might be skittish and fearful by this age without human handling, but it's better then getting bit.
Contrary to popular belief mother rats make very good parents and they will not kill or reject their babies if human hands touch them. Unusual circumstances that would cause a rat to eat her young are: a baby is stillborn, baby dies shortly after birth, the mother knows that something is wrong with her baby and it won't survive anyway, mother's milk dries up and she can no longer feed the babies, or environmental stresses, ie. she doesn't feel comfortable in her cage for some reason. Rest assured the older the baby is, the less likely this will happen.
http://www.ratballs.com/RatTails/Tails108.html
http://www.80stoysale.com/ratbreeding.html
http://www.curiosityrats.com/infotrue.html
http://www.rmca.org/
(click "RMCA Rat FAQ" in the left hand column)
To those who believe that rats do eat their young, could you please list your sources? Might be interesting info for my website.
Check out my pages of babies growing up so you know what to expect.
http://spazrats.tripod.com/babypictures.html
Four weeks old is too young to take babies away from their mother. Rats have to learn how to socialize and be rats by staying in the family group for as long as possible. Baby rats should stay with their mom until they are 5.0 weeks old, after that there is a chance that brothers could mate with sisters or mom. The girls of course can stay with mom. The boys will have to go into a cage of their own. To socialize boys I always put them in with an adult male mentor, but I know this is not your situation.
For more free advice on how to care for your rats check out my signature below.
spazrats
http://spazrats.tripod.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/holistarat
Specializing in the health and care of pet rats since 1997
2007-01-05 16:50:40 · answer #1 · answered by spazrats 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oh the joy of little rat paws scurrying around. Don't handle the babies until they are at least 3 to 4 weeks old. Let Mom take care of them, by the way, how old is the mother?
At the end of 4 weeks, you'll need to seperate the males from the females or you'll end up with even more. You can begin socializing them any time after 4 weeks, the little things will get used to the handling and they'll look forward to being played with.
At the very least, you should keep a second female even if you decide to give away the others. Rats are very social creatures and need the company of others.
2007-01-05 15:47:52 · answer #2 · answered by ? 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Do not touch them right away! The mother will( I know this sounds greewsome)but she'll try to eat them! Always wait until they are about 2.5 weeks or just weight until you wean them off the mother! Either way you choose you should separate them once they have been handled! So I'd personally wait about 1 month before handling them!
2007-01-05 16:27:34 · answer #3 · answered by frankaalex1 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Do the pups have white beards? If so take em back to Santa, he'll have to handle it.
2007-01-05 15:28:00 · answer #4 · answered by Paul17 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You should give the infant rats about 4 weeks with their mother without any of your interference because if the mother smells your scent on her babies, she might reject them.
2007-01-05 18:43:56 · answer #5 · answered by kate 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
you should wait like 4 days after their born before you handle. but don't keep them away from their mother for too long.
2007-01-06 02:06:27 · answer #6 · answered by amanda 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋