He's so cute. I love baby rats..

om nom nom >:3

AUGH THE CUTE <33

Do you breed?

Nope, have never bred anything, Im a rescuer so its never been possible for me, this was the first time in 14 years of rat keeping that we've ever had babies here. He was the result of a rescue girl escaping and getting in with a boy :/ Wasn't a wanted litter really, and we were going to spay the mum to terminate the babies, but it was too much of a risk to her health to do so. So weighing everything up, we just let her have the litter.
So we have 3 little babies now, who are going to stay here with me. And hopefully no more ever again!
Lovely as they are, you never want babies from rescue rats in an ideal world.

I love rats.

What's their lifespan?

2 years about average but 3-4 years is also possible. Rats can be older too but its not a high chance of living past 4... :(

I've never had one reach much over 3. Average here seems to be 2 and a half. I have known of a couple of rats who have reached 4, but they're very rare. Its the one drawback of them, their short lifespans :(

It is pretty abysmal, yeah.
Someone should breed rats with longer lifespans.

Its one of the aims of all good breeders. They breed for Health, temperament and life span. Rats from good breeders do tend, on average, to live a bit longer than pet shop or crappily bred rats, but its still a battle.

Ya 2 and a half years is usually what I get. I've had a couple live till a little over 3 and have heard of a few people who have had 4+
Sometimes makes it hard to continue owning them.. knowing they will be gone in a short few years.

Seriously, these little pudgies are just too damn cute. I barf a rainbow every time you post a picture of them. ^^

Wait til they have eyes, thats when the cute really starts!

Such a cute little thing.

the tiny feets. Oh, the tiny feets! *squee*

Im amazed that he has tiny little nails now, too! Soooo teeny but perfect!

I love ratty feets. Extra tiny ones are extra cute. :3

Oh how I wish mine were that fat. They are gaining weight though thankfully.

In any case...GOD HE'S CUTE~!

I think it helps that she only had 3, so each one can get that bit more attention. Some rats can struggle with larger numbers. Some breeders will sometimes foster babies onto another mum who doesn't have as many of her own, to try and share the load. But I've seen smaller babies than yours turn into fat old lumps, so I wouldn't worry too much! One of my past boys, Fenris, was the runt of his litter and was half the size of everyone else. But he turned into a proper fat little boy!

I was hoping for a foster mom just incase. I was trying breeding Reptile at the same time and she was the one that just suddenly up and passed away. I have another preggo rat 'Soot' who should be due to have babies here in week or so, but by then these will probably not be needing a foster mom. They've made it to day 14 so that gives me hope. I've even spotted atleast three who look like they will turn out to be rex. =)

If anything I know that me helping feeding them will make them EXTREMELY social. Can't complain there. And if they are anything like their dad they will be HUGE.

so cute! Love rats