Is my Rat Male or Female?

Please refer to the following pictures to help you identify whether your rat is a boy or a girl. Please note that hermaphroditic rats can and do exist, but this is a rare occurrence. 

Rats can be sexed at any age, one can tell if a rat is a male or a female as soon as they are born. 

Pardon the invasive pictures, I am hoping this page will be helpful for those with accidental litters to prevent future litters, as well as help those adopting pets from a pet store or feeder bin where there may be a risk of mixing up genders. 

The best way to hold your rat when you are trying to figure out if they are a male or female is to have them comfortably on their belly, then lift their tail. 

Note: please lift their tails gently, do not lift the rat by the tail and do not pull on their tails as this can pose risk to their spine. 

Basically, male rats have a space between their urethra and anus and female rats do not. This is noticeable from the time they are born. 

While you are adopting, please sex your rats while with your breeder, pet store or feeder store before taking them home to make sure they are both males or both females. 

If you are looking for more pictures and still cannot figure out if your ratties are boys are girls, please visit this page by AFRMA or feel free to message me with pictures. Adult pictures will be added to this page soon.