Recognizing the breed of rat is very important, especially if you are a breeder, keep a lot of rats, or are just curious about the gender of your little friend. There are two main ways to tell the difference between male and female rats which require sharp eyesight and firm hands. You can determine the sex of the rat by looking at the anogenital distance (the distance between the genital area and the anus), or check whether your rat has nipples. It's a good idea to know the sex of the mice so you can separate the male and female mice and prevent unwanted breeding.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Looking at the Anatomical Distance
Step 1. Gently take the mouse out of its cage
The best way to do this is to gently pinch the base of the rat's tail to lift it up so you can slide your hand under the rat's body. Continue to hold the tail as you lift the mouse out of the cage.
- Don't forget that your body is much bigger than a rat so that rats who are not used to it can be afraid. Never scoop them out of cages or squeeze mice. Rats can jump out of your hands and injure themselves.
- Otherwise, you can train the rat to crawl up onto your hand. The easiest way to do this is to place your rat's favorite food in the palm of your hand to invite it over. However, if this is your first time trying it, you may need to wait a while before the rat will trust you and eat your hand.
Step 2. Position the mouse so you can see its genital area
Take the mouse by the nape of the neck, and hold it so that the mouse is on its back. If you're not comfortable in this position, hold the mouse so its bottom is facing you. After that, hold the base of the tail and lift it so that the genital area can be seen clearly.
- You should hold the mouse by the base of its tail and never let all its legs lift in the air. At least two of the rat's paws should touch the surface of something. If you hold the rat's tail and let it hang, the tail may break off or even break its back. Don't let you hurt and injure your pet
- Baby mice can get cold very quickly. So you should only hold it for a moment. Baby mice are also very fragile so don't lift their tails.
Step 3. Measure the distance between the anus and the genitals
The anus is the opening just below the tail. Depending on the age of the rat, sex determination can be easy or difficult. Young mice are difficult to determine the sex and the anogenital distance appears to be almost the same. So, don't be disappointed if you misjudge the sex of the rat.
- It helps if you can compare several mice side by side until you can see the difference in distance.
- In some cases, you may have more than one mouse that is approximately the same anogenital distance. Read a book about mice or look online for pictures or diagrams showing the different sexes of mice. Many sources provide pictures of the sex differences of mice at each stage of their growth.
Step 4. Identify the female rat
Female rats have a pubic area that is closer to the anus. The urethra is usually about 1/2 cm apart in adult mice.
Female rats have a vaginal opening behind the urethra which can appear like a bulge
Step 5. Identify the male rat
Male rats have a pubic area that is further from the anus than female rats. You may also notice the testicles if they hang down. The way to tell the testicles from the female rat's urethra is to look for the vaginal opening behind the bulge.
You can also try to find the presence of testicles. The testicles of an adult male rat can hang down for easy viewing. However, you have to be patient because male rats can attract testicles to their bodies. One way to get a good look at it is to wait for the mouse to eat while "standing" on the lip of its food bowl. Often the rat's testicles will drop in this position. However, mice are not necessarily female if no testicles are visible. Include other methods of determining the sex of the rat
Method 2 of 2: Using the Nipple Method
Step 1. Position the mouse so that its belly is visible
Hold the rat by the nape of the neck, and turn it over so that the rat is on its back and its stomach is exposed. However, the rat's nipples may be blocked by the belly hairs. Try brushing off the rat's fur or rubbing its belly to feel for the rat's nipples. Nipples can look like bald spots in young mice.
Nipples in baby mice are hard to find, but with good lighting and a keen eye, you can see them about three days after birth
Step 2. Find the nipple to determine the female mouse
Male rats do not have nipples, while female rats have up to 10 nipples and look like rows. The two most conspicuous nipples are near the genitals.
The sex of the rat can also be easily seen when the rat is pregnant because the female rat's nipples will expand and fall, forming a kind of "pocket" in the pelvic area. However, not all pregnancy mice can be seen easily, and in some cases, obese male mice look similar to pregnant mice. Try to feel this "pocket," and you may feel a bulge that is most likely a baby mouse
Tips
- Segregate your mice according to their sex as soon as possible. If there is a rat whose gender is unknown, put it in a separate third cage to determine the sex later.
- Do not breed female mice for more than 8 months. At this point, the rat is already quite advanced in age and pregnancy can result in death.
Warning
- Don't take the rat by its tail. Hold the mouse gently in your hand and handle it with care.
- If you don't separate the mice by sex, an unwanted pregnancy can occur quickly, about 4 weeks after giving birth. The burden of female mice carrying babies can be very heavy and the mother rat can die during childbirth.
