Having issues identifying gender; Also feeling a bit guilty.

[RoSni]

I'm new here. I've frequented the site for, well, only a few weeks, and I've just regestered today.
I'll start off by saying I've always said, when 'reasons' are given in situations that make you look bad, they're usually excuses.
I'm not trying to justify anything, and I'm ready to get a whole bunch of very reasonable and correct opinions presented to me.


-
I've done a few bad things. One of them, or I guess five of them, have been, I've bought all the rats I've had the pleasure of owning from a reptile shop as feeders.

And I've [quite literally] literally payed for it.

After one of my two first boys racked up almost $400 in vets bills trying to treat what I can only guess was a pituitary tumor, and only lived to be a little over 1.5 years, I said I was done with feeders.

But after Rowf passed, Snitter went downhill. Pretty much all he did was sit in his 'pigloo'. He didn't even come to me when I opened the cage doors.

I looked on the internet to see if anyone had babies to give away, and nobody did. So I panicked and ran to the feeder shop, scooping up two more baby boys.

When I introduced them [after two weeks of quarantine], Snitter did a 180, and was the happiest I'd ever seen him. He was grooming them and popcorning around them within minutes. Panzer and Posie seemed to have done him a LOT of good, and Snitter lived to be three years and about three months old.

Everything was calm for a little over half a year. Save for an attempt to -really- rescue a year old rat from Kijiji, which ended up in failure. After a week of talking to the 'owner' about it and asking him to hold the little dude for me, he said he'd already given him away because he 'wasn't sure I was going to take him.'

Then I made the stupid decision to go back to the shop I bought my two current boys, and lo and behold, in the feeder bin, a little siamese runt caught my eye.

I can wholeheartedly swear on all things I hold dear to me that I had no intention of taking home ANY animals that day. In fact I went there to inquire about Leopard geckos.

I can also say with equal certaintly that I would never buy a rat based off of their looks. [though I do think Posie is one of the most handsome things to walk the earth]

Needless to say, I had to stick my hand in. Just out of curiousity, I picked up the siamese to inspect him further, and I was pretty much suckered in when he proceeded to lick my hand like there was no tomorrow.

I actually left the shop without him, and halfway back home I broke, ran back to the shop, and bought the little guy for $3.



Now that I've pretty much laid myself out here, so there are no secrets, or wonderings, and people can view me as they see fit, I'd like to ask for a little help with something.

It's easy, quite easy, to sex a young rat. I looked at multiple ratlets in the feeder bin, saying 'you're a boy, you're a girl' and immediately upon picking the new boy up, I was 100% certain he was male.

Now not so much. His 'bits' haven't dropped yet, and though I'm pretty sure he's still under five weeks I feel like I should be more certain. I've only had him for three days, and I keep looking and looking every three seconds to see if I can be certain he's a boy!

I'm certain one second, and not the other. I'm very much leaning towards him being male but there's a strange nagging doubt.

I suppose I could just wait another week or two to see if he 'drops', but it puts a hitch in the program if he is in fact a she, because I can't house a 'she' with two boys.


I feel like even though I'm not adult quite yet, and was much more erratic when I got my first two boys, I should have been able to control impulses much better, especially now.

I really regret becoming one of the people I wag my finger at, and I also regret this being my introduction and first impression to all of the intelligent rat owners on this site.

I hope I can still have a good stay on this site.

 

[victoria]

For starters, while I disagree with buying rats from pet stores (whether they be sold as feeders or pets, it's the same thing) there are worse things you can do. I cannot go into pet stores without wanting to "save" all the rats there so I don't - probably something to keep in mind if you are adamant about not doing this again or supporting the sale of animals. (Whether you buy an animal or supplies from a store that sell animals, you are still supporting the practice - that's my opinion at least.)

As for your current conundrum, let me say first of all that you should not introduce rats younger than 8 weeks to adults because their bones are not fully developed and there can be tragic consequences during intros. There are exceptions to the rule, but better safe than sorry.

Are you able to take a few pictures of your new rat (dangle pics, profile, or both) so we can see? It's really the best way to help. There are many people on this forum with a lot of experience that may be able to help you estimate age more accurately as well.

Oh! Welcome to the forum!

 

[jorats]

Same as with Victoria, personally I will never buy from a pet store or from feeder breeders but will never sit in judgment of anyone who does.
It's sounding like your little one might be very young, like 3 weeks old? At 4 weeks, even 3 weeks, you can usually quite clearly see the testicles.
That may be why your rats are so sick because they are far too young to be adopted out. Those poor little ones in the bin. It's truly heart breaking. I just wish there was another way to feed the reptiles. It seems so unnecessarily cruel.
But for now, I'd make sure I supplement this little one with kitten milk or even human baby formula.
And pics, if you can get us a pic of the little one dangling, we might be of help.

 

[lilspaz68]

See if you can take a dangling pic and we'll help you with sexing.

I have done up some pics in Paint, done badly but they have text that might help you figure it out. These are 5 week old rescue babies but the principle remains the same young or old.

Girl

Boy

Post a pic of your wee one from the side and front as well so we can help you age him/her

 

[SQ]

As Jorats said, the baby's diet needs to be supplimented - suggest baby cereal mixed up with soy infant formula

 

[xKrAzEdShOoTeRx]

LOL i think these post are both akward yet humerous.

 

[KatTheHippie]

Don't be so hard on yourself. What's important is that now you know about why it's bad to buy from pet shops, and you're taking full responsibility for the rats you currently have. A lot of people start their journey with rats by bringing home the one with the cute face from the pet store, only to find out later the horrors involved. I had no idea when I was younger, my first pair came from a pet store, but it never made me love them any less.

And as with your issue, I agree. See if you can get some pictures, so someone will be able to help you out, and infant formula will help your little guy grow big and strong.

 

[temblabamomo]

Piccies would be good, most definitely.

You're not the first person, nor will you be the last, who is against buying from pet stores, but does it anyway when they feel a certain calling. Don't beat yourself up over it, I doubt the rats you have/have had would want you to regret buying them out of the feeder bin.

Welcome

 

[RoSni]

Thank you, everyone for the welcome and input!

Thank you also for not scolding me.

I'll get him/her some baby soy milk/baby formula asap- because human milk is closer to rat's milk than cat or dog's, right?
In any case, I posted some pics here! Sorry about the quality!



This is where I say, 'hmm. Not so sure.' The distance is what's confusing me for the most part. But then,



I think I see boy bits! Or not.



Just woke him up. He doesn't normally look that squinty, but he's got what I hope are just the 'new home sniffles'.



Compared to my fingers. Keep in mind, they're a little chunky!
And lastly,



In comparison to my hand. My hands aren't all that large, but they obviously not dainty!


I hope these pictures help! It's a pain to take them, because all he wants to do is sleep in my hand.

 

[lilspaz68]

Tell me he's usually bouncy and climbing everywhere? That he's just sleepy in these pics?

 

[victoria]

He's definitely a boy , I would say four weeks-ish. Keep supplementing his diet and monitoring his sneezing. Hopefully it's just new home sneezes and you can start introing him to your boys in a month or so.

 

[RoSni]

Lilspaz68, no need to worry! He was just sleeping under my hand at the time I took the pictures. It was the only way to get a picture that wasn't a furry blur.

But oh dear, now you've made me nervous.

When he's not napping, he's jumping around, wrestling me, doing acrobatics and playbiting my fingers. He actually grapples my thumb and rapidly 'bites' it, all the while kicking his back feet. Popcorns with more conviction than any other rat I've had!
He sleeps a fair amount, [usually when I hold him] but the minute I place him back in his cage, he starts jumping around like the nut he is and is ready for playtime all over again.

This is normal behavoir, for a young rat, is it not? How much SHOULD he be sleeping?

I assumed he was less active than the other boys I've owned because he didn't have a playmate to constantly tussle with.

Other than the sneezing, nothing seems strange about him. Bright eyed, and not lethargic by any means. Just sleepy when he's done playing.


And thank you Victoria- it's a relief to know for sure!

 

[Joanne]

Play, sleep, play, sleep, play sounds normal to me!