New Female Rat.. Problems!! - Paw Talk

CaitlinM · #1 02-04-2008, 01:26 AM

Hey everyone!
I am brand new to this, but I need some help!
I have had rats in the past, but always male rats. I recently got a female rat.. I am unsure of her age. She was to be sold as snake food, but I fell in love with her and bought her immediately. She was shy at first in her new surroundings, but opened up quickly to us. Starting about 3 days ago, she began biting us (she used to lick and sniff and and play all over us). She is also very frantic the past couple of days, running all over her spacious cage at speeds that I didn't think possible! I was worried she was unhappy because she is alone right now, until today she built a big nest in a corner and slept for most of the day. I also noticed her belly beginning to get bigger..

Could she be just getting really fat the past couple of days? And just have a bad temperament due to lack of handling? And why the sudden nest? I have a feeling she might be pregnant.. and if she isnt.. what do I do with this biting rat?

pinkie1205 · #2 02-04-2008, 02:46 AM

pregnant rats will get aggressive. Also if you are feeding her through the bars she will nip more.

If you say her belly is getting bigger then prepare for babies.

Tessa83 · #3 02-04-2008, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkie1205


	Also if you are feeding her through the bars she will nip more.

I've heard this before, but my girls don't do that. I've given them treats thru the bars of their cage once in a while and they still never nip or bite. They do the grooming thing with their teeth and one will put her whole mouth around my finger sometimes, but never bite down.

Vanilla_Rat · #4 02-04-2008, 11:05 AM

It sounds like your rat may indeed be pregnant.If she has started biting,after being sweet and is nesting and getting bigger...then those are pregnancy signs.

You will need to add some more protein/nutrients to her diet,or there is a good chance she will eat the babies when/if they come.

CaitlinM · #5 02-04-2008, 02:03 PM

What should I use as a protein supplement? We don't feed her through the bars, I give her peanuts some times.. but in the palm of my hand. She seems to only bite us when we go to pick her up... like she doesn't want to come out and play... but once we get her out she plays and is fine. She hasn't broken the skin yet, but she is biting hard enough to really hurt! If she is pregnant, does anyone have any more tips for me? I will have no idea what to do!

Vanilla_Rat · #6 02-04-2008, 07:47 PM

You can give her a little bit of cheese or chicken or even some egg for extra protien.Also you may add abit of dog/cat food or milkbones as well.

When did you get her again? A rat's gestation is about 21-23 days.They take on a pear shape.
What do you need to know about the pregnancy/babies???

SugarLovesRats · #7 02-07-2008, 12:51 AM

If she seems frantic, belly getting bigger,and she has built a nest I would say yes she's prego. First off rats almost never eat there babies but she does need to be on a good diet especially now. What are you currently feeding her? You can get harlan tech lab blocks made especially for pregnant ratties.
http://www.teklad.com/standardrodentdiet/r8664.asp
You can buy them there too they can ship them. You can also mix a good quality lite dog food to your rat mix (nutro natural, canidae, chicken soup)Do not use cat food rats shouldn't have the taurine. Nutrical is also a good supplement or green mush.
What kind of bedding are you using? She will need nesting materials i.e. strips of fleece or cotton cloth, papertowels ect, but nothing the babies can get caught in.
If you don't already have one I suggest starting a vet emergency fund just incase anything goes wrong.
Well best of luck and keep us posted!

Vanilla_Rat · #8 02-07-2008, 04:39 PM

A little bit of cat food (dry) is fine and when I had litters I would give my does some.It never ever hurt them.

Hanlou · #9 02-07-2008, 05:39 PM

Hello. May I just direct to This Webpage Here .... there is a ton of useful information on there for you. I truly hope this ratty isn't pregnant.

However, I would disagree with the advice you've had to feed her up now as it has been proved that giving the mum too much food before the birth can cause birthing complications. It's best to just give her a normal but good quality dry mix with perhaps some green veggies such as broccoli, curly kale etc.

*If* she does have babies, then you need to feed her lots of extra protein in the form of wet dog food (I use a brand called Nature Diet, not sure if they have it in the US though!), egg, tuna in spring water, chicken etc. She needs some form of protein in fairly substantial quantities every single day whilst she is lactating. In the Uk, many also give a puppy/kitten replacement milk called lactol in a bottle alongside the water to give mum an extra boost.

In addition to the protein, mum needs her usual dry mix and the same sort of veggies mentioned earlier.

Hopefully she isn't pregnant, but if she is don't panic! You can get through it. Feel free to pm me if you want to ask for help, I have fostered a mum and babies fairly recently. If she *isn't* pregnant, I would say that the priority is to get her a companion as soon as possible as this would help her to calm down, single rats are nearly always nervous rats. I hope this helps.

SugarLovesRats · #10 02-08-2008, 01:54 AM

Yes of course I wasn't implying to increase feedings either, just to make sure she's getting a good healthy high quality diet.
Also as far as the cat food, I suppose a small amount would be ok. It's just the rats shouldn't have too much taurine. They don't actually require it in their diets at all. I just personally wouldn't use it.
Personally I would go with the lab blocks for prego rats and fresh fruits and veggies.