He sprung one on me...lol

[MadamBelladonna]

So I was taking a nap and woke up to my fiance gently calling my name. He flicked the light on when I opened my eyes and pulled a baby rat out of his pocket :wallbang: I'm PRETTY SURE it's a girl but not positive (think I see a little hole there but she won't hold still enough for me to get a good look).

He got this rat at a pet store (it was raised as a feeder). She? is now in my quarantine cage (the bottom half-it's a 10 gallon tank with an aquarium topper but the topper is NOT baby proof). So...my question is:

1. How do I tell FOR SURE what gender this rat is(pictures would help if anyone can)? and
2. How to go about baby-proofing the cage?

Also not sure how old she is. She looks (from what I've researched) about 6-8 weeks, but I could be dead wrong.

At least this means that Ernie is FINALLY admitting that he likes rats. It's been impossible trying to get him to fess up :laugh4:

 

[fenshae]

Congrats

If she's old enough to be running around with her eyes open and eating solid food, you'll be able to tell if she's a boy. Just check for goolies Also, girl rats will have nipples, boys don't.

There's a sticky somewhere around here for how to apply hardware cloth to a cage, it's very useful.

 

[hopefloats]

Look for nipples! males dont have them

 

[MadamBelladonna]

ok thanks, wasn't sure when the goods would be visible for boys. It's definitely a girl then (and I have BOYS lol)

 

[MadamBelladonna]

Unfortunately I wasn't exactly done using that quarantine cage: my OTHER new rat, Oliver has only been in there a week. I put him in the top half of Algernon's cage and blocked the opening between levels with a brick. He hasn't shown an signs of illness, so I'm not too worried, but still...

 

[MadamBelladonna]

Cage is all baby-proofed: the bars were spaced smaller than I thought so it didn't take long, just had some fall hazards to remove. Ernie has named her Tweak...and has NO CLUE how to take care of a rat lol you would think he would've learned SOMETHING from watching me take care of my rats but...nope. Shows how much he pays attention :roll:

He loves her though, and I can help him lol he's already spoiling her with attention, I keep having to remind him that she has to go back to the cage every ONCE IN A WHILE cuz, ya know, water is kind of important.

 

[hopefloats]

Awww. Now all we need are pictures

 

[mamarat]

Congrats! We need pics!

 

[MadamBelladonna]

Haha will do, STILL can't find my camera cable but I'll try to snap a few with the camera on my computer after work (I'm just on lunch right now). Gonna see if I can find her a little friend tomorrow, she's alone right now :wink:

 

[Joanne]

If you have a rat-knowledgeable vet around, you could get her spayed and then she could live with your boys.

 

[MadamBelladonna]

I can't afford a spay...besides, I kinda wanted to get a girl lolx I've only ever had boys

 

[Spork]

I can't afford a spay...besides, I kinda wanted to get a girl lolx I've only ever had boys

You'll probably want to spay eventually anyway, so that you're not at risk for an oops litter.

 

[MadamBelladonna]

Okey dokey here she is! Say hello to Tweak!

 

[amymatthews]

awww so cute congratz.

 

[KatTheHippie]

She is VERY cute! Congratulations on the new baby (possibly babies) :rathugz:

I do agree though, it's pretty dangerous having mixed intact genders in one house, even if they're in separate cages, in separate rooms, on separate ends of the house. The smell of the girls can cause aggression issues in your boys, and both your girls, AND your boys will fight to get to eachother. You'd be surprised how sneaky those little guys can be! Plus, if you put just a little bit of money away each week in a fund for a spay, you'd be surprised how quick it builds up!

 

[MadamBelladonna]

Well in that case, which is less risky, a spay or a neuter? I would think a neuter would be less risky, just because they don't have to cut them open to do it but not sure

 

[Spork]

Well in that case, which is less risky, a spay or a neuter? I would think a neuter would be less risky, just because they don't have to cut them open to do it but not sure

Well, the main risk with any surgery on a rat is the anesthesia, which would be a requirement for either. They would have to cut the rat open for either one (how else would they get his balls out?) but an experience vet would use the smallest incision possible. Spays tend to be more expensive, but also have more long term health benefits, as they reduce the chance of mammary tumors, which are very common in female rats.

This page has a lot of information about the risks and benefits of spaying and neutering:
http://northstarrescue.org/pet-care/rat ... ering-rats

 

[SQ]

http://www.ratfanclub.org/surgery.html

 

[fenshae]

Agreeing with Spork. Spays are somewhat more invasive, but they'll pay off in the long-term when the tumor chance is reduced.

Depending how comfortable your vet is with these things, I've heard there's an ovarectomy option that's less invasive that your little girl could qualify for. Lilspaz can tell you all about it

 

[MadamBelladonna]

Ok so we went and got Tweak a friend today. She's a sweet little dumbo girl, think she's a platinum (the people we got her from said blue but I don't think so). I think I'm going to name her Flora, not sure yet though