Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have looked into this on the internet and have gotten answers ranging from 4 weeks to 5 months and thought I would ask the people with first hand experience to get an ACCURATE answer. I have a litter of rats that are now at the 5 week old range, a 3 week old litter, 1 week old litter and a 1 day old litter(yeah timing sucks) and I would like to know at what age the males become sexually mature. My breeder females are good to go for a while so I am not concerned about replacing them but my breeder male is getting tired and he is mean as hell so I want to replace him ASAP.
Also, another question, at what age will the babies be safe from a newly introduced male?? I have a 2 mothers housed together with litters at 3 weeks and 1 week, if i drop the male in their tank to try and impregnate the one that is weaning her pups, will the male be prone to attack the pups, either the week old or 3 week old pups? Sorry for the length of the post. Thanks for any help you can give.

Well, I've found that it does depend on the size of the litter and the bloodline. For example, if you have a litter of ten and a good mom, your babies could be 75 grams at three weeks (I've seen some weigh even more!) If you have a mom who doesn't handle it quite as well, or a large litter, the babies develop much slower.

That being said, my female average sexual maturity at about 5.5-6 weeks (mine average 125 grams at this age), as evidenced by first litters born at 8.5 to 9 weeks.

Your males, if not already capable, certainly will be within a couple of weeks.

The variation in ages is likely due to some people thinking what is most productive...breeding earlier, vs people thinking of the overall health of the rat....breeding a bit later. I move one male around several cages of females and so time my litters that way. I don't put a female in a breeding cage until she is about 3 months old. I find my girls have bigger litters and take better care at that point.
I did wean two girls out of the breeding cage at 4-5 weeks and both dropped litters in the 'growing up' cage. But, neither really did a great job and I took most of the pups to feed. Both girls are still growing a lot and putting growth on and milk into the pups was too much for them. But this will depend on your lines again too.
Males, in my experience, tend to get the hang of it a bit later...like 8 wks. especially if the girls are pushy, a young male may not push back enough to do the job.
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Sonya

I've found that with feeders, a rat may produce a couple of smaller litters when she first becomes mature (4 to 5 weeks will be when they first successfully mate), and then start producing the larger ones.

I've never actually had any of my rats produce litters before they were 3-4 months old. Even if they weren't seperated. And I know their diet is fine... They all have good weight, are clean and active. No cough, sneezing or any sign of sickness. Maybe its just the bloodline I have? I dunno.. I don't really mind, it was just a curiousity subject. I have seen mating behavior at 8 or 9 weeks.. but no litters till well after the 12th week.

Well, it takes 3 or 4 weeks from mating until the litter is born.

>>I've never actually had any of my rats produce litters before they were 3-4 months old. Even if they weren't seperated. And I know their diet is fine... They all have good weight, are clean and active. No cough, sneezing or any sign of sickness. Maybe its just the bloodline I have? I dunno.. I don't really mind, it was just a curiousity subject. I have seen mating behavior at 8 or 9 weeks.. but no litters till well after the 12th week.

I have these two that dropped litters at not just 8 weeks that have been the earliest that mine have ever taken for me, accidentally or otherwise. I don't see the point in breeding earlier and getting smaller litters of less thrifty when I can wait a month or so and then breed 'em. Unless you needed newborn rat pinks I don't see it working. But that is me.
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Sonya

Thats what I'm working for right now. Newborn rat pinks. Need lots of them. My 12 inch Savannah Monitor goes through one a day. Absolutely refuses to touch bugs right now and the only other thing he'll really eat well is chicken. So I offer a frozen/thawed rat pup and thats his base..chicken or turkey added in as I feel he needs it. And he's growing like a weed.. 4 inches in less than 2 months. But, production has slowed with the heat lately and I've run low on supplies. Got 5 new female rats just getting into their 8 week period right now.... probably another month or so before I see anything out of them.

>>Thats what I'm working for right now. Newborn rat pinks. Need lots of them. My 12 inch Savannah Monitor goes through one a day. Absolutely refuses to touch bugs right now and the only other thing he'll really eat well is chicken. So I offer a frozen/thawed rat pup and thats his base..chicken or turkey added in as I feel he needs it. And he's growing like a weed.. 4 inches in less than 2 months. But, production has slowed with the heat lately and I've run low on supplies. Got 5 new female rats just getting into their 8 week period right now.... probably another month or so before I see anything out of them.

For that I would just get a male in with the girls then. Much of what I need is 50gram rats for my bigger colubrids. I do feed off extra pinks too but want the moms to raise them to 50 grams at 2 weeks or so. With the younger moms they couldn't do that yet so I just pulled their pups and gave them to the older moms.
I do have a couple of moms right now where one is hogging the pups and can't possibly feed them all....there are 29. So if she does't let the other help I will feed and freeze some off. I have a sav too but she is NOT needing extra growth or weight. She is a year and a half and slowed a lot when she hit 2.5' and 3# So she is getting more roaches, which she has always prefered.
For your sav have you tried the ground turkey? That was the only way I weaned her to rodents was she would take turkey and then pinks rolled in it. Bugs couldn't keep up with her for a while and ground turkey is 59cents a /pound here.
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Sonya

I've tried Ground Turkey for the Sav.... He likes it alright but prefers the rodents. He's only a foot long. Just got him in May for my birthday. Took me 6 months to decide if I was really comitted enough to get him. Decided I was, and he's in very good health. He was a bit thin when I got him and a little dehydrated but otherwise healthy. No parasites... Had that checked within a week of getting him. I breed leopard geckos too....they get some o my gerbil pinks as well.. the female does anyway. She's produced 8 clutches this year and its only her first breeding year. But anyway, Kiros (The Sav) was eating superworms and crickets but after a couple days of rodents he decided he wasn't touching insects anymore. I figure I'll give him a year on the rodents... let him grow then cut him back and start offering more larger insects and turkey and chicken and less rodents. Though I don't plan on cutting out the rodents completely ever. He'll get enough excercise to cope with it *chuckles* I have an outdoor pen idea for really warm days in the summer that I want to try and implement. So he can roam and investigate and I may be able to do enrichment things for him.. like hide food in logs and such. Figure it'd be good. My feeders even have toys. *L* My rats seem to love to play with tinfoil balls.. why I'm not sure. Maybe their shininess..

Actually, I go through tons and tons and tons of rat pinks...feed them to everything, just about...hatchling ball pythons, newborn boas, juvie colubrids, adult bearded dragons, and for power feeding my female colubrids during the breeding season...they get one or two every 2-3 days. 90% of my feeders are fed before their eyes open. So, I select replacement breeders from bloodlines that routinely produce at a young age. My 8-9 week olds have first litters averaging 12, so I'm not unhappy.