Welcome to what to expect after your rat has already had unexpected babies. Now it is up to you, to do virtually nothing.

Rat moms are the best.

They instinctively know how to go through the labor process, and need to remain undisturbed during this time. Labor usually lasts 1 to 2 hours, but if it goes past four, you want to seek medical attention. The mom will have babies every 15-30 minutes depending. She will clean the placenta off each one in between the pups being born.

Day 1: leave mom undisturbed during labor. After labor, it is safe to remove possible to stillborn to prevent her from possibly eating. Leave her and babies alone for at least the first 24-hours.

Week 1:

Usually, this first signs of babies are little squeaks. Letting you know they have arrived safely. You may notice blood spots. Do not change this nesting material for the first week! This is why cleaning the cage before birth was important.

Simply make sure mom has a high-protein diet. You can add eggs, as a treat, to her diet. Aldo, feeding Oxbow Young Rat and Mouse (18% crude protein), works, or here are more suggestions:

• Kalmbach 18%, Kalmbach 23%
• Mazuri 6F Breeder
• High Protein Cat/Dog Food**
• Goat, puppy, kitten, human soy based milk, will work when needed

** to help supplement your pregnant female and nursing females you can use high protein cat or dog food. Though, not to be overused as the foods extra protein and fat can cause problems.

You can begin handling the babies after 24 hours. It is up to you, but some basic handling daily can give the mom a break, or a chance to free roam, and the babies a chance to get used to you.

For younger moms: if your female rat becomes pregnant at a young age, let’s say, 5 weeks, we will be at risk. Her body isn’t fully developed yet, and carrying the babies is going to cause a lot of stress. Her litter may be smaller, or not survive. But just because they are inexperienced, doesn’t mean they don’t instinctively know how to care for their young. Just make sure to check the milk bands; the mother is feeding milk to her young.

Week 2: they are all still probably hiding away. Drinking mother’s milk, and growing into little beans. Besides handling, you will probably only see the mother around the cage. There eyes should open between day 12-15.

If your mom is living with another female, it is not unnecessary to move her. Though, you should if you can, as it can cause stress to mom and the babies.

If your mom is living with a male, if you haven’t already done so, it is crucial you separate them as soon as possible. Dad can come see the babies, but he can also get mom pregnant again within 4 days of giving birth. It is not healthy for rats to carry litters so close together, so please remove your males at the sign of labor. They can also be aggressive towards their offspring at times.

Week 3:

Eyes are opened and cage exploration is beginning. Make sure your cage bar spacing is appropriate, there are no scary crevices for them to get stuck in, you have the appropriate set up for them: which includes fall breakers if your cage is high.

Week 4: an exciting time! As you may begin to witness your pups eating solid food, playing with each other, and full on cage exploration. Mom naturally weans the babies during the end of this week.

Week 5-8:

The babies are officially weaned from mom and their dependence of her. The earliest a rat should be separated is 5 weeks. If they stay the full 8 weeks with mom, it is said they learn to socialize better with others. The choice is ultimately yours, as to when your pups leave the nest for good.

Keep in mind, the babies become sexually mature during this time. Separating the males during week 5 is advised.

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A better understanding of how mating cycle of a rat works:

• Female rats reach sexual maturity between 2-3 months. Most breeders consider it ethical to breed around 4-10 months. After 10 months, there are greater health risks involved for mom and offspring.

• 21-23 day gestational cycle
• Female rats menstruation cycle is 4 days.
• This means if a female is being bred with a male, and they share a cage for ten days, she had two of those days to get pregnant.
• This ten day method is used by a lot of breeders.
• It is very hard to tell if a rat is pregnant, until the last week where she gains significant weight. You may also notice her nesting skills improving or her hormones making her a bit moodier.
• If you are trying to breed rats, it’s important to remember temperament should come first when choosing your studs.
• Male rats sexually mature around 2 months, but do not reach full maturity for such practices until about 3.5 months. Their peak lasts until about 10 months, when it starts to decline like females’. Like female rats (who it is unsafe to breed past 10 months), their reproductive rate declines significantly between 1.5 and 2 years.
• Accidents happen, just make sure you are cage ready for babies to safely grow and explore, when the time comes.

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