# Injured baby rat



## Rat_Fink (Apr 2, 2007)

I don't know how, but somehow one of the baby rats got out and ended up on the floor, and was there for god knows how long.

It seems that it has severe bruising on it's jaw, possibley a broken tail, and foot. The foot has also swollen up with a lot of blood (no bleeding or open wounds).

It seems to also be in a lot of pain when I touch it. It also isn't nursing, and the mother is rejecting it by putting it in the far corner. I've tried putting them both seperatley in a cage for a short period of time to see if she'll nurse it but she won't. It also refuses to nurse, as I think it causes it pain.

I'm really not sure what to do, it's early in the morning and no stores are open. I've got no formula, I haven't got proper sized eye droppers or any syringes and I can't get to the vet.

All i've got is cow's milk which i've tried to feed with a rag i've disinfected with boiling water, it won't open it's mouth though to allow me to try and nurse it. I got some in but not that much. I've also got it on a heating pad which I have on low, and I check the temperture so it's not above 100.

I might try putting it back in the cage in a minute to see if she'll try and nurse again, other than that I don't know what to do. Other then try and take it to the vet early morning.


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

Yeah deff. take the baby to the vet ASAP. I have never delt with a baby baby rat before but Im sure you should just keep it as warm as you can. I only know about new born kittens. That you never want to feed it unless its warm or its regualr body temp. I know that your not suppose to feed a kitten cows milk unless its an emergancy and a home recipe for kittens is:

Emergency Home Recipe 
2/3 cup homogenized whole milk 
3 raw egg yolks 
1 tablespoon corn oil 
1 dropper pediatric liquid vitamins 

But like I said...Thats for a kitten.


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## Rat_Fink (Apr 2, 2007)

I haven't got half that stuff available to me right now, maybe just dilute it half half in water?

I've noticed too, that the baby seems a lot paler then the other rats. Maybe that's due to the baby's temperture dropping from being on the floor and then the mother putting it in the corner.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Sounds like your baby is dying.  If mom is rejecting it (she may be the one who threw it out if it was defective), and its in pain and injured, you have very little chance. How old are these babies?


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## reachthestars (Feb 27, 2007)

Unfortunately rats can't digest milk properly, so there's no nutritional value to it and won't keep the baby alive. It's possible there's omething wrong with it and the mom threw it out knowing that.


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

Aww, well it's a sad fact of life but sometimes these things happen. The mom sounds like she rejected the weaker or injured kitten in order to nurse the stronger more likely to survive ones more.


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## 2manyrats (Apr 10, 2007)

First of all, it's sad, but pinkies die often. 

Second, we saved the runt from the last litter around here by holding the mom upside down (she'll stay upside down for prolonged periods as long as she has something to eat) and attaching the baby to the nipple.

Because the baby is so little, the foot would likely heal pretty quickly (as long as it could get nutrients). Still, having a bum foot and being in pain would keep it from fighting for a nipple, if there are more than 12 babies.

How many are there? How many days old?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

2manyrats, it sounds like it cannot suckle due to the injury/pain in its jaw/mouth.


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## 2manyrats (Apr 10, 2007)

Whoops, I skimmed too quickly and missed that.

In that case, it sounds like the baby will likely die.


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

aww, i'm sorry to hear about that poor baby. although i have to agree that mom probably threw it out, or upon receiving the baby again realized that it's not worth trying to save anyway, i've got a soft spot for babies too.  rat body temp is a little warmer than ours, but you can keep it decently warm by pressing it against your stomach. kitten formula works best, i think (someone correct me if i'm wrong), but yeah, cow's milk will have no real value to it. i think places like petsmart and such open at like 10 or so, so good luck. a vet trip would be best, but it sounds like it's already on it's little way out, so i wouldn't spend a ton of money on it, as sad as that sounds. if you wanted to keep it alive, you'd have to nurse it every 2 hours or so, day and night, so i don't know how commited you are to keeping this baby alive.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Get human powdered baby formula. Supposedly human milk is very similar in constitution to rats. Do not forget everytime you feed to use a damp cottonball or cloth and wipe the genital/anus areas to stimulate the baby to eliminat afterwards. Mom does this for them and you'll have to do it too.

You can see the mom rat doing her job here..


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## Rat_Fink (Apr 2, 2007)

Well i took it to the vet and apparently there's nothing they really can do. I was kind of mad because they didn't have any syringes that I could nurse the baby rat with, so i'm stuck with eye droppers.

I bought some soy baby formula and mixed it accordingly. I can't really get it in without squirting it by it's mouth but I don't want to risk choking it. 

They didn't really seem to know a lot about rats, but that's the only place I could go today, otherwise i'd have to wait till monday.

It could possibley have a fracture on it's skull, i'm not too sure. The wound by it's jaw is bleeding pretty badly and dripping in it's mouth. I cleaned all the wounds and put liquid bandaid on.

I have 12 rats.

The mother is too hyperactive and I can't get her still enough to allow the injured baby rat to nurse.


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

Cats cant digest milk properly either. Im sorry there was nothing you could do for the baby. :'(


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## Rat_Fink (Apr 2, 2007)

Well it's not gone yet, we'll see what happens.

**update
The baby rat is nursing again, and the liquid bandaid seemed to help. Still looking a bit paler than the other rats though, hopefully all goes well.


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## Rat_Fink (Apr 2, 2007)

Well all the wounds are healing, even the foot is. Except she's looking a bit like a runt and a bit dehydrated, even after i've hand nursed her. Is it possible that it's growth just got stunted after the whole ordeal? do you think it might make it?

Does anyone know how long babies can go without nursing? I jus don't want to think it's getting better when it's actually starving to death.


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## JennieLove (Jan 2, 2007)

If the baby isnt nursing then I dont think it can live for very long, unless you step in. If things seem to be healing and the baby is being kept at a normal temp, then I would sugest trying to feed it with a formula. Im not sure what you may use since I have never delt with new born rats before, but I'm sure someone here has had experiance with in this type of situation. I really do hope your baby will make it.


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## 2manyrats (Apr 10, 2007)

Is there any visible milk band?


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## Rat_Fink (Apr 2, 2007)

A little bit sometimes. I think i'm just going to continiously nurse it till it gets bigger. It seems to be healing a lot, and it is nursing from soy baby formula. I think i'll just nurse it till it gets stronger so it can "fight for the nipple"


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## 2manyrats (Apr 10, 2007)

Cool, it sounds like you've got a fighting chance. Any idea whether it's a boy or a girl yet?


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

if the mother isn't rejecting it any more i would leave the baby in with her in between the time you feed it. nursing orpahned pinkies often doesn't end well but maybe if momma's still there it will make a difference. i'm not sure exactly how but right now this little guy needs all the possbile chances it can get. 

mind you that only works if momma isn't rejecting it. otherwise it'll be safer with you. just remember what the other poster said about making it elminate. it won't be able to do it on its own. 

good luck, i hope everything turns out well.


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## 2manyrats (Apr 10, 2007)

How's the baby doing?


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