How to tell if my rat is pregnant?

Question

i'm not sure if my rattie is pregnant. she seems to want to be away from all my other ratties. she sits on the 3rd level of the cage & sometimes my other two go up there & snuggle with her. but why is she isolating herself from everyone else? & i can't really pet her since she bites (enough to draw blood). but i don't understand why she's biting so hard. my fiance wants to get rid of her.

Answer 1

If she was in with males at the pet store, she probably is pregnant.  The biting could be a behavioural change from being pregnant, or simply a fear behaviour from not being handled properly as a young rat.

  The two most visible signs of pregnancy are weight gain and hair loss around the nipples, both only visible in the last week of pregnancy (gestation is 23 days).  If you keep track of her weight with a gram scale you should be able to tell if she is gaining weight at an increased rate, and by the last week of pregnancy you'll probably see her tummy 'round out' a bit, depending on the size of the litter.

  Unfortunately all you can do is wait it out!  I would move her to a separate cage (if you just got her, she should have been in quarantine anyway) for the next 3 weeks to see if she has babies.  If not, you can put her back just fine, presuming she isn't showing any signs of illness.  If she does have babies, then she'll probably calm down and stop the biting, though it's hard to tell if the biting is only from the pregnancy or is just her personality.

  Well I hope she turns out not to be, it can be difficult to find homes for 10-20 babies!  Good luck with your rats!

Answer 2

is she big? my rats bite everyone except for me. maybe she wants to be independent