2007-03-16 09:46:52 · 4 answers · asked by Bruce S 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
Please do not separate babies from their mother at the tender age of two to three weeks. Just because they have started to nibble on mom's food doesn't mean they are ready to leave the nest. That is far too young to be ripped away from learning how to be a rat in a rats' community living arrangement.
At two weeks of age the baby is just getting it's eyes open. At ten days of age the full coat is in. At three weeks of age they are just starting to test the big wide world. And heaven forbid if you should miss out on that halarious "pop-corn" stage of a baby's growth as they begin to play, and wrestle, and leap about the cage in the shear joy of being alive.
No, they cannot mate before 5 weeks of age, whether or not they are still nursing. I had one mom who allowed her baby girls to nurse until they were six weeks old. By then I had already removed the boys.
The majority of pet breeders will separate the youngsters at around 5 to 5.5 weeks of age. When I breed rats I keep all of them so the girls stay with mom and boys go off and live with one of my resident adult male rat mentors.
I'm assuming you will be selling these babies as pets so you should be handling them every day, from the first or second day they were born, if the mom is ok with that. This way people will get tame, high quality pets of their own.
If you want to know more about pet rats feel free to e-mail me from my Y!A profile page.
You might want to repost your question in General Pets as where you have posted it now (in a human baby category) it might get deleted. I'm saving my answer for you if I see your question in that pet catagory :)
spazrats
"my life has gone to rats"
2007-03-17 12:13:54 · answer #1 · answered by spazrats 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, nursing baby rats cannot mate. As far as when to seperate them, its about two to three weeks. The best clue is to watch the young rats. When you see them eating out of the food dish, its a good time to transfer them to another cage. Cheers!
2007-03-16 09:56:58 · answer #2 · answered by krodgibami 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No, they cannot mate. They can be separated, or weaned as it is called, at approximately 21 days of age. Make sure males and females are separated by 4-5 weeks of age or they will start to mate.
2007-03-16 10:01:00 · answer #3 · answered by pobrecita 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Baby rats? No, they are too young to mate each other. I believe it is 3-4 weeks before they can be separated from their mother and close to 6 months for puberty.
(I've raised hamsters, so that is where I get my numbers.)
2007-03-16 09:58:49 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋