Expecting Babies

[basedonfact]

Hello. I'm new here, but not new to rats. I am, however, new to babies, and because I had no intention of having any could use some advice. In hopes that I wont get flamed, I'll give a little background...

I had a pair of rats, both of which were very sweet. I got one a good while ago as a rescue, and the other I got as a companion for him. About two months ago, the older of the two died. Immediately upon this happening, the other became visibly distressed and depressed. I decided to get him a cage mate. The local humane society had a few babies at one of their satellite adoption centers, and I was lucky enough to find a little boy there who I absolutely adored. He was very young, about three weeks old I think. Light grey with dark grey spots and blotches, and a dumbo. Showed no signs of sneezing or allergies or anything, but I decided to keep him at my boyfriends house for a month of quarenteen just in case something showed up, and also until he was showing (cough) slightly more obvious signs that he was a boy.

Sure enough, he started to get a bit of a bulge, and after a month, had a very smooth introduction with my older boy (a hairless.) There was a little fighting for maybe 20 minutes, but I haven't seen them fight since. Really, they're not too interested in each other. They sleep together, occasionally wrestle, but no unnatural signs of interest. Sounded like a good sign to me.

... Long story short, my little boy, bulge and all, suddenly has a very wide belly and obvious teats. He's been with his cagemate for about 2.5 weeks, three at the most. Not sure how on earth this happened, but I'm trying to be responsible and prepare for it the best I can. Luckily, I'm financially stable, and at least for the next three months have lots of free time. (summer break hooray...) I have a large variety of cages and tanks in my attic which I'm sure would be fine for birthing. (I'm thinking the 20g long with a mesh screen, though if that seems a little too small I can upgrade to the 29g.) I'm not sure what kind of bedding is best. I already know the standard rat rules (no woods, dust free... currently I use carefresh) but I've read some things about that sticking to babies.

I also know I'm going to have to try to find good homes for these babies. I figure I'll wait until after they're born and I know how many to start that one.

Anyhow, now that there is some back story that will hopefully prevent me from gaining the stigma of irresponsible breeder, here are my quick questions.

Is there anything I should be particularly concerned about considering the very young age of this girl? She's only about two months old. The daddy is a little over a year.

What kind of bedding/substrate is best for babies?

And lastly, what age would you consider it safe to find new homes for them? The opinion I've formulated is that they're safe to go away from their mommies without any emotional damage at about five weeks, but of course I'd respect the opinions of people who have done this before over my random reading

I'm thankful that I at least have two very beautiful babies. It doesn't matter to me what they look like, but I do home that it will be easier to find them good homes since they will be so unique. Of course, I have no intention of giving them to anyone who I have any doubt of, and unfortunately, don't know anyone who I wouldn't' doubt. I've never had much luck with placing local rescues in this region.

I'll keep you up to date, thank you for any help you can offer.

Also, just as a side note, I fully intend to get my girl... (her name is Mr. Hibbleton, I suppose I'll have to change it to Hibbie now or something) spayed after this ordeal, as well as any of the females I can't place. I know it has more health benefits than neutering, and I have a very great vet who has done some surgeries on rats of mine in the past.

[RatAttack59]

We had a rescued feeder who delivered ELEVEN two days after the snake decided she wasn't hungry.  We used paper-based bedding, but in retrospect would have used fleece scraps if I'd had them.  I'd start giving mama extra protein now (Maggie was especially fond of hard boiled egg).
 
We separated the boys from the girls at four weeks, but everybody was handled from birth, and at least daily. The first of the babies went to Lilija and my son at about 6 weeks. I still have the boys, but two have homes to go to in August.

I know there are specific steps to go through for weaning, but my little guys took care of the issue all by themselves by simply raiding mama's food dish.  By four weeks they were eating almost as much as she was.

[JR1030]

If you do a search for "pregnant rat" or "rat pregnancy" or "rat babies" or "rat baby care", you'll get a zillion and one results.  It may take you a while to read them, but you'll get lots of great info!

[.dohani]

I ended up raising a litter of ratlets earlier this year, after my petstore girl turned out to be pregnant. For bedding, I just used Carefresh, and didn't have any problems, though that isn't to say there isn't something better to use. Remove any papertowel/tissues that you might have in the cage, as there is a possibility of the babies suffocating if it gets stuck over their face. Momma may appreciate having some strips of cloth (I shredded an old pair of sweatpants) to make a nest with, as long as there are no loose threads that might get wrapped around the babies.

Start looking for homes now. True, at this point you don't know how many you'll need to home, but at least it'll give you an idea of who might be interested, when the eepers do come. Believe me, you'll have your work cut out for you, finding homes for all of them. If you're lucky, you'll have a small litter. If you're like a lot of people who raise oops litters, you could end up caring for and homing around 12-16 rats. You could start with posting a thread in the adoptions section of this site. There may be some people who live near (or not so near) you, who would like to take a couple (or more... xD). Regular handling (as mentioned later in the post) will make for friendlier ratties, which will be easier to find homes for.

Now... Momma's diet. It takes a lot of nutrients to provide for growing babies, and well as for her own body, and for milk production once they're born. Giving her some egg/yogurt/tofu/something else high in protein on top of her regular food should help her out there. She'll likely be hungrier than usual, too, so be sure to check her food dish often.   

As soon as the female will let you, start handling the babies and getting them used to humans. I held them from day one, but then Chinook was a very relaxed mother. Your ratty may feel a bit leery about letting you near them, at least at first, in which case you can handle them while she's out exercising.

When to separate the males can be complicated. There's a relatively short "ideal" timeframe in which to do so, and it can vary from litter to litter. A lot of sources recommend 4.5-5 weeks, while some suggest leaving it as late as 6 weeks. I separated mine a couple of days later than 4.5 weeks, and in the days leading up to final separation, I would move the boys into my spare cage for longer and longer periods, so that they could get used to it, and so that I could watch them and see how they did on their own. (And so Momma could have a bit of a break. ) Just use your judgment, and and I'm sure you'll do fine. ^^

I'm having trouble visualizing how big a 20g cage would be, so I think I'll leave it to someone else to give you an opinion on that... 

Good luck!  Oh, and... -nudges- Once they're born... you will treat us to some piccys, right?