Does anyone know about breeding rats?
Of course the rat-mum will let you touch them, as long as she knows and trusts you. Some rat-mum’s will even tolerate you handling the babies after only an hour of them being born! Rats are VERY good mothers to their babies, it’s very very rare they abandon their babies, and only ever ‘dispose’ of a baby if there is a serious problem. Of course, you do have to use common sense… some rats can become slightly aggressive when they have given birth so you should always make sure rat-mum is out of the way before you start to handle the babies, she will give you a nasty bite if she’s not happy. The earlier you handle the babies the more socialised they will be as they grow. It’s been shown that rat-babies who were handled before their eyes have opened have been much friendlier around their human friends.
