Does a pregnant rats belly go back to its normal size straight away after giving birth?
It’s amazing actually, they return to normal pretty much instantly. As the babies (usually between 6 and 10) start coming out, you’ll hardly notice but she’s getting narrower each time and the skin doesn’t stay floppy or anything, it sort of reverts back to normal like elastic. The first time I had a rat that gave birth, I honestly was worried because after she had her babies I thought she looked really sick. I was worried that she had overexerted herself and was now frail and thin. I’ve had a dozen rats that have given birth and yes, they literally look the size of a regular, non-pregnant rat – or even thinner- by the time they’re done passing babies. A note on her pregnancy- make sure she has lots of extra bedding material and preferably a little house or box to give birth in. Rats aren’t nearly as unpredictable as mice are when giving birth, but you’ll still want to leave your rat alone and let her have peace and comfort during her birth and subsequent month of nursing.
