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Momma Rat

21 17:22:15

Question
So story goes, I had a male rat who passed away in March, I got 2 females the next day, 2 days later Molly has a litter of 8. I had no experience with new born rats at the time and unfortunately only 4 survived. I didn't have the heart to separate the babies from their mother and each other so I bought appropriate housing for all 5 females and the one male (Molly is about 9 months old, Peanut is about 8 months old and the 4 babies are about 6 months old now.) Eventually I got another male (about a year old) He's a rescue from a breeder who used him for the sole purpose of breeding feeder rats. I recently just got another female rat (from the same pet store as Molly and Peanut), I'd guesstimate her to be less than 2 months old. Anyway, after quarantine and intros on neutral grounds, I've put her in with the girls who have showed NO signs of aggression, the younger girls even cleaning her after only being in the cage a few minutes. My main concern is now Molly (momma rat) is crafting a nest and dragging Mouse (the baby) into it. She's also now trying to drag some of her older girls into it as well. Should I be worried? Or is Molly just trying to be a mom again, she's seemed slightly depressed as of late, but now seems more full of life than ever.

Answer
Nah, she's just very motherly. Eventually the other rats will get tired of this, knock her on her butt, and she'll decide they're too old to mother. Or, they won't; and she'll continue to bug them and be the "mother" of the cage. I wouldn't worry at all - she's behaving very normal for a doe who loves being a mommy.