My rat escaped three weeks ago- and may have bred with a male. (high possibility) What should I expect?

She is a six month old white female, masking lilac. (I know this, because the rest of litter that she came from was lilac) The father is a lilac rex..with a really curly coat.

My rat escaped three weeks ago- and may have bred with a male. (high possibility) What should I expect?
Wow, 15 answers that tell you nothing!!!! The two above understand what you want :)





It's going to be hard to determine the colors of the babies if the rats that bred are pet store rats. This is because what you see, as in what the rats look like, is called Phenotype. I identify all my rats by Phenotype because I do not know what their genetic make-up is. If the rats are carrying any other genetic material beside Lilac and Rex you could get anything in the litter.





But let's assume that you know that the lines are pure. Mom is a smooth-coat PEW carrying (masking) Lilac and Dad is a Lilac Rex. My guess:


1/2 Rex


1/2 Smooth coat


Some PEW carrying Lilac


The rest Lilacs with a variety of markings.





Lilac genetics:


http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=Li...





Rex genetics:


http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=Re...





Caring for pregnant rats:


http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=Ca...





Teej, I'm here for you. I've bred several litters. E-mail me at spazrats@yahoo.ca if you need to talk to someone.


http://spazrats.tripod.com/mischief.html





Mom should be ok. Reputable rat breeders will breed their girls around 4 months of age to be on the safe side of their health and ability to carry a litter. Assuming she is pregnant, there is really nothing you need to do except to increase her food intake. Add some tofu to her diet for the extra protein that will help milk production and baby growth. And if she's not pregnant she will have had an extra special treat for 3 weeks.





From what I have read on my rat-only forums, the average litter size is 12 pups.





Oh, and unlike other rodents, female rats are least likely to harm their young. Rats make awesome parents.


Just be aware


http://www.ratbehavior.org/infanticide.h...


Out of several litters I have had only one mother eat her runt pup that died on it's own 3 days after it's birth.





You say 3 weeks ago that she escaped? She should look like she swallowed a tennis ball if she were pregnant. Gestation is only 21 days. I would prepare her nursing cage now and put her in a quiet, dark, room in preparation for those babies.





spazrats


"my life has gone to the rats"
Reply:Alot of rat babies and thankgod for spaz, she's brilliant with rat info and ignore all the sick rat abusers, they make me angry as well.


Hope the mother , father and babies are well.
Reply:Hi, congratulations! I wish I could have one of your babies when they are old enough! Rat litters can vary in size quite a bit. As a first time moma she could have just one or two, but she could also have nine or ten or twelve. If she is on a good quality diet right now (meaning a complete pellet or chow augmented with goodies like fruit, vegetables, a little cat food or ferret food maybe, or a little cooked meat) she should be fine as far as nutrition goes. When I had rats I also gave them the bones from our steaks, roast, chops etc, when we had beef or lamb. The complete pellet or chow will give her all the nutrition she needs; the other stuff is just for treats and to give her a variety. Most rats are good parents, and most of the time the birthing process will go smoothly without any help or interference from you. The babies will be born naked and blind but will grow quickly. Your mama should have her own cage so she doesn't have to compete with any other rats for food or space, and so she can tend her babies without interference. You could get some pretty interesting colors from this cross; there is no way of knowing what colors the male carried, and the babies may have a different temperament from their mother, and may vary in size, but if they are handled/treated properly they should be just as tame as your doe. Good luck, and happy ratting!
Reply:I'm assuming you're referring to color and variety...?





Check out this site. I really enjoyed this person's rattery. Go to the page that says "varieties" , scroll down, and click the "high-white" link. This talks about diseases and illnesses associated with white rats breeding. Then enjoy the rest of the site- they have beautiful babies!





http://www.spoiledratten.com/index.html
Reply:Well, first off I would expect to see rats running around (If they got loose) after about a week if you don't find mum before then. And also, if you must, I would reccomend putting a ten-gallon bucket or so on the floor and then get either a small peice of wood (sanded so mum/babies won't get splinters) or a empty 12 pack with both sides cut open (wood is reccomended though) and lean is up against the bucket. I found my hamster the same way!
Reply:I do not know but you look good what state do live in?
Reply:did you find her ?? well if you did and she is pregnant i hope for the best and good luck
Reply:you can expect little rat babies and you should set up humain traps for example





-you can buy these little plastic houses (humain traps) and put some treats inside ,check the traps every 1/2-1 hour


or


-get a tall bucket(not too tall) and a rough piece of wood lean the wood aginst the bucket and put it were your rats can find them them put treats inside and check 1/2-1 hour
Reply:If it was 3 weeks ago then in the next week 3 to 16 baby rats depending on how well she's been kept. Usually 8 to 12.





The colouring will be quite likely white or whatever the male was (I don't know what 'lilac rex' is) but you're not going to know that until about 2 weeks after they are born. A rat that grows up to be black or dark brown will appear blue when its coat first grows. If the babies inherit a recessive gene (and there is a 50% chance of this) the coat could be any colour within reason.





EDIT: OK. While she is nursing, which takes 2 to 3 weeks, Mom will need 2 and a half times as much food and drink. Ordinary food will do. Their eyes open after 10 days or so. In 2 weeks they will be mouse-sized. They can survive on normal food and water then but will sometimes return to the teat over the next week.





She will only eat a baby if some kind of abuse is going on. If you touch a baby while it is still pink and blind this might happen as your scent will be on it and she will consider it a threat to the other babies. I'm sure you're not stupid enough to do this however. Don't even put your hand near the nest - she'll bite you and draw blood. Just change the food and water quickly. Don't have light shining directly into the cage/aquarium/whatever. Otherwise if, as you say, she is well cared for it should be OK.





One of my girls did have a litter of 16 but this was an exceptional case. Still, you never know.





ANOTHER EDIT: Oh yeah, one other thing. Don't have another rat in the same enclosure when she is nesting. That can lead to problems.
Reply:rat babies
Reply:Rats can have up to 12 babies at a time. Feed her lots of vegies like carrots, apple, celery, silverbeet, corn as well as normal rat food and put newspaper or tissues in for her to chew up and make a soft bed for her babies with. Do not handle her if she is pregnant and give her as much privacy as possible when she has the babies. She will only kill the babies if she feels her or the babies are threatened so stay away from her and only peek every now and then if you have to see the little cuties. DO NOT HANDLE BABIES UNTIL THEIR EYES ARE OPEN. Other than that good luck.
Reply:Expect a crossbreed. Hope the best the father is a rat, I mean she was not spotted by a guinea pig!
Reply:maybe rat babies?!
Reply:Well, I use to have two gerbals, which I was told were both males, wrong one was a female and one was a male. Well, they bred and got loose, pretty soon there were like 20 gerbal babies running around the house about a month later. After about 3 weeks my whole family finally caught them all, but we never got gerbals again. Mice are the same way.
Reply:a freaking carnivor
Reply:marilyn manson with with a bottle of ketchup.
Reply:Baby rats would be my guess
Reply:Little rat babies :) hehe
Reply:i think you should buy a couple of rat traps looooooool
Reply:Allow the mother to give birth in a controlled environment (a place she cannot hide or escape) after the birth, put on heavy boots and a blindfold, enter the room and the problem should resolve itself during a vigorous stroll
Reply:Well I wouldn't expect chickens.



flower