Pregnant

Question
About two weeks ago I put my female rat with my other male rat and her nipples has came out and she is fatter BUT I have been feeding her more than I had before she was pregnant. So when will she have the litter?, and is she pregnant?

Answer
Gestation is about 21 days. She may be pregnant just simply by putting her with a male. How old is she?  Its pretty scary mating rats that you may not know anything about their health history. You never know how things will turn out for her or the babies or if she was healthy enough to support a pregnancy and have a safe labor and delivery.  If she is indeed pregnant, be prepared to be the proud owner of up to 15 new rats or more.  Rats can have litters as small as 6 babies up to 20 babies. The more babies they have the more dangerous it is for her to have them and care for them properly.  Also remember that male baby rats need to be removed from the female rats by the time they are 4.5 weeks old or they can get them pregnant and can even get their own mother pregnant again which would be really dangerous for her.  If she is pregnant for sure also be sure to increase her protein intake and be sure not to feed her that unhealthy rat seed mixes that pet stores sell since these are not good for rats to begin with.