Bedding for a rat about to give birth - quick please?

Question

Last week we bought 2 female rats and the one is really starting to look pregnant, we are almost certain she is. This morning we went and bought a proper cage for her to stay in now for her to give birth in because the other cage has another female in it and we want her to just be alone with her babies.

So now that we have a proper cage... what will she give birth in? Like do we need to buy her a rat bed or something... and what type of bedding should be there. I looked on the internet and most had ripped up paper. What is suggested?

We have NO idea how far along she is so we need to go get this stuff soon.

Answer 1

us Cotton balls

Answer 2

Use either old [but clean] towels/rags or full pieces of paper, newspaper would prolly work the best. U don't wanna use regular bedding from the store as they can cause respiratory problems & diseases and stick to the newborn babies. Same w/shredded paper, it's fine to use for rats with fur, but for new ones it will stick to them. Good luck! Oh, make sure the rags/towels don't have loose strings or rounded pieces of string/cotton on them, they can get tangled all around the new babies.

Answer 3

You should put something soft in there. I would use a few tissues, cloth, yarn, or some cotton pads.

Answer 4

with myu pregnet hamster i gave it cotton it might work but that was my hamster

Answer 5

Plain ripped up paper towels and Carefresh works well. Here's some more information you may need for when the babies are born:

http://www.petinfopackets.com/rats/ratin...

Answer 6

First on the cage, the perfect cage is one that does not have wire bottems. Aquariums are perfect because the babies cant lay on wire bottems and they cant fall through any openings. Mother rats are notorious for putting them where they want. When one of my girls had her babies she took them all to the top level of the cage and one ended up falling out and dying because I didnt find the baby in time. Now on to bedding. The perfect bedding would either be Soft Sorbant or Carefresh. They are both very safe for pet rats and very soft for the babies to lay in. You can also cover the babies with a soft blanket like a baby blanket when they are born. Just make sure there are no holes that the babies can get stuck through. As far when she will give birth. Rats dont really show until they are within 3 to 4 days of delivering. I remember getting a female rat from a petstore one time. And the only reason that I took her was because she was in extremely foul conditions. When I got her home her nipples looked a little pronounced. A day later her belly swelled up. She looked like she had eaten a tennis ball. It wasnt even 2 days after her belly swelled up that she popped out 15 babies. Unfortunatly 3 of them died of megacolon but the rest were healthy. So if she is starting to balloon out I would look for the babies in the next 2 to 3 days. Good luck and hope I helped.

Answer 7

Well, first off, you don't need to separate the rats unless they are fighting (which female rats rarely do). The other female will help raise the babies.

Second - there's no special bedding for a pregnant rat; just use your regular bedding. I use pelleted bedding, as recommended by my vet (wood shavings can aggravate resp. problems). You should give her some kind of a shelter (a box big enough for her to comfortably fit into), and you could line it with some towels (which you will need to change when they get dirty). Whatever you do, don't buy the cotton-looking commercial "bedding" that they sell in pet stores - it can tangle around the babies' legs and injure them. I personally really like using cloth towels; I have a good supply of them, and I change their beds often.

Answer 8

throw a bag of rice in a dark corner. that is how rats are born.  

Answer 9

Its okay to put regular bedding in, but to make things more comfortable for the mother to be put in peices of klenex, yarn,cloth, and maybe a tiny bit of human hair.