Young rat Pregnancy? (Update- new picture)

[nevadamoon]

Now, let me start this off by saying that I have not had my girls long, and they have never even been in the same room as my boys.  So if they are in a motherly-way, it's not my fault.  (Of course, when I got them, I knew it was a possibility, and so if it's the case, it's the case, and I'll see to the fact the bubs are cared for.)  I also do not have a scale to weigh the girls, so my 'belly watch' is by eye until I get one.


The two girls (Esme and Alice) are about 5/6 weeks.  I think Esme is older, but not by more then a week. They're really close in size, but really I could have their ages wrong altogether as all my boys are big guys and grow quickly. 

Their nipples were visible as indentions on their bellies, but as their fur gets less babyish they're getting less noticeable.  So I think that my initial noticing their nipples was just me not being used to girls.  There's no hair loss around them. 

They have bellies, but they also now are being fed good food.  They have a wheel, and lots of playtime (and feel safe enough to be active) so I figured that would even out their weight gain.  Alice's belly isn't really any bigger then the 2 boys that I think to be her brothers.

However, Esme's seems to keep growing. It's not huge, but bigger then Alice.  She's not as active as Alice, so that could be a factor.  Here are some pictures:
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/ohmaibobby/Ratties/004-4.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/ohmaibobby/Ratties/005-1.jpg
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee299/ohmaibobby/Ratties/007-3.jpg  (Side view)

They're not great, but it's hard to handle a rat you've had under a week, especially when it's a squirmy baby who doesn't understand why you're trying to get her to hang there.

My vet does not do e-spays on rats this young.  I also know that while -possible-, it could be unlikely for them to be pregnant at this age.  They were in a cage with rats of both genders ( )  That were about the same age, give or take one or two weeks. Any kind of information people have pertaining to how I can be treating this would be really welcome-  *IF* one (or both) is pregnant, I want to do whatever I can to make it easier on them considering their age.  I was already planning to go to the vet on Friday, so now it looks like I'll be toting along another few rats.  

[Lise]

Rats getting pregnant under the age of 6 weeks is incredibly rare.  The majority of female rats do not begin to cycle until 7-8 weeks of age.  A few may at 6 weeks, but younger than that is really really an exception.

If they are actually the age you believe them to be, then I think they are just putting on healthy weight....

[nevadamoon]

Rats getting pregnant under the age of 6 weeks is incredibly rare.  The majority of female rats do not begin to cycle until 7-8 weeks of age.  A few may at 6 weeks, but younger than that is really really an exception.

If they are actually the age you believe them to be, then I think they are just putting on healthy weight....

That is certainly what I'm hoping for.  They were eating Sunseed/Kaytee lab blocks before, and now have Mazuri (and later this week are being switched to Harlan) and getting grains, veggies, and treats.  But, they're also able to play and exercise now.  Their age is just a vague guess.  Alice I believe to be about 5/6 weeks now, and Esme's close to her size but is a bit larger, so could possibly be a week older?

Thank you for some reassurance. :3

[nevadamoon]

That was taken this morning.  She just seems to be getting bigger in the belly, and it's starting to worry me even more.  She is bigger then her female roommate, and about the same size as my 6/7 week old boys, but girls grow slower/smaller, right?  Which means she could actually be a week or two older then the boys and that would leave her with the possibility of being at least a week pregnant?

I know she's had no contact with males since being here (about a week ago) so she'd have to be at minimum 1 week along.  At what point will it be obvious whether she's just having a tummy, or pregnant?  Once she pulls out hair?


Also, is there ANY kind of food/supplement I can give her that will make sure she has enough nutrients and everything?  The baby thing honestly isn't freaking me out as much as worrying about her health and safety. 

[strangeduck]

She looks really young in the first pics you posted, so I'm doubting pregnancy, but megacolon could be a possibility.  Is she pooping? 

[nevadamoon]

Yup, she's a pooper.  Not so much when I pick her up anymore, but she does poo.  She's roughly the size of my 6/7 week old boys, but I've never had girls so I'm not exactly good at aging them based on size.  I can get her in to the vet to check for megacolon, but I thought the highest risk was in 'high white' rats?  She doesn't have any white markings on her head, and I didn't know if this high-white thing included hoods.

[Bellaratta]

I once got a rat from a breeder, she was five weeks old, and at a little over 8 weeks she gave birth. I was really caught off guard by that one. Apparently she had been allowed to play with her dad.

On the bright side, she had no trouble with her pregnancy and delivery, the pups were all healthy, and she was a great mom. In fact she was more playful with her babies than any mom I have ever seen (since she was still a babe herself).

So, even though it is unexpected, it may be fine. And I would rather have a young rat be "bloated" from pregnancy than from any of the other options.

Bella

[nevadamoon]

That's really reassuring, thanks Bella.    We only live about 10 minutes from the vet, so if there was an emergency during labor, we could get there quickly.  (Not sure how much they could do because she's so small, but it's still something.)

I kept her separated all afternoon yesterday, and she's definitely pooing what seems to be a normal amount.  Today her  belly is less noticeable (Looks like she got longer overnight) but her nipples are still little indents in her fur, and I don't know if that's common with females or not.  After this morning, I'm hoping so much that it's just a funny growth spurt, but only time will tell.  (Though, this limbo is worrying me more then anything else.)

We'll be ready for babies either way, as far as housing/nurseries and all that goes.  If she is pregnant, the latest she could give birth will be June 14thish  (21 days from the day we took her home, as we know that after that day she wasn't exposed to males.)  so I'm sure we'll figure it out either way soon.  She doesn't seem irritable or anything personality wise, really she's pretty sweet.  Have noticed she's less active then the other girl, but she still does play and run in the wheel.  When we brought home the girls, we knew that (however slight) it could be a risk since they were in with boys, and it was just our decision we'd have to commit to that possibility.  (Alice luckily doesn't look remotely pregnant anymore, and is probably a week or two younger then Bella.)

[Rmv1983]

My little girl coco looked alot like that when I first brought her home, luckily she wasn't pregnant though. She just put on some weight after getting some better food into her  Good luck though, either way