I have 2 female rats that are together, we let them both get with the males and the one female was very happy with getting bred the other just kicked them away...so now I am pretty sure sally the one female is preggers, and lucy is not. Can I keep both females still together even when the one has her babies? Will they still get along with a nest of babies in the cage or do I have to seperate them?
2007-05-23 12:59:26 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Rodents
well we have bred rats for over 12 yrs it all depends on the rats if the females are not mean towards each other they should be fine both may be prago and if thats the case they will take each others babies and nurse them my advice would be watch them closely and if any of them get aggresive seperate asap
2007-05-23 19:30:43 · answer #1 · answered by amoria s 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually, a rat's gestation is about 21-23 days, not 102!
You can leave the two females together, provided they know each other well, and the cage is large enough to give both lots of room.
Please be aware, rats can have between 10 and 20 babies (sometimes more!) so I hope you've thought about what to do with the babies. Read the page listed below to learn more about rat pregnancies/births.
2007-05-23 20:53:04 · answer #2 · answered by Mary T 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
seperate them soon. a rats gestation period is 102 days. lucy will most likely eat sallys babys. the males will also kill young. its just best to keep the litter in a seperate cage with the mother. all you would need is a 20 gall aquarium to but the litter and sally in.just untill the litter is grown then then can be put together. 20g are great litter cages! easy to clean without desterbing the litter. Good luck:)
2007-05-23 20:10:08 · answer #3 · answered by ericams85 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Rats are not particularly good mothers. Any little annoyance and they'll boot the pups straight out of the nest and never look at them again. If they don't just eat them to start with. Another rat in the cage will either stress mom out and cause her to reject the litter, or might kill the babies- rats are scavengers, and they're not afraid to eat smaller rats if they can. I strongly advise you to separate them immediately.
2007-05-23 20:05:16 · answer #4 · answered by Dreamer 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, rats are very communal in their approach to babies. If they are friends already, they will both sit on the babies to keep them warm, and I wouldn't be surprised if they both nurse the babies even if only one is pregnant. And they might surprise you and both have babies.
2007-05-24 01:52:04 · answer #5 · answered by The First Dragon 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are fine together till she has the babies the male rat will kill them
2007-05-23 20:03:26 · answer #6 · answered by Pattie DeVoe 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
probably you should if you want to see a whole bunch of horny rats running around all the time like yourself
2007-05-23 20:03:48 · answer #7 · answered by dede101 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋