# Hand-raising baby rat?



## newratmommy (Sep 11, 2015)

Hi all! I'm new here, just joined yesterday. I posted this in the "Say Hello" board yesterday but that board doesn't appear to get quite as much traffic as this board so I thought I'd ask here as well. If cross-posting isn't allowed, I apologize (didn't see anything forbidding it in the site/forum rules).

Basically, I have no experience hand-raising baby rodents (I DO have experience hand-raising other mammals) and want to make sure I'm doing everything right for this little baby rat. I think she's a little over a week old (and I'm not even 100% sure she's a rat, to be honest - so opinions on that would be appreciated!).

I included pictures in my original post, but I've also included 2 additional pictures at the bottom of this post. One from the evening hubby brought her home (the one where she's in my hand) and one from this morning after her last feeding. Rat experts - does she look like she's developing? How old do ya'll think she is? She currently weighs between 8 and 9 grams. Oh and her name is Coleslaw (courtesy of my 3-year old) 

Here's the link to my original post. - http://www.ratforum.com/showthread....kish-old-baby-rat-Am-I-doing-everything-right

Thanks all!













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## raindear (Mar 3, 2015)

I found this thread that may help you:

http://www.ratforum.com/showthread....doing-everything-right&highlight=hand+raising

I recall that KMR, soy infant formula, or goat's milk can be used to feed a baby rat. You can mix the formula with ground lab blocks, or baby rice cereal. High protein foods like eggs can be fed when it starts eating solid foods, but I haven't done this so hopefully between that thread and answers you get here you will get the help you need.


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## newratmommy (Sep 11, 2015)

Haha, that's my original thread that I linked


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## animallover13 (Sep 11, 2015)

Hi I've never had baby rats before but I found this website on Raising Orphaned Rats or Mice I haven't read it though but I've read about other things by the same person


http://www.ratfanclub.org/orphans.html


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## Phantom (Apr 4, 2012)

This is my original thread from when I raised Toast:

http://www.ratforum.com/showthread.php?89313-My-little-feeder-baby.

Since Toast, I have also raised Crostini. He was about the same age as Toast when I got him. I did make one big change, and it did make a small difference. Instead of using kitten milk replacer I used infant soy formula with Crostini. It came in a powdered form, and it had a much longer shelf life. Crostini also enjoyed the soy formula more than the milk replacer. If you have any questions on how to raise your little guy, feel free to message me. =P


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## cookiebear<3 (Aug 2, 2013)

What are you using to give it formula? Aspiration is pretty common


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

It looks a lot like a baby rat, but there are several native and imported species that tend to look alike as pups. Where did hubby get her? Most likely if she came from an industrial site or warehouse she's a rat, if he found her on a camping trip in the Ozarks, she might be something else.... If you are in a hot climate she might be a black rat, if your from a colder climate she's likely to be a brown rat. On the up side most rodent pups need about the same care.

And yes depending on the size she could be a mouse... it's hard to tell from the photos, but the square nose looks more like rat to me...

I've hand raised pups from two weeks old and your pup looks a bit thin. I fed ours from an IV syringe and an eyedropper, about every 2 to 4 hours day and night. I used the KMR powder and it seemed to work a treat... one lady here who had just had a baby, posted that human milk works great on rat pups too, so perhaps any good human baby formula might be OK in a pinch.

Keep your pup warm, but not too hot. If rat pups don't get enough food they tend to shrink... they will use their body fat to continue to mature... so shrinking is a bad sign. On the up side they are pretty durable.

Assuming this is a wild rat and you do keep it alive there's one very important thing to remember. Wild rats grow fast and are seriously dangerous to humans if they aren't properly bonded and socialized. In about two months time she will be super fast, super agile and have long razor sharp teeth that can cut through to the bone as well as sharp little claws... And she's going to be smart, really smart with skills you can't begin to imagine.... She's every bit a tiny wolf.

On the up side she's a social animal, a pack animal if you prefer. And she really doesn't care if she bonds with a rat family or a human family. One of our very finest rats was part wild and several people here have successfully raised wildlings that became trusted and loving family members. But you only have a short window of opportunity to raise your new pup right and bond with her. Once she's big it's too late, she will become way too dangerous to handle.

Whenever she isn't sleeping you want to snuggle her and engage her like any good mom would and you want to play with her as much as possible when she can move about on her own. You can even let her nap on your lap so she gets the scent of her new human mom. Also make sure to introduce her to the whole family so she gets to know them... Wild rats are typically one family rats... they don't tend to trust humans in general, but will pack bond with their family.

I've seen too many people who successfully raise rat pups then screw it all up by not giving them enough love and attention. Remember this is a social animal that needs a family, just like a human child. Lack of proper and constant touch and emotional support will make her distrustful and solitary. 

I can't say that wild rats all become docile pets, the boys do moreso than the girls, they tend to be wired hot and a bit flighty. They don't inherently trust strangers and can bite when threatened. They have some pretty remarkable skills and can jump and climb just about anything, not to mention squish under just about anything. But I might add that our part wild rat was the first rat to come when called.... no, we never knew where she was, but if we called her she would be right there. My 5 year old daughter could squish her into doll clothes and toss her around like a rag doll and she would love to nap on us. She also hunted, killed and ate mice and tore up my neighbor's hand when he tried to grab her... She really was a remarkable and special animal.

So don't be fooled, she's going to grow up to be a wolf and she'll always likely need special love, attention and care. But she can become your best friend pet wolf of she can become a really nasty piece of work that's going to hurt you or someone else... everything depends on how you raise her. What she grows up to be is up to you and you only have a few weeks to decide her future.

Best luck.


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

That tail is suspiciously long. If it weren't so tiny I would guess squirrel over rat.


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## newratmommy (Sep 11, 2015)

Thank you for all of this information. It in incredibly thorough and helpful. However, I'm sad to report that little Coleslaw didn't make it through the night. I'm pretty bummed about it, even though I tried to mentally prepare myself.


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## CJMoore (Jul 30, 2013)

I so sorry. No matter how prepared you are it still hurts. You can't replace this little one, but you might thing of getting another rat soon. I don't know if you said if you already have pet rats or not. If not, you really should


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## newratmommy (Sep 11, 2015)

It did hurt, she definitely squeaked her way into my heart. No, I've never had a pet rat (I did have pet hamsters as a kid but I now understand that it's definitely not the same thing at all). I did a lot of research and learned a lot about rats when Coleslaw stumbled in our life a mere 4 days ago, so my outlook on rats has definitely changed completely. I'm not sure if we'll be getting a pet rat anytime soon as hubby wasn't thrilled about the fact that Coleslaw turned out to be a baby rat instead of a squirrel... but I will always have the desire to have a pet rat now. I'm an animal lover to the core and already have several other pets. So, I'm sure it will happen one day


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## raindear (Mar 3, 2015)

I'm sorry for your loss. I know you tried.

You might tell your husband that in many ways rats are like squirrels, but rats are legal to own, easier to get, and come in more colors. I also found them to be cleaner and easier to handle than hamsters, but that is just my experience.


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## newratmommy (Sep 11, 2015)

I'll certainly try . I just joked with him about making a trip to the pet store to get a pet rat - he shot that idea down very quickly. For the record, I'd never get a pet from a pet store... I've been involved in the cat/dog rescue world for too long that I know pet stores generally aren't the folks you want to be supporting. Should I decide to get one eventually, I'd definitely go through a reputable rescue instead of a pet store.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Female rats sometimes have more pups than they can nurse. So they kick the extras out of the nest. Usually they choose the smallest, weakest or defective pups. And it's these pups we humans most often find and rescue. Sometimes, the pup just wasn't viable, so despite doing everything right you lose them...

I'm sorry for your loss.

As to getting rats as pets, for the most part they are a lot like very small dogs. If your hubby likes dogs, he'll like rats.


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## newratmommy (Sep 11, 2015)

My hubby said the same thing about the baby possibly already having something wrong with it and maybe that's why it was abandoned to begin with. A rat for a pet is definitely in the back of my mind now and it never was before. He does like dogs. We currently have an incredible Lab mix that I adopted 10 years ago. Our Lab is now 13, has been diagnosed with cancer twice, and for the last few weeks we've been on edge expecting that we'll have to put him to sleep any day now because he has episodes where he starts staggering and can barely breathe... but he always surprises us and bounces right back within a day or two - right before we think we're ready to call the vet to make a final decision to end his suffering. We had a tumor surgically removed a year ago and his recovery was quite difficult. So, when more malignant tumors popped up 6 months later, we decided not to do any extra surgeries or extensive diagnostics (like more ultrasounds) with our Lab due to his age and his extreme anxiety of the vet's office, so we're not sure what's going on with him and have been giving him medication and supplements solely based on symptoms. I'm going to be a sloppy, sad mess of a woman when my Lab passes away. He's been my sweet shadow and trusty side-kick for the last 10 years. Anyway, maybe once we have an "empty nest" (which hopefully will be far in the future) I'll approach the pet rat thing with my husband again. We also have a 3 year old, so I'm sure she'll start asking for a small pet and that will likely be my chance  Sometimes I have to plant little "idea seeds" in my husband's head and let them take root before he's okay with making a big change ;-)


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## raindear (Mar 3, 2015)

Knowing what I know now, I would definitely recommend a rat over a hamster or a gerbil as a first pet for a child. I wish someone had discussed rats with me when I was getting hamsters and gerbils for my son.


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