breeding

Question
Hello, I have 5 rats, 3 girls and 2 boys. I have them in a critter nation cage and it is split so that the girls can't get to the boys.
One day last week, one of my boys got put in the wrong cage, and was left for no longer than 3 minutes. I went down and saw that he was in the wrong cage, and quickly got him out and put him back. Is that long enough for anything to happen between them? I am really worried because they are all over a year old. I have no idea if any of the girls were in heat.
Thank you so much!

Answer
Copulation can occur in a few seconds if yit's going to happen at all.  Females go into heat every 3 to 4 days.    

The only thing you can do is to hope that pregnancy didn't result.   Mark the date that this happened on your calendar and in 2 weeks watch the girls every day for a bloated looking stomach and possible behavior changes, such as nesting instincts, ie nest building, which should start a few days before birth.   The gestation period for a female is between 21 and 23 days.   If you do notice swelled belly and nesting behavior a few days short of 21 days, remove the female and place her into a small enclosure separate from the rest.  If more than one girls appear pregnant, each one should get her own enclosure to prevent fights and competition for food and nesting material as hormones elevate during this time.  A deep plastic bin works well that is approximately 2 feet x 2 feet square...or rectangular Ina similar size, but .not much larger.  Make sure you provide food and water in the bin.  Place lots of nesting material in there.  Plain paper towels are a good choice as the mom to be will enjoy shredding it and making a nest.

If in fact one or more of your girls are pregnant, please begin making plans for finding good safe homes for the babies if you don't plan on keeping them.  I highly advise against giving them to a pet store or advertising on craigslist as chances are high that they will become snake food sadly :(.  I can help you place the babies through the rat groups I'm part of on Facebook so please contact me if you don't plan on keeping the babies.

There is much more to know about the gestation and birth process.  There is plenty of info in the internet but here is a good website for trusted information on this topic

http://www.ratfanclub.org/repro.html

Good luck.  Let me know what happens and do write again if I can help in any other way.