Fancy/Pet Rat Breeding- FAQ

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ANYONE DECIDING TO BREED!! BEFORE breeding your rat please consider a few things like genetics (is your rat's known? Could they be genetically predisposed to diseases like cancer?) Can you home them?? Please read "can you live with breeding?" before choosing to do so. THANK YOU.

Help! I bought a female rat and now I think she might be pregnant! how can I tell??
Female rats sometimes don't even show signs of pregnancy with small litters. Check to see if she's "nesting" and collecting stuff in on big heap, check to see if she's eating more, if she's been in with a male and they were both over 5 weeks then I can almost guarantee you a litter. Seperate the male if you have him, the female can be bred again right after she gives birth, this is why you take the male out. And finnally, about a week or less before she's due she should look like she swallowd a tennis ball whole. This isn't always the case with small litters.

How can I home an accidental litter and when are they weaned?
You can home an accidental litter many ways. You can ask friends and family, you can post a message to internet groups like [email protected], or [email protected] you can post internet adds (I can give you a list of free pet classifieds adds for the internet if you want me too) and if all else fails you can ask your local humane society or find a nice petshop, but be careful as they may sell them as food for reptiles.

What is the gestation period?
The gestation period for a rat is around 21 days. If your rat hasn't given birth after around 25 days then your pretty safe! :)

What is the best age to breed?
The best age to breed a female is 4-5 months. If you want to breed an older female that has never had a litter before then I'd advise against that. 8 months is the limit to a first breeding before a rat can have her hips start growing together again, in which case you'd need to get her a C-section or she'd die. Some older females reabsorb the babies before their born too but I wouldn't tempt fate.

Any other questions?? Please e-mail me and I'll do my best to answer you as quickly as possable. Please don't send me medical questions though, as I am not a vet and often can not answe them. If you have an emergancy question please post to [email protected] .