Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had a fairly young male and female together since they were about 5 weeks old and they are now over 8 weeks old I believe. Before the female has been running on her wheel almost constantly and the amount of food that I gave them would last them 2-3 days. Now she is never active and the food is gone in one night. The male has been acting the same the whole time. Could this be that she is pregnant? or that she was nervous before and she is now calmed down and has settled in? Thanks a lot.
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1.0 ball python (vakker)
0.1 dogs
2.1 cockatiels
1.1 chinchillas
Coming soon... 1.1 corn snakes
0.1 axanthic ball python

Male female what? Rat, moouse?

For mice the gestation period is 21-23 days and during the last 5 or 6 days of their pregnancy, they are noticeably large, shaped almost like a lightbulb. A small litter may not show as much as a large litter.

Rats have a gestation period of 21-25 days with the average being about 23 days. Again, during the last 5 or 6 days of her pregnancy she will be noticeable round around the middle, though not as prominent as mice.

The constant wheel use can be a sign of stress and nervousness, basically burning of alot of nervous energy. If the female is really lathargic, it could be a sign of illness more than pregnancy. My female mice have ran on the wheel even when they are wider than the width of the wheel itself.

I would check on your female, make sure she is actively sniffing everything with bright clear eyes that are wide open. If they are droopy or half closed, then something could be wrong, irritation from the bedding, an allergic reaction to it or other problems.