how to tell how old a rat is

Question
QUESTION: I just bought a very cute cream & white baby rat from a pet store, (I'm a 1st time rat owner) when I got her, I hope, "her" home I was holding her and I think she was tring to nurse off my hand. Can I tell how old she is? I bought "lab blocks"  she seem to move them.. I tried pretzles & pizza crust. I also after she seem to be tring to nurse I broke upa block and added some water and she seemed to drink alittle.   she is very light in color, Cream & white can you also tell how to tell if she is a boy or a girl? and what age she maybe and if I should bottle feed her? They didn't have any parents in the cage but had boys and girls in the same cage.  she is about 3 3/4 to 4 inches long from tip of nose to tip of but without tail. and is there a limit to how long I should hold her a day.. I only got her.

ANSWER: Hi Sally

Well for starters, how can I tell if she is a boy or girl when I cant see her genital area from here.  :-)  Just wanted to clear that up. LOL Of course I am teasing you, I think you were asking me to tell YOU how to know the difference between boys and girls instead, right? One easy way is to see if she has nipples. Males do not have nipples. Second, I will refer you to my website where there are photos of baby rats and it shows you the difference between male and female at young ages when the males testicles are not showing up.  She should be at least 4 weeks if the pet store sold her and she is away from mom and not nursing. You do NOT need to feed from a bottle so dont worry, but do encourage her to drink from the water bottle. Do not give her pizza crusts and pretzels. That is all bad for rats. The salt in the pretzels especially. Instead, buy some human baby food. Carrots, peas, bananas....she can lick that from your finger. Good job on making the lab block soft with water. I would have also suggested doing that too.
Having boys and girls in the cage at the pet store tells me that she was snake food (feeders) OR that the pet store is very very irresponsible. I bet you didnt know that rats can become pregnant as young as 5 weeks old!!  I only hope your little girl is younger than that but she probably is. Hopefully. Also, females on in heat every 5 days for 12 hours or so, so that means there is alot of opportunity for her to get pregnant!!
Also, since your a new rat owner, there is alot to learn about rats from what kind of litter to use (NEVER use pine or cedar) and what diet to feed her. Seed mixes are OUT. Rats do not need high protein or fat content and seed mixes from pet stores are full of garbage that do not benefit rats.  
Anyhow I will send you to my website where you can read up on rat care and also see different pictures of rats at certain stages of their life the first few weeks so you will be able to tell how old she may be and learn her sex. I am sure she is a girl though because around 3 to 4 weeks old, its pretty obvious who the males are!!

Also there is no limit about how long you can hold her. The more you handle her the more social she will be. Just be sure never to take her outside where she may jump from your hands and run away.  Taking domestic rats outdoors is a danger mainly because large birds notice rodents on the ground and have been known to swoop down and grab someones pet rat and carry it off to its nest to be killed and fed to its young.
Sad but true story!
Last but not least, you need a vet for future use. If you tell me your location I can find a vet that treats exotic pets. This is a good idea to do BEFORE the rat is sick so it doesnt have to be a waste of precious time trying to find someone that sees rats. Sometimes its difficult to find someone.
Anyhow, here is the link to my website. Feel free to write again with any questions you  may have. THe more educated you are about rat care the better it will be for both you and the rat!
         
http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thats intresting the pet store told me they are to young to tell boys from girls. Thats why they were still together.... I looked and I'm still confused, if its a boy or girl  I don't see nipples or testicles unless they are really small. I'm a dog person they are easy to tell.... I couldn't tell cats apart untill the are older either.  guess it doesn't matter now except he may get a complext being called sweet princess until I know for sure..  
Also  the pet store when I asked for food the showed me hamster food mixed seed kind.. beding I could use any mean for small animals.and say I could feed anything for and small animals ferrits hamster birds.   also I could feed her anything because the are scavengers in the wild. hers at home loves pizza crust and cheerios.  


I am from Pennsylvania, danville, northumberland, lewisburg, milton,selengrove.  far as the vet info. I had dogs and the vet around here are even good helping them

glad you helped you save this little ones life.  for a while  If I feed her off my finger it would incurager her to bite?      so I should feed her fruit and vetables in baby form?

Answer
You can tell boys from girls from the day they are born especially  a good breeder.  They are also wrong by saying rats can eat hamster food etc...etc..that is ridiculous. They all have special needs to meet the required nutritional value to have healthy organs. Guinea pigs don't make their own vitamin c, rats  do....so that means too much vitamin c in cavy food would not be good for rats.  Hamsters need protein and it causes kidney disease in rats, so rats should never have hamster food. As for using any bedding, thats also untrue. Terribly untrue. Cedar and pine is the worst bedding to use due to the phenol oils that cause severe allergies, respiratory issues and also liver disease in the elderly. Corn cob bedding causes a toxic mold to grow usually as soon as it gets too wet from urine. Pet store employees really should educate themselves before talking about what is good for the small animals they sell. All too often people write to me because they have a pregnant female they just got from the pet store and was told they couldn't get pregnant that young. They are sexually reproductive as young as 5 weeks old!  The seed mixes they sell at petstores are also the worst foods you can feed rats. They eat what they like usually the sunflower seeds and thats about it. How much nutrition is a rat going to get from sunflower seeds?  The hard kernel corn is known to also carry a toxin that is known to cause cancer and also a toxic mold has been found in old hard kernel corn. I sure wouldn't want my rats to eat that junk!
If you let her lick from your finger it will not teach her to bite. She will lick from you and learn to trust you, not bite you. Licking doesn't lead to biting.

Anyhow, here is what I could find on exotic vets in your area. Hope this helps!


Dr. Borden Loving
Lewisburg Veterinary Hospital    
207 Fairground Rd.
Lewisburg PA 17837
Phone:    570-523-3640

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