Well, after one week, the 6 little baby rats are getting plump and are just starting to get their fur. Five of them are white like Mom, and one little one has a black head. We told my daughter she can keep ONE (and only one!) baby rat as long as it is a girl. The problem is, I'm a city girl and know nothing about determining rat gender. Hmmm. It's not as obvious as I'd hoped... She wants to keep the unique little black and white one. They are definitely getting cuter (for RATS, that is!) now that they aren't just squirmy pink little balls.
If you are wondering what in the world I am talking about, you can catch up on our "newest additions" HERE.
The girls are easy. You can tell if they small rats are girls if you see 2 rows of nipples going down the belly of the body.
ReplyDeleteMale rats have testes...but they may not have dropped yet. If they are boys they will show that they are boys in the third or fourth week. If the balls haven't dropped by then, you can press a little on their belly and look to see if there is anything.
By 5 weeks, I think the males have to be removed or else they can get the girls (and even the Mom pregnant....although that may be more than you wanted to know.
Good luck.