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Keep them together?

maegann

maegann

I'm Me, Deal With It
I have just started breeding rats. on a site about rats, it says to speerate the female from the male when you think she is pregnant, but i wanted to know what you guys think since i know you people have experience. thanks in advance... :wavey:
this pic was taken three weeks ago, so they are bigger now
 

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it depends on how much you want to breed the female. If you leave the male then she will get pregnant shortly after giving birth. People breeding solely for feeders and quantity tend to leave them together. Feeding a lot of extra protein and higher fat content is good for females nursing and pregnant at the same time. Breeding constantly also is believed to reduce their life expectancy. Whether that is seen as a problem or not depends on your goals.
 
Your female will go into heat within 24 hours of delivering her babies. If left with the male she will become pregnant again. This causes the female to have to deal with milk production and baby development at the same time. I personally think that it's very hard on the female to do that.
 
I think it depends on whether your rats are feeder producers or whether they are pets who just happen to produce you feeders occasionally.

If they're pets and you want to preserve your female's health as much as possible, increase her lifespan and so forth, then separate them before the female gives birth.

If they're feeder producers but not pets, then they can be kept together. Yes, it's hard on the female to be pregnant and nursing at the same time. Give her extra protein and fat in her food, though.
 
well, after looking at them again, i dont think she is pregnant. should I seperate them for awhile and then reintroduce them together? They are best buds right now, always taking naps together, but I have never witnessed mating. Could it be possible they wont mate if they have "been raised" together? i just don't know why she isn't pregnant... :shrugs:
 
actually, she might be pregnant i have no idea, lol. I usually sit with my make and female in the bathroom so i can socialize them.well, usually they walk around and eat the peas that i give them but tonight she was running all over the bathroom like a maniac! she was tunneling in the towels i ha don the floor, tryin to make nests and trying to dig up the towel. she was running around and trying new "nest" spots for about 30 minutes.

any advice would be much appreciated :bang:
 
It's often hard to tell if a female rat is pregnant right up until you hear little squeakers.

They certainly will mate even if they've been raised together, don't worry about that. To be honest, given that rats are social animals, I wouldn't separate them myself - it might be hard on the female breeding constantly, but the fact that she will have a species-appropriate companion will reduce her stress levels.
 
I personally think it is a hard life for female rats to be bred constantly. If your keeping them as pets I would separate them If your keeping them as breeders I would at least separate them until the the pups have been weened off of her milk and she has had some time to rest and get her strength back. I would put the welfare of the rat first. If that means you cant support your snakes by breeding rats yourself then buy them on-line or at a petshop. I think that breeding rats or mice that much is cruel, there intelligent animals and I believe they will suffer if bred that much. :cry:
 
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