Reptile & Amphibian Forums

some places ive read they are weened and independent at 3 weeks.. other places say they should stay together for 6 weeks(those are the sites that warn about selling your baby rats to pet store becuase some horrible people use them for snake food. oh no!) so uh what age can i separate mother and children.. i plan on keeping then a little to put on some weight, my ball python its getting bigger.. any thoughts? dave
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"i have a mortal wound!"
"where? where does it hurt?"
"oh, pretty much around the big bloody spot"
"come inside. ill get the neosporin. da na na na na - NEO! ba na na na na na na - SPORIN! blee nee nee......."

I bought a cheap digital scale on ebay, it's really useful in this hobby. I consider rats weaned around 60 grams. They are usually past 4 weeks by that time, but I play it safe unless it is REALLY crowded in that tub. Another rule of thumb is if you see them eating solid food then they should be able to fend for themselves.

I usually judge by a couple of things. I take into consideration how old they are, how many were in the litter, the size/age of the mother, and if I witness them eating on their own. Most of my rats, I seperate from their mother at no later than 4-5 weeks and sometimes as early as 3. Once again though, it depends on the actual pups b/c some grow faster than others and so on. I use a Mazuri rodent feed which works wonders. My rats seem much healthier/fatter and grow at an astonishing rate.

Use your judgement as to whether or not you think they should be seperated. Of course, I would wait at least 3 weeks before even thinking about it. I have had excellent success by just using my own judgement and common sense (100% success rate). But either way, good luck. Hope that helps some.

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Michael