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mommabird
Sun Feb 05, 2006 3:48 am
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 Age? |
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Hi!
I'm a newbie here and would like some advice on "ageing" a rat.
She is the white variety with pink eyes, about 4 1/2 "" long (no tail) and weighs 6 ozs (175 grams). Her teeth and nails are not overgrown and are fairly short. Though her nails need to tipped off-very prickly!
I've only had her a week and I just about figure that she is pregnant. She was in with 2 males 
She looks like she could stand some weight even though she's not boney, and already looks like she's picked up a little. I feed her Mazuri rat pellets and she seems to really like it.
THX for any help 
_________________
mommabird ;-)
"Beu"- fantail gf
"Babe & Bitty"-ryukin gf's
"Jake"-betta
"Dixie"& "Buddy"-rat terriers
"Butter"&"Gus"-cockatiel and parakeet
"Daisy"-white rat |
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LittleWillow
MODERATOR & RP Supporter
Sun Feb 05, 2006 8:43 am
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| RE: Age? |
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Weight is the most accurate method of estimating age when they're young - and based on my research of many rat age-weight graphs, I would estimate that she's probably around 9 weeks old, give or take a week either side (based on a weight of 175g). It's more accurate with very young rats (as their weight tends to vary more as they get older) and adult rats can have such widely differing weights that after a few months it's hard to tell - then you have to go based on their behaviour, looks, etc. - but that's not very accurate. I don't know how accurate your scales were to measure her, but that may be a source of inaccuracy too.
If she is 9 weeks old, then there is a good chance she is pregnant -  that she's not though.
_________________
Andy & The Rats
 ~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~
 ~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~ |
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mommabird
Sun Feb 05, 2006 8:35 pm
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Thx LW!
I'm happy to hear that she is young. I was afraid that she was somewhat older. As for the scales-they are very accurate. I used to use them when I was breeding and handraising baby cockatiels. I kept meticulous records on them. (hence the nickname mommabird 
This is my first rat (I did have gerbils as a kid and my daughters had a guinea pig growing up) so I'm still learning. When I was a vet tech-we would get the occasional hamster, gp, rabbit, ect., in but not many rats. People don't don't know what they are missing!
Still watching her belly and can't tell anything yet. I understand that they don't really show any signs until about the last week. Hopefully-not
Have a great day
_________________
mommabird ;-)
"Beu"- fantail gf
"Babe & Bitty"-ryukin gf's
"Jake"-betta
"Dixie"& "Buddy"-rat terriers
"Butter"&"Gus"-cockatiel and parakeet
"Daisy"-white rat |
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LittleWillow
MODERATOR & RP Supporter
Sun Feb 05, 2006 9:45 pm
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They usually are young from pet stores - but sadly 9 weeks is plenty old enough to get pregnant even though she's far from fully grown yet.  I'm hoping for her that she's not because it's hard on them to have a litter when they're that age.
You can keep an eye open for any signs of heat cycles - not all rats show changes when they are in heat, but some are very obvious about it - vibrating their ears (or whole bodies!), lordosis (arching her bum up into the air if you touch her back or rump), behavioural changes (more skittish, more manic, more energetic, more friendly, more grumpy etc). If they have cagemates, then they will try to mount the girl that is in heat, and tend to chase her around the cage a lot - she doesn't seem to mind too much, though there tends to be an increase in squeaking and wrestling. Sometimes you can also see that the vulva will be darker or duskier because of increased blood flow, and you might even see a tiny amount of clear discharge or see an increase in licking of those areas by her (and her cagemates!) - but often you won't see any discharge, and it should only ever be a tiny amount and totally clear - any coloured discharge, pus or other cloudy discharge or blood is a sign of a problem, as rats do not bleed at any point during their heat cycles.
So you might see any of those signs - or none at all...! Sometimes, they're very dignified and keep their urges to themselves. Other times, they're little hussies. When they're not pregnant, they will go into heat every 4-6 days for around 12 hours (usually but not always starting in the evening time) - so you can try keeping an eye open for that.
Signs of pregnancy - yes, often there are no signs until late on - if only someone would develop a little ratty pregnancy test. It would be a lot easier. As you have accurate scales, you can watch her weight and how that changes (though you need to adjust for the fact that she is still young and growing herself). Often, they will put on somewhere between 30 and 60 grams a week, and in total around 120g but anywhere between 100 and 150g has been reported as normal for pregnancy weight gain. If she is 9 weeks old, then I would be expecting her to put on around 25g per week in weight anyway for growth - but again that does depend on the rat, their previous care and diet, if they are underweight now etc. And it's not a guarantee either - my flatmate's two girls were potentially pregnant and we were convinced that one of them was - she was gaining weight, rounding out and had prominant nipples - but turns out she was just a porky girl with big nipples! 
From around 2 weeks, look for more prominant nipples, rounding of the tummy while the rest of her stays slender (it looks like they have swallowed an orange sometimes, and it's easier to see from on top - if you can see the tummy peeking out either side of the rest of the body, that's typical of a pregnancy tummy - but little girls are a bit prone to pot bellies anyway at that age (at least in my experience). You might also have lots of nest building, particularly close to delivery, and some behavioural or personality changes - but alternatively, she might show no signs at all until a day or two before delivery occurs.
 that she's not going to make you a ratty grandma just yet.
_________________
Andy & The Rats
~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~
~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~ |
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mommabird
Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:13 am
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thx again LW-this helps me a bunch. i have been hoping to see signs of heat but havn't yet. maybe she's the shy type
i have also paid more attention to her belly. if she does have babes, i hope things will go ok. hey, with my background of being a vet tech, i've helped deliver tons of puppies, kittens and even a horse! But, "I ain't never birthed no baby (rats) Miss Scarlett!"
I'll just keep her plenty of food and water on hand and watch.
_________________
mommabird ;-)
"Beu"- fantail gf
"Babe & Bitty"-ryukin gf's
"Jake"-betta
"Dixie"& "Buddy"-rat terriers
"Butter"&"Gus"-cockatiel and parakeet
"Daisy"-white rat |
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