pregnant or not?

Question
I have two female rats that i have had for about two weeks. I have an albino one which i think might be pregnant.. at the pet shop they had them in a cage which had females and males and they were about 8 weeks old.. but some of them were younger.. I'm just wondering how old do male rats have to be before getting a female pregnant?

Answer
Hi Samantha

I hate to bring you bad news, but the chance that your female rats are pregnant are very high at this time. Male and female rats are able to reproduce as young as 4.5 to 5 weeks old. A male should always be removed from the females no later than 5 weeks old but to be safe I always suggest 4.5 weeks old.
Females can get pregnant this young but its not in their best interest.  They usually have smaller litters than normal but again, they are indeed able to reproduce at a young age.  
Gestation is 21 to 23 days.  You may notice your females abdomen starting to swell and she may take on a "pear" shape. If you press gently, you may even feel babies move around inside. Her nipples will appear larger and she may begin to nest to prepare for her new babies. You should increase her protein a bit more (no more than 18) at this time and keep her quiet. I would find a cage that is safe for tiny babies that they cannot squeeze out of the bars, or use a large aquarium for now and use this as a birthing tank and nursery. Remove the other female soon as she gives birth. Unfortunately, if one may be pregnant, the other rat may also be pregnant as well. Don't feel so bad. I rescued two pregnant females several years ago and my Charlotte had 15 babies and Oreo had 7. I kept them all!  LOL! I was overwhelmed but it was worth it because I knew I was taking care of them all and didn't have to worry about how adopted them etc... but I don't miss those days of having 23 rats or MORE.  Now I am down to 6 males and its much easier this way!
Please feel free to do a follow up if you have more questions or to simply let me know how things are going.
We can always HOPE that your girls are not pregnant, but female rats go into heat every 5 days so there is a really high chance you will be hearing the pitter patter of lots of little pinkie feet within the next week or 10 days!!

Sandra Todd