Breeding Acacia Rats
Acacia rats are predominately light grey in colouration although some brown-grey, gold and fawn colour forms do exist as part of the Dilute variations.
Banded has also emerged, which some trace back to Germany; Banded is currently being worked on within the UK by a relatively small number of exotic rodent keepers. In Acacia rats Banded is a recessive gene and shows as a white band that can be narrow and broken, or very wide across the torso or rump.
Acacia rats are seasonal breeders in the wild, with a period of October through to May. This is not always the case in captivity, although some keepers report more litters around springtime. They reach sexual maturity at around 9 weeks.
Litter sizes are quite small for a rodent with an average litter size of 2 born after a gestation period of approximately 24 days. Acacia rat pups are quite unique in that they stay firmly attached to mums nipples even as she roams around the cage. This can make checking pups health a lot easier if your female is tame and happy to be handled while carrying. They are weaned at 4 weeks.