RatPalace.com - Pet Rat Care and Discussion

Mon Feb 06, 2006 10:06 am

Well it wasnt my first gal Orla, but Raven - the black blazed gal - here is a belly pic of about 4 days back

She had 9 eepers over lunchtime yesterday. All seem fine, have milk-bands. I will get pics tonight, she was a bit unsettled yesterday still.

Now a question - the girl I bred first - Orla - is a huge girl. Quite squishy for a girl. On day 19 of her pregnancy, she showed signs of being in heat. I thought maybe its only hormones, because there was no spotting etc in her nest that may indicate she lost the babies? Blink

Orla will be on day 28 today. She still looks pear-shaped - a bit more difficult to see on her because she is so much more of a squish.
Here are 2 belly pics of her

of about 4 days back. She looks bigger in reality than in the pics.

SHe is still building big nests with bedding, foodbowls, etc. I just dont konw anymore! 28 days seem awfully long! SHe is healthy, eats, etc - so what do you think?

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~Obedient women are never remembered in history~

Mon Feb 06, 2006 11:23 am

My first thought on seeing the picture was "Is she chubby rather than pregnant?" but I'm far from an expert. She doesn't appear to have the pear shape that I'm usually familiar with for a very pregnant ratty. Can you perhaps get a picture looking down on her from the top (i.e. of her back while she's standing on all fours)? That's often a better way of determining if they have a chubby tummy or a pregnant one.

What I do know is that they can delay implantation - usually that only happens a few days give or take, but can be done for a while. However, I wouldn't expect her to be showing signs of being in heat if that were the case. The fact that she seems to have gone into heat suggests that she isn't pregnant - so either the pregnancy didn't take or she has "miscarried" the litter.

When a rat loses a litter, sometimes they resorb the fetuses, and other times they go on to deliver (stillborn). At day 19 - which is pretty much near delivery - I'm not entirely sure what she would do - deliver or resorb them - but I suspect delivery would be more likely. As you've seen not even the slightest sign of blood or discharge then I find it hard to believe she would have delivered any babies, even if she might have removed the bodies herself if they were dead. If you VERY gently feel her tummy, can you feel any bumps? At the end of pregnancy, you can often feel and sometimes even see babies moving in the uterus.

If you think she might still have undelivered babies in her uterus, then I'd definitely get her checked out by the vet because 28 days is way past the normal time. Usually I think people would recommend taking them in at 26 or 27 days after mating if they're not showing any signs of delivery and definitely were pregnant.

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Andy & The Rats

~ Darwin ~ Maisie ~ Ella ~ Zak ~

~ Finn ~ Malachi ~ Azrael ~ Newton ~ Charlie ~

Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:48 pm

Yup, i just thought its pretty strange that there was NO blood whatsoever. Gah its so frustrating, I think I must buy my own x-ray machine and sonar

bring on the invention of x-ray goggles, LOL! I wonder if a human pregnancy test kit would work ??? heehee.

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~Obedient women are never remembered in history~

Mon Feb 06, 2006 3:49 pm

Ditto what LittleWillow said- and she just doesn't look pregnant to me, especially if she really is at 28 days. Perhaps try putting her with a boy and see if he's interested...?

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--Brittany

"He who breaks a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom."

Mon Feb 06, 2006 4:49 pm

She doesn't look pregnant to me either. If she really was showing signs of being in heat, then she either wasn't pregnant or she reabsorbed the litter. That can happen sometimes.

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Shanna
~ Serendipity Rodentry ~