My First Breeding Experience!
I bred my first (planned) litter of rats in 2001. I thought I would write about my experience good and bad, to help anyone who is thinking about doing the same.
The Introduction and Mating
I brought Seal the buck home in his tank and was told that it was probably best if I wanted some action sooner rather then later to leave him in his tank and introduce Luna to him there. So that’s exactly what I did. He was VERY interested in her and did all the typical bum sniffing etc. But she was more interested in trying to get out of his tank, as she hadn’t been in one for a long time (since she was 6 weeks old). I left them in a quite room together as I had decided that my presence was making her want to come out even more so I closed the door and left them too it !
Luna and Seal sniffing each other before being introduced.
That evening when I went to feed them he was chasing her around the tank and then cornering her to mate, he did this quite often. I’m not sure that she liked this because she would get under the platform in the tank to stop him from being able to get her. I thought it might be best if I put a little house in the tank, which she could get into to have a little rest from him now and then. The next morning this had been toughly chewed! I left the couple together for about two weeks in the end as I wasn't sure she had conceived. They were separated at this point, because Seal got a little rough with her, however I have read that bucks can be left with the doe up until the birth. However they should be removed before birth otherwise they will mate with the doe again straight after the birth.
The gestation
During Luna's gestation which typically lasts 20-22 days in rats. She was kept on her own in a specially bought tank type cage. I bought this as I thought it would prevent escaping babies! (although Esmay proved me wrong). However I did allow Luna to talk to the other rats out of her cage ( I didn't want them invading her space) and I watched her carefully to make sure the others didn't play too roughly with her.
I kept her well fed, I gave her a large bowl full of her normal food and loads of extras such as dog food, bread sops, vegetables etc.
I was very sceptical that she was pregnant as she didn't get at all big like photos of other rats I had seen, however when handling I was very careful to not accidentally grab her etc just in case.
The birth
No one was at home for the birth so no one actually witnessed it. I was away at Reading festival and had forewarned my parents that she was due that weekend. My mum took over responsibility for feeding while I was away. It was August 26th 2001 and my parents left to visit relatives at 3 and returned at 9 that evening to hear these little squeaks coming from the cage! They texted me straight away. My dad said Luna came out of her nest box with a big smile on her face as if to say look how clever I am!
I returned the following day, my Mum was anxious to see how many there were and so was I. She thought there could only be 5 or so as Luna was so small but being a rat! she had 10! 2 does and 8 bucks.
To view the babies I let Luna sniff my hand first of all to see how she would react. As she was fine I gave her a bit of biscuit and put her in a little cage near by, I then quickly had a peek at the babies and took a couple of photos.
One of the first photos of the kittens at 1.5 days old, you can see some faint striped roan markings and their bellies full of milk.
The kittens
The kittens grew so fast and changed so much from week to week it really was a natural miracle! (see kitten growth article).
I tried to handle them as much as possible, with out stressing Luna. They were almost fully furred at the end of 2 weeks and there eyes opened between 2 and 3 weeks. I also notice some behavioural changes in them as well as physical. While still very young they were quite and still when handled (maybe a survival technique) but when they got used to this they became wriggly! As they got a bit older and their eyes were open they became incredibly curious and loved to chew and investigate my hands. At 5 weeks when the bucks were separated from their sisters and mother they became incredibly shy. I think this was because before they had always had mummy to run to when something scared them! I think next time I separate the kittens in a litter I will leave them near by so they can still smell their mum thought the bars.
The kittens going mad for a cuddle at 29 days.
As for feeding and looking after the kittens they started eating solids at about 3 weeks and they lived on a diet of rat mix, various cereals in milk, Rusk's dry or in milk, bread and Dog food. Typically in a day I would feed them twice, once in the morning with some cereal in milk or some Rusk and In the evening I would give them a full bowl of rat mix and some dog food and maybe some more cereal or bread. Luna was also providing them with milk at the start, until they were weaned at approx 4 weeks old. With all this food the cage needed cleaning about twice a week as well as uneaten food being removed every day. They were also given fresh water every day. As for looking after them Luna did all this! she fed and cleaned them for the first few weeks.
Towards the end when the bucks were separated their cage had to be cleaned out three times a week as it got dirty so quickly, they were fed similarly to when they were younger as there was a lot of them in one cage and they needed food to "grow on".
Finding new homes!
This is the moral part....
Firstly I didn't realize that there would be 3 striped roan litters (including mine) all in the Reading area and so the market was saturated! This made it very hard for me to find homes for the kittens. Secondly the litter was mainly bucks and I found that most people wanted does! Also my litter was all mismarked apart from one so there was more complications there.
In hindsight if I had know that many litters would have been in the area then I wouldn't have bred the litter. It caused me a lot of heart ach as I ended up still having 7 bucks at 8weeks old and my parents had started to go on about sending them to a pet shop which I really didn't want to do. Anyway at the last moment when I decided that if I couldn't find homes for them they would stay with me, a lot of people became interested and I found homes for all the bucks! that was a bit hard as well as I had started to get attached to them, although it was better in the long run as I knew they would all have more individual attention at their new homes.
One final note I would like to add a warning about timewasters to anyone who is planning to breed a litter! During the time I had this litter and was advertising them I had many timewasters. Don't believe someone is really interested unless a) you know them personally or b) until they turn up at your house !I had one lady reserve 2 bucks from about 3 weeks old and who then sent me an email on the day she was coming to collect them saying she had found some pet shop rats instead. I would recommend you keep a list of everyone who is interested so if someone pulls out you have people to fall back on.
Conclusion...
Breeding has its ups and downs, it is a wonderful experience and is an amazing thing to take part in and witness. If you keep kittens from the litter then you can also proudly watch them grow up, and be able to say to anyone who asks "I bred him/her!".
However as discussed above it has some major responsibilities as at the end of the day its not just about "getting rid" of them once 6 weeks is up, but its about finding the best homes for little lives and entrusting people you don't know with progeny of you much loved doe.
Two precautions I will be using in the future when breeding rats are getting new owners to sign some sort of contract so that they can not pass on the kitten without me knowing and so that they keep me informed of their progress and secondly I will check the market to see how popular the colour is I want to breed and how easily I can find homes for the young.
Finally I would like to say please don't go and make the mistakes I did, although breeding your pet is a wonderful experience, only do it if you are sure you can find homes for them as there are many rats in rescue centres needing homes and you don't want to be adding to that number. Although everything turned out well in the end for me and I had no bad consequences of my actions, just a major learning experience, YOU could end up in a different situation e.g. with 17 kittens on your hands and no homes for them!!!!!
Em.
Last updated 26th August 2008
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Disclaimer = I do not claim to be an authority on rodents or rats and any information on this page is just opinions and advice and is by no means a substitute for good books or veterinary advice. All the toys on the toys page are just ideas and may not have been tried out so it is up to you to implement them and judge there safety.
