2 possibly pregnant rescues need advice please

[benzin.fox]

Myself and a friend were contacted by a rescue early this week about three rats found dumped in a box two girls and boy. The boy has now been desexed. The females could be pregnant..the vet said it is too early to know.

I will be fostering the females until we know if they are pregnant or not. If they are and it is mandatory that they be housed separately my friend will need to take one female as i just dont have the space/time for another cage.

I need some advice on what to do, what to expect, to feed what cage is best etc..

I have a few years experience with rats but NEVER with any pregnancies.

I don't know if they should be kept together or if it is ok for my rat-friend to foster the other female and her babies.

Will it be too stressful. I need your expert advice!

Thanking you in advance, Kristen

 

[jorats]

Any chance you can have the girls spayed asap in order to prevent a birth?
Not all vets will do an emergency spay.
Rats make excellent mothers but it's best for the two ladies to be separated. Most people prefer an aquarium for their moms but I have used hamster cages with the smallest bar spacing for our rescue moms.
Once you are pretty sure they are pregnant, (they get very big and round) then I suggest starting to feed them more proteins like chicken, tuna, eggs and such. Continue to feed this until babies are weaned.
As for bedding, paper towels and shredded newspaper are best. Give them a box so they can hide their babies and it will be less stressful for them.

 

[benzin.fox]

I had not considered a spay for them asap...

now that is a thought.

I will contact the rescue and see what they want to do -in the end it's their call.

Thanks for replying, i really, really appreciate it