when can i ......

[snakeman92]

when can i take the babies away from there mother and when can they start breeding

[rattekonigin]

If you're breeding rats, the babies are fully weaned at 4 weeks old, and as for when they start to breed...well, the males can go as early as 5 weeks, but I had a male that age that was doing his best but "shooting blanks" so to speak, I've heard females can breed at 5-6 weeks as well, but I don't think it's a common occurence...beyowulf has a pair of rats that are nearly 4 months old and still no action...so it's best to start off with adult rats so you don't have to wait around. The gestation period is 3 weeks and once the babies are BORN (not weaned) the female will go into heat again within 48 hours, so it's a good idea to separate the female from the male about a week before she's due so she doesn't have the stress of nursing one litter while gestating another...and after the babies have been taken away from her it's good to let her have a break to rebuild her reserves before you put her back with the male...oh, and a good thing to note is that females have an estrous cycle of 5 days, so given they aren't pregnant or have just given birth, they'll be in heat every 5 days

[Linds]

21 days :)

[Syst3m]

Ok, Rats and Mice.
Rats and mice are almost the same.
they become semi weened at 4+ weeks. You need to watch to make sure they are eating solid food before you take them away.

Male and female mice should not be kept together after 5 weeks of age. This is the point that they reach sexual maturity. so dont keep your mice with the mother after 5 weeks unless you like inbreeding.

Female mice can breed at week 5-6 If you want larger healthier littlers you might want to wait for a month or so extra. But thats not necessary. Sometimes males dont have it in them to breed.
I know I've seen some that are completly scared by their organ when they mate. Also some females just wont breed with some males.

Gestation for mice is 21 days and for rats about 23 days.
I beleive the heat cycle for mice is 5 days. I've heard every 12 days but I'm not quite sure. But I know they can go into heat directly after giving birth, within a few days. So if you don't want them breeding right away (its harder on the female) you might want to seperate them before they give birth.

Females can breed for 8-12 months.

Any other questions let me know.

[Linds]

Gestation is 21 days, but rats and mice can also sucessfully be weaned at 3 wks of age.....