[Shayna&Liam]

I AM SO MAD RIGHT NOW!!! I just went upstairs to give Lilly and Minnie their nightly cuddle, poop-scoop, etc. and in the last 24 hours Minnie has ballooned up like you wouldn't believe. You can't see it in the pictures but trust me, she has. I'm pretty sure the "pet rats" I bought were actually feeder-producers. So on the one hand, I feel really good knowing that I got them out of there. But on the other hand, I am going to have a heck of a time finding LOVING homes for 15-25 baby rats. I sincerely hope Mercedes isn't pregnant as well. I am fairly certain she isn't, as she would have gained at least a small amount of weight in the week that I have had her. So that's a plus. But I am going to go down and give that woman who sold them to me a serious talking to about what she's doing - I mean fine, all animals need to eat, if you want to breed feeder rats that's totally your choice. But do it responsibly and healthily for all the animals involved, and DON'T TELL YOUR CUSTOMERS THAT THE RATS ARE IN SEXED CAGES IF YOU KNOW FULL WELL THAT THEY ARE NOT!!!!!!!!

On the plus side, I got some really cute pictures of Lilly tonight. She's massive, can anyone tell me if this is normal? I have no experience with pregnant animals in general, let alone rats, and I was pretty sure she should have given birth a few days ago.

Maternity tank - I know it's not ideal but it's the best I could do on such short notice.

This is the felt nest that Lilly and Minnie Mouse made. There's a t7unnel leading to a door cut in the Cheerios box. I was pretty impressed when I woke up to this!

This is what was hiding in the Cheerios box LOL.

When do you all think I should be expecting these squeaking miracles?

 

[Nibbler]

awww big hugs, im glad there not in that home no more but good luck with the babies i know youll do whats best for them if u dont. really want, that many babys u could consider an e-spay ? just an idea.

 

[Shayna&Liam]

The woman who owns my local pet shop (The Valley Feed Bag) said she would be interested in taking a group of females for herself as pets, so that's a few gone right there, and a few people from work said they may be interested. My plan is to post an ad on craigslist, kijiji and in the paper, stating that I am ONLY selling same sex pairs or groups and I will NOT sell them singly. I was also planning on writing up a basic care brochure to print off and send out with everyone who adopts one of the babies. It obviously can't be too in-depth but I was thinking of posting the housing basics, food basics, care basics, just the stuff that everyone needs to know (like SEED MIXES ARE ESSENTIALLY POTATO CHIPS) and giving those out with all of the babies. Hopefully that way I will find them all great homes. And of course, I'll take back any babies that they can't keep.

On another note, I don't know what e-spaying is... sounds interesting, want to fill me in?

 

[Nibbler]

e-spay is an emergency spay, that basically terminates pregnancy or the chances that a small animal maybe pregnant. kind of like a humain terminating a pregnancy, but on top of that shed never be able to have babies again. its basically like a normal spay from what iv read about it but in this case, its an emergency spay since there is a chance she is pregnant or already is..

 

[Shayna&Liam]

Oh alright, I was thinking "e" as in computer. At this stage in Lilly's pregnancy I would not risk doing that, she would most likely die in the process. I think I will just do my best to find them all homes, I don't think I have the heart to do that, even if it turns out all three of them are pregnant. Even if it takes me six months and I have to buy another cage or two to accomodate them until I find them all homes, I will do it.

 

[Nibbler]

It was just an idea . ^_^ i personally would never be able to either.but it was an idea. your such a good mommy to them

 

[Shayna&Liam]

Aww, I wasn't trying to sound harsh at all, I know it was just an idea and I appreciate the thought. It would be a very hard decision to have to make.

Thanks for saying that, I happen to think I am a pretty good Rat Mommy too. Hopefully with the 50 gallon tank and the "small" cage I had Lilly and Gracie in initially I should have enough room to separate the boys and girls. I don't want to buy another cage but if I have to, I will. =)

Do you know anybody who lives on the coast of BC who would be looking for some rat babies??? >.<

 

[Nibbler]

Aww, I wasn't trying to sound harsh at all, I know it was just an idea and I appreciate the thought. It would be a very hard decision to have to make.

Thanks for saying that, I happen to think I am a pretty good Rat Mommy too. Hopefully with the 50 gallon tank and the "small" cage I had Lilly and Gracie in initially I should have enough room to separate the boys and girls. I don't want to buy another cage but if I have to, I will. =)

Do you know anybody who lives on the coast of BC who would be looking for some rat babies??? >.<

i actually might i can check on my facebook if not maybe a rat train can be set up? i have a bunch of friends all over canada i can look around for you and no i didnt think you where being harsh

 

[Shayna&Liam]

Too bad you can't hear nuances when you talk online, huh? Let me know if you know anybody. I'm going to go start making up my brochure things.

 

[KamiWilson]

Nawwh she's so big, well better that rats have a better home and someone that know the different between a buck and doe lol. good luck with lilly

 

[breyer08]

Looks like you can expect Lilly to have those babies any time now. The nest situation looks good--her natural instincts will help her know what to do. Just keep doing what you're doing, and it should be fine.

 

[Shayna&Liam]

Thanks guys. Just checked on her this morning and still no babies, but she's basically just relaxing all the time now so hopefully by the time I get home from work!!

 

[Kgleek27]

Your girlies are gorgeous!!!
Are you sure it's pregnancy? Tumors and megacolon can look like a pregnancy. I only say this because in my experience my girls got bigger gradually, not overnight. Although she has a nice round, even belly so I do believe she is expecting. She looks big now, but just wait! She will likely get bigger. Just sit back and wait for babies
Kudos to you for taking in such sweet little critters!

 

[Shayna&Liam]

Thanks Gleek! I'm pretty sure they're pregnancies and not turmors, as tumors do not wriggle around under your fingers LOL. The next rescues I take in, or the next pets I buy, I am going to make DARN SURE they are in sexed cages, even if that means flipping every rat over myself to check. This is a situation I was NOT prepared to deal with. I'm working with what I have though, and so far it's all turning out OK.

 

[Nibbler]

i think your doing a wonderful job even thou you say you werent prepared your an amazing mommy to them i cant wait to see little cutie photos, if the moms are that adorable, cant imagain what the babies will look like

 

[BarkingPup]

Darn, if I wasn't so allergic to rats I'd offer to take some (the two males I had were wild -since I couldn't touch them much- but sweet in their own way). Hopefully you find homes for them all and the unplanned pregnancy turns out ok!

 

[1928jb]

The same thing happened to us. All the rats we bought were feeders, but we did buy two females and a male. One female is a normal and the other two are dumbo. I figure they were already pregnant to begin with so it's a little too late. It's like closing the barn door after the horse got out. lol Our male, named Gus, is the sweetest rat. He's actually my favorite as he's so laid back.

I just bought a cage off of Kijiji and I am in the process of fixing it up for the rats as it's way bigger as it's 2 x 2 x 3 to 4 feet high. I am going to mesh it so the little ratties can't escape. I may end up getting a ferret or critter nation down the line if I have to, or build something.... Right now they are in another cage I got off of Kijiji. It's really large, and probably half the size of the one I just bought.

Well, I plan on selling the babies and making sure they have good homes and I will only let them go in pairs too.

 

[Shayna&Liam]

Sounds like you're doing everything right jb, good luck finding them homes! WHere abouts are you located?

@ Nibbler, thank you for saying that! I am trying my best to be a good mommy to them. I had a dream last night they were all born in EGGS, and I didn't have time to take pictures of the eggs before they hatched and like, a hundred FULL GROWN rats came crawling out. It was the most bizarre thing. I remember running around frantic to find a camera.

 

[1928jb]

Ferret Nation Vs Critter Nation

We are located in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

I have decided to get a Ferret or Critter Nation for the rats.
My dilemma is, Pets Unlimited here has a Critter Nation someone bought, but brought back as it was too big. They want $399.99 minus 10% if I buy it. That still works out to about $407 for the Critter Nation.

Now, I also have a second job at PetSmart. As an Employee, I will be getting a 30% discount this week or next, to put towards anything I want to buy in the entire store. We don't sell Critter Nations, but only the Ferret Nation. I can get that Ferret Nation with my discount for half the price. The only thing I would have to do is put mesh in it so the rats can't get out as the bars are much further apart. I know a lot of people have done this and it's worked out fine. I am just thinking, would it just be better in the long run to buy the Critter Cage?

The thought of spending $400 on a cage seems a little bit steep when I can get the other cage at half the cost.... Just so confused as to what to do??? Help!!!

 

[Shayna&Liam]

If I were you I would take the half price cage in an instant and then just mesh the bars. How big are your rats? The bar spacing on our Rat Mansion is probably about an inch apart, at the very least 3/4 of an inch but I think it's closer to the full inch. Our girls are just so happy they choose not to get out, if they wanted to they could. I can't picture the Ferret Nation, are the bars vertical or horizontal? That's one plus about our cage, the vertical bars make it less likely they will squeeze out as they would have to turn on their sides.

Overall, take the half price cage dude.