How to tell if a rat is pregnant?
If you get rats from a very decent pet store, they’ll have the males and females separated which means no pregnant rats! 😀 If you DO by some chance end up with a rat from a mixed-sex cage, she’s most likely pregnant. Rats can begin reproducing as early as 5-6 weeks of age. Unfortunately, you probably won’t be able to tell she’s pregnant until about a week before she gives birth. The hair around her nipples will recede as her body prepares for lactation. She’ll look like she swallowed a tennis ball because of the growing babies inside her. She’ll also begin frantically nest-building as she gets closer to delivery. If this happens, give her plenty of paper towel to build a nest with. It’ll be a big help! Good luck!
