# Orphaned at 3 weeks old



## hflev (Aug 10, 2011)

When we brought my son's new pet rat home we did not know she was pregnant. She had 14 babies three weeks ago. She was doing everything right, super great mom, but we just found her dead in the enclosure. We don't know why, although we suspect with 14, she gave all to the babies. She was eating and drinking well and show no signs of being ill. All of the babies are healthy and actvie (although mostly asleep now -- it is past midnight). THey were alerady eating solid food in addition to nursing. What do we need to do to keep them growing and healthy? Any help is greatly appreciated. We are in shock, and mourning her, but the babies need to be our priority now. Thanks.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

They will be able to poop and pee on their own now, so you really just need to supplement their diet as best as you can. I would advise picking up soy milk human powder formula, and baby cereal at this point, and even Ensure. Are they able to eat out of dishes on their own yet?


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## hflev (Aug 10, 2011)

Update. We took them to the vet yesterday. All 14 are doing well. They are eating and drinking out of dishes and pooping on their own. They are socializing, cleaning themselves and each other. We have separated the 8 boys from the 6 girls. We have been giving them organic soy milk (had on hand), water, chopped soft veggies, rat seed mix, broken up dog kibble I'm getting ready to go pick up some soy formula and some other supplies for them in a bit. We're definitely looking for suggestions on feeding over the next couple weeks as they continue to develop. The challenge now is to get better living space for two groups of rat babies (priority today). Then in a few weeks, homes!!! We're in the chicago area if anyone has any ideas. Thanks in advance!


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

you don't need to separate them until they're 5 weeks old, separating them early is unfair and they miss out on a lot of the social interaction they should be getting.


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## hflev (Aug 10, 2011)

We thought that since there are six girls together and eight boys together that socialization would not be a problem. Please let us know what they might be missing by being gender grouped.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

i am not trying to criticize you, no need to be so defensive...it is more that there is absolutely no need to separate babies at such a young age. you can do as you please, but rats generally thrive better in larger groups with larger hierarchies and so on. i believe the average group size in a natural situation is around 30. since they have no parent to learn from, they need to learn from each other, since you have no other adults.


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## hflev (Aug 10, 2011)

Did not take it as criticizm. Simply trying to learn. Really need suggestions on foods, etc. Thanks.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

ensure or boost meal replacement formulas are very nice for supplementing growing rats, as is human baby formula (i would not recommend soy) or kitten/puppy milk replacements. you can also make them cooked things that are easy on the tummy, such oatmeal with mashed banana, brown rice, small bits of whole wheat pasta, and so on.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

For my little orphan, I broke up lab blocks into little chunks he could hold, but he wasn't able to eat those until a little later on (when his jaws got strong enough). He'd been orphaned at 2 weeks (well ripped from his moms side to become food, but he was "too cute for food", and I think the herp he was bought for, was too small to eat him as well.

I gave him baby cereal in a dish, mixed with Ensure or soy milk, or even better soy human milk powdered formula, then for veggies i gave him frozen/thawed mixed veggies, small, softer and easy to hold for a wee one, like peas, carrots, corn, etc. Leaf lettuce later on. He was alone so had no one to teach him what was good or not, and I literally had to hold things in my mouth and then he would take them and eat them from then on. This is what he would do with his own mom, sniff her mouth or steal from her mouth "safe" foods. Like Jaguar said, try making up soft eatmeal, and if you can, make up a healthy veggie slurry in a food processor and mix it in...rats love this and can get the healthier veggies like kale into them. I make my veggie slurries out of things like spinach or kale or broccoli, then i add slightly softened carrots, peas, corn, red pepper, cauliflower, etc...

If you have the room to keep ALL the family together, go for it, but with that split, it might be easier to separate by sexes so when you are "working" with them you won't have as many to keep track of 

How are you doing for socializing? Are they skittish or friendly and very handleable?


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## hflev (Aug 10, 2011)

Thanks for the food suggestions. I haven't tried oatmeal yet, so we'll try that. They love the veggies and most of the other stuff. The had already started eating most things before we lost their Mom. She really took them pretty far. We've been handling and playing with them since a couple days old (with Mom's blessing), so they are pretty well socialized. They don't mind being held, etc. They interact well with eachother. The boys are still learning their way around the new enclosure, but they seem to really like the ramps. We'll post on progress every so often. And, of course with questions.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

When you are socializing them, think of all the things that they might need to get used to in the future, like being dangled, like their ears, tails, paws being checked...I would gently pull on tails, toes and ears, pretend to check their teeth, rub them all over, try to get them used to being examined all over and even put on their back, etc...rub their muzzles, etc, etc. All this makes them have much more chance at being a confident and friendly rat "bomb-proof" if you will, and more likely to stay in their good pet home you find for them, rather than being difficult and being dumped or rehomed later in life.


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## hflev (Aug 10, 2011)

*Update at almost 4 weeks*

Wanted to thank everyone for all of the suggestions and help. All 14 appear to be thriving as they turn 4 weeks old tomorrow. We have them in their gender specific communities -- 6 girls and 8 boys. They are all eating well with a mixed diet of soy formula, water, oatmeal, veggies, seed, block and occasional treats. They all grab the solids and hold in their hands to eat, drink from a saucer-like dish and lick water from the bottle tip. They are developing their personalities and it is really interesting to see the different behaviors from the boys (like to tumble with each other) vs. the girls (braver in new situations). From the advice we have recieved, I think we need to start weining them off the formule in about 1-2 weeks, but would like to hear input from this group on that. Thanks again to all!!


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## hflev (Aug 10, 2011)

Forgeot to mention that we have been handling everyone and since we weekend in another state, they are getting very adaptable (we have been taking them with us). Also, we were supplementing the food with some broken up dog kibble.


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