Excitement at our house ..(Pet related)* UPDATE: Oops, she did it again! Or..OH RATS!

[Barb D]

A couple of days ago, 13yo DS called me at work to tell me that he thought his pet rat, Otto, might actually be a female because he saw nipples on him. I assured him that males of various species also have nipples, and suggested that he have Grandma (who was at our house) look at Otto to see what she thought. Grandma apparently wasn't concerned. I forgot about the incident.

Until this morning.

I heard yelling coming from DS's room in the basement. I couldn't understand what he was saying, but by the tone I knew it was urgent, so I rushed on down.

Yep, you guessed it, not only is Otto(ina) a female rat, but as of sometime last night she is now the mother of septuplets! Yes, there are now seven tiny, naked, closed-eyes little baby rats in the flower pot laying on its side in our rat cage.

Apparently the gestation period for rats is about 24 days. Otto has been sharing a cage with Milo (aka "Proud Papa") for 26 days. They sure didn't waste any time. Not only that, but apparently Mama rats can get pregnant again immediately after giving birth. Needless to say, Milo has been moved to another cage.

Anybody want a pet rat? I've promised DS that they will not go to the pet store, from where they would surely be sold as reptile food.

 

[stinkerbelle]

can I just warn you of one thing?

I dunno if rats do this...but when I was younger my brother had gerbils.

the momma gerbil ate some of her newborns...actually, she ate the first few litters.

so if you are 'missing' some...that could be a reason...might want to prepare your son for that too.

I don't know why they do it...might want to do some google research on it.

 

[liznboys]

LOL!!!!!! That is too funny!!!!! Did your DS say "I told you so, mom!"

 

[liznboys]

Originally posted by stinkerbelle
can I just warn you of one thing?

I dunno if rats do this...but when I was younger my brother had gerbils.

the momma gerbil ate some of her newborns...actually, she ate the first few litters.

so if you are 'missing' some...that could be a reason...might want to prepare your son for that too.

I don't know why they do it...might want to do some google research on it.

 

[Barb D]

Hey Liz! You live near me! Surely your boys would LOVE some pet rats! They actually are really cool pets!

And Stinkerbelle, I did warn DS about that. He did some research and heard that they only do that to the "runts"...but he's keeping an eye on them anyway.

 

[liznboys]

Originally posted by Barb D
Hey Liz! You live near me! Surely your boys would LOVE some pet rats! They actually are really cool pets!

And Stinkerbelle, I did warn DS about that. He did some research and heard that they only do that to the "runts"...but he's keeping an eye on them anyway.

LOL-Yeah you are right, I'm sure my boys would LOVE to have pet rats! But, I've got enough on my plate right now.... In a few years we may get a couple hamsters or something. Do they spay and neuter hamsters?!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I LOVE pet rats. It makes me mad that people think rats are gross. They are actually so much sweeter and gentler as a rule than gerbils and hamsters. I do not think well fed rats eat their young. I'm pretty sure. I know hamsters do.

When I worked at a pet store, I talked so many parents out of hamsters for their kids and into rats, and most of them came back to the store a few weeks later and thanked me.

Rats are so cute, and smart. I miss mine so much. She was a little albino lab rat named Barbarella (Babs for short). She was so much fun.

Rest in Peace Babs.

And congrats on the new babies! I hope they all make it!

 

[Cebhfhionn]

How cute! I love all kinds of animals but have enough with 2 dogs and 1 gecko.

I hope that you find homes for all of the rat babies! I've always wanted one but not this time.

I hope that Ottoina doesn't eat her babies and tell Milo to keep his paws to himself!

 

[Barb D]

We've had gerbils in the past, and now we have 2 guinea pigs (11yo DD's) and 9 rats. The "piggies" are definitely my favorite rodents, but the rats are pretty cool, too. I'll never do small rodents like gerbils, hamsters, or mice again. They escape and are nearly impossible to catch, and they're too skittery to be really cuddly. The piggies and the rats are calm enough and big enough to really cuddle, and they've never escaped.

Sure you don't want a rat, Liz? You can even come over and visit them to see them grow in the next few weeks! It'll be a learning experience!

 

[HisEllyNelly]

Oh I'd love to take one....BUT I already have four.

 

[liznboys]

Originally posted by Barb D
Sure you don't want a rat, Liz? You can even come over and visit them to see them grow in the next few weeks! It'll be a learning experience!

heehee, maybe next time.

 

[Barb D]

Well, apparently the night that Otto had her babies, her "DH", Milo, couldn't keep his ever-lovin paws off her...and she didn't have the sense to say, "Honey, I JUST gave birth to septuplets. Can't you just leave me alone?"

Yeah. She's in the process of having litter #2, just over three weeks after having litter #1. We took Milo out of the cage as soon as we saw the first set of babies, so he must have done the deed sometime that first night. This is what I get for not watching the kids' pets closely!

So far she's had 5 babies in this litter. I THINK she's done, but I'm not sure. I also think 2 of the babies are dead. They haven't moved all morning, and are grayer than the other 3. But Otto won't let me near them. I'm waiting for her to fall asleep on the other side of the cage.

The first 7 are a hoot. We put them in their own cage when we realized Mama was pg again. They look like little rats now, and have individual personalities. My favorite is the one who likes to climb on the water bottle, and wedge himself between the water bottle and the side of the aquarium. He does it over and over again, so he must enjoy that squished feeling. Either that, or he's desperate to get out. We have some heavy books on the lid just in case.

We're feeding them bread soaked in baby formula, since they weren't quite ready to be weaned yet. They are eating regular rat food and drinking from the water bottle, too.

We have homes lined up for four of the seven and were planning on keeping the other three...but now with at least three more I need to do some more aggressive advertising! Anybody want a WONDERFUL pet rat?

 

[BrerMom]

Did you know that Purina makes Rat Chow?

Baby rats are so cute!

 

[Stimpy]

Wow! Congratulations! Your DS is getting a great education in biology and animal husbandry. LOL Good Luck in finding homes for the little ones.

 

[DVC Daisy]

I wonder when the babies will be old enough to have babies?

You may end up with even MORE rats!

Sorry, could not help myself.

 

[JayBee]

OMG! Unbelievable how fast they reproduce!

 

[LScot]

Congrats on on your "babies!" lol

I was just reading up on all this today because our pet rat, Stitch, is 1 1/2 and she is pretty sick today. I think she has something stuck in her throat but she is able to breath OK. I am hoping it will go on down--you know they aren't able to "throw up" (gross sorry). I would take another pet rat in a heart beat. Ours has been wonderful and sweet as she can be. DD is teary thinking she might die and I know it is a possibility.

Better check about seperating the babies. I can't remember what I read about that!

 

[Kallison]

Um -- you better find out when the babies can have babies. I remember when I got two gerbils of the opposite sex (unknown to us), they had babies, babies had babies -- we had 30 gerbils at one time, till my Mom got rid of all of them.

 

[Serena]

My daughter knew someone with a rat, they loved it. She tried to talk me into it, but we already had the snakes and I just didn't think it was a good idea.

 

[LScot]

Oh good news at this moment anyway!! Stitch just ate something. She hadn't eaten in about 24 hours. I was getting worried. You can't help but love her (them)--they are precious creatures!