Erm....Is my rat pregnant?

[kewlbeens]

hi everyone.
ive had my rat for a while, shes an adult
well my sister has a rat too. and i accidentaly bought too small of a cage. so i put my rat and my sisters rat in HER cage together so i could buy lily [my rat] and new 1.
okay? v [ for, like 2 hours]
well, my sisters rat was supposed to be a boy
but had female parts
so we figured it was a female
[and to this day, we honestly dont know WHAT it is]
well its been, say, 2-3 weeks
and
lilys getting REALLY big
shes not acting like she used to
she NEVER bit anyone and she bit me AND broke open my pillow
shes sitting up all weird and
there was an old sock in her cage so that,
y'no she could play with
and thats all bloody [weird, rite?]
and theres little brown spots on her backside [ not like heat spots], theyre like poo but it didnt smell like anything
honestly
and im really worried about her
and they say you usually dont know your rats pregnant until she gives birth
also
i sometimes let her run around the house
and it turns out, she can climb stairs!
so my mom thought maybe a wild rat got into the house and....you know
but im not sure
its completely possible
[although ive never seen rats [[wild]] in or around our house]
so...
please tell me what you think
thanks!

[Vanilla_Rat]

Well if the other rat is male...it will be quite obvious!
The testicles are large and male rats have no shame!
When you say your sister's rat was "supposed to be a boy but had girly parts" - what do you mean? Like nipples?


Pregnant rats will take on a pear shape.
The nipples will be noticable.She may also nest.
How long did you have your sister's rat with yours???
Rat gestation is generally around 21-24 days.


She could just be fat.
What do you feed her?


Also you should get a female friend for your rat.
They do much better in pairs!

[kewlbeens]

yeah thanks
yeah i think my sisters is a girl thanks [:
um lily was in with my sisters rat for 1-3 hours
i think :l
yeah her nipples are kinda swollen
kinda
i thinkk im not good with telling if somethings swollen ill try to get pictures...as soon as i firgure out how

[laydeerodentzz]

Well, she could well be pregnant. You did say she 'broke open your pillow' so maybe thats her trying to find nestling materials. Also, you said she bit you, that can also occur when a rat is pregnant because she is trying to prtect her and her babies.
good luck!

[Vanilla_Rat]

If your sister's rat is also female and there are no signs of wild rats around,then your rat may also be going through a "false pregnancy".


One of my beloved rats went through one.
She only lived 6 months and had so many problems.
We had monthly vet visits and she was on meds for her whole life.
Poor girl was a pet store rat.Anyway she went through ALL of the pregnancy symptoms,so I really thought she was pregnant.But the vet informed she wasn't and she had a false pregnancy.

[kewlbeens]

ohh thanks [:
i feed her rat/mouse food [[thats what its called]]
buti read in a book that rats are allergic to some types of beding
so i bought rabbit food [it said to] to use as bedding
and i think she didtn know she COULD eat it
but then again, maybe she DID
so maybe shes just fat but hmm.
i really dont know
but maybe your right, maybe its a false pregnancy
Do you know why it happens?

[Vanilla_Rat]

Aspen,Carefresh and Yesterdays News are all pretty good litters to use for rat cages.I never heard of people using bunny food as a litter... I honestly wouldn't reccommend that.


MOST "rat" foods in pet stores are not suitable.Do you know what brand it is? If it contains alot of seeds/dried corn it is not suitable.Get some lab blocks for your rat..."Mazuri" and "Nutriblock" are good ones.I use "Nutriblock" most times,but also make my own rat diet - that way I know exactly what goes into it.


I am not sure exactly what causes false pregnancies,as it is rare in rats.It is possible,but not common.