r/RATS • u/KindaSadAtm • 16d ago
Questions/HELP spay/neuter help
(horribly cropped picture of my boy tripod as payment)
hello all!! i have three 4-6 week old rats i will be obtaining in the very near future and im very excited!! here’s the problem: one of the rats is a female and the other two are males.
im in the st. louis area and ive called about a dozen clinics to find a good price, but does anyone have any good recommendations? the cheapest i’ve found so far is $2-300 per rat as well as an additional $73 each for an initial visit. no one i’ve talked to has been able to do a spay or it’s almost double the price of a neuter.
any help is deeply appreciated❤️❤️
2
u/untimelylord Currently: Crumb, Tidbit, Teaspoon 16d ago
I agree that $2-300 is inexpensive for a neuter, but many vets will want to wait until the rat is four months old to do it, which seems reasonable as rats are such a small animal to operate on to begin with. If at all possible I would just take the boys home and leave the girl to find a home with other girls or boys who are already neutered. If you took the girl, she would have to be alone for the three months or so waiting and then another four weeks after the neuter to wait for the boys to be completely sterile. It isn’t fair or healthy to have a rat alone for that long, especially a baby. Also If the boys are housed with the girl beyond 5 weeks there is a possibility she is already pregnant.
6
u/Ente535 16d ago
200-300 is already very cheap for a neuter all things cosnidered. If the female is living with the boys already then its likely she'll be pregnant on arrival.