My male Rats are 6 months with no balls! Are they boys?

[Eboni R]

I got my "boys", Leo and Elliot, at Petco in August of last year. They were in the male tank and I did not ask questions. Everything was fine until I got another male rat in mid December. I knew they were going to be doing their dominance acts on each other to figure things out and it then that I noticed that the new rat, Mr. Bojangels, had balls while my rats had none. Bo would chase the "boys" around and hump them. They would fight back but after a few introduction a week, Elliot would stop fight and just run up to Bo and then be chased, be humped, then run back to him, run, and repeat process. Now yesterday, Leo, who is usually the one who stands his ground against Bo, started letting Bo hump him! They are all the same size but Leo and Elliot have no balls not even numbs...but my "boys" do have nipples while Bo none..I have done some research but its had to tell. Bo gets so excieted with them and the "boys" either try to scratch him through the cage or run around from him and let Bo hump them. Is this a phase? Are my "boys" really Lisa and Ellie? DO some male rats take a year for their balls to drop? Please help! I dont want babies!

[Ashley Shpak]

they are females. dont trust pet stores. males have balls after 2 months

[Angie]

The testicles start to drop when they are around 2.5 weeks old but you are able to see them when the male rat is as young as 3 weeks old. No, they are not sexually mature at this time, not until they are 5-6 weeks old.

You need to observe your new baby as it relaxes in it's cage. As soon as the boy relaxes the testicles will drop. If the testicles don't drop then you have a female.

You can also look along the outer edge of the belly and chest for nipples. If you find them you have a female as male rats don't have nipples. Hope this helped!

[Sil]

They should already have their male parts. My best bet is that Leo and Elliot are really Lisa and Ellie. Before you end up with more baby rats than you can handle I suggest taking the two in question out of Mr. Bojangels cage.

[Frankie Hyenadog]

No, they are female, and they are probably pregnant.
File a complaint with petco for selling mislabeled animals.
You will need to separate them, NOW. One cage for the "boys" and get a second male and a cage for Bo.

Do research into rat pregnancy. you will need somewhere to separate the new mother and babies. You will need to know how to tell males from females before 5 weeks.

[Izzu.]

Male rat testicles are very prominent, even from a young age. When males are scared or uncertain, they can retract their testicles so that it actually looks like they don't have any. Although I have to say, considering how long you've had them for now, I would say that they've had enough time to 'show them off' - and Petco aren't exactly renowned for getting their sexes correct (from what I've heard).

Sexing a rat is very easy - particularly if you have both females and males to compare each other to. I had to sex my "oops" litter of mice (she was a rescue) for the first time last year, and even that was very easy to do - just on a much smaller scale! The first thing to note is that on females, the 'pee-hole' is CLOSER to the anus, whereas a males' penis is FURTHER apart from the anus. And obviously - they have balls! I've included a link in the sources below for you to reference to.

I would be aware though: rats can have up to 20 babies in a litter, and if the chances are that Elliot and Leo are in fact girls, you could end up with a heck of a lot of babies! If you really are uncertain of their genders, I recommend separating Bo from the other two - even if it is only temporarily - and seeking professional veterinary advice - although I'm sure you will be successful in sexing them yourself! It sounds like you have already determined their genders; if you can see nipples, then all signs are pointing to girls.

Considering the amount of time Bo has already been with the 'girls', the likelihood is that one - if not both - rats are pregnant. Even if you don't plan on keeping the babies, please ensure you have a large tank to house pregnant mummy in to have her babies (you will know if she is pregnant as she will begin to look much chubbier than usual and ROUNDER - almost as if she's swallowed a golf ball!). Remember that although you CAN house pregnant mothers together, it is not advisable due to fighting and 'tug-of-war' (I'm sure you can image). Also, if you cannot keep the potential babies yourself, I would recommend to begin immediately posting adverts and looking for people who will give some of the babies forever homes. Don't panic, though! Many people have "oops" litters. If you have Facebook, there are many rat lover groups online that will help you out with "oops" litters and advise you on how to proceed. It may not seem like much, but it feels so much better knowing that there are people supporting you!

In the future, just remember to never trust the pet store in terms of sexing. Always sex the rats yourself before bringing them home - just look for their testicles and you'll know it's a boy! If it doesn't have any and instead has nipples, it's a girl!

Good luck. If you need any more help then shoot a message my way. I own 9 rats of my own so I can tell you anything you need to know.

[The First Dragon]

I think you know by now that the first two "boys" are girls, and they are now pregnant. You can expect pups promptly 21 days after the first humping.
You can keep the two moms together and they will share nursing duties with all the pups. I am not sure it is safe to leave the new boy with them, I don't know how he will react to the pups. And of course he will start mating with the moms soon after they give birth, which is not a good idea.

[girl]

oh god, you probably have two pregnant females. never get any pet from a pet store.