# One baby rat



## Ashleyc25 (Apr 8, 2012)

OKAY I HAVE ONE BABY RAT ID SAY A WEEK OR TWO OLD. i HAD GOTTEN SOME POWDEREDD PUPPY MILK FROM WALMART BECAUSE ONE SITE I SAW SAID THAT WOULD WORK THE I SEE ON ANOTHER SITE TAHT HUMAN SOY MILK WAS WHAT SHOULD BE USED THAT PUPPY MILK WAS BAD FOR THEM CUZ OF THE PROTIEN LEVELS WELL I DONT WANNA BURN THE LITTLE ONES GUTS UP SO WHAT SHOULD I DO? KEEP FEEDING IT THE PUPPY MILK OR i HAVE SOME ENFAMIL PREMIUM LIPIL WOULD THAT BE BETTER OR MORE HARMFUL (will it be0 harmful to baby orphaned rat if i feed him ebfamil premium with 1.8 mg of iron in it) I JUST STARTEDF TAKING CARE OF THE THING LAST NITE AND DONT WANTA WAIT TILL TO LATE TO MAKE A CHANGE IN MILK IF THAT WILL BETTER HIS CHANCES


PLEASE HELP???


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## British (Apr 2, 2012)

Find a wildlife rehabber to leave him with, or a vet.


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## CarrieD (Nov 20, 2011)

Here is an article with instructions for caring for orphans - there are several options for formula you can use. Good luck to you and your little one.

http://www.afrma.org/rminfo8.htm


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## Malcolmratdad (Mar 29, 2012)

I don't have any helpful info about orphaned rats but in the future its much easier for people to understand your question and help you if you don't use all caps. It makes your post very hard to read.


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## A.ngelF.eathers (Jul 6, 2011)

The caps are completely unnecessary. Makes you post even more difficult to read, and it's extremely annoying.

Use Kitten Milk Replacer, not puppy milk.


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## CarrieD (Nov 20, 2011)

AFRMA has suggestions of goats milk, kitten formula, puppy formula a human soy formula that have all been used sucessfully. The article I linked to also has lots of helpful advice about helping the baby to elimnate, and how often you should feed. 

Personally, I couldn't care less about whether you type in caps or not, but I'd really love to hear how it's going with your baby, and I hope you'll feel free ask any other questions you might have. Thank you for putting the time and effort in to save a little one who wouldn't make it without you.


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## Rubber Duck (Apr 7, 2012)

From my experience I don't get too hopeful with wildlife. 

Last summer my girlfriend discovered a chipmunk. I don't know if it was a baby of full grown because I don't know how big a chipmunk is supposed to be. It was about the size of the rats sold as "small rats" at Petco. 

She captured it and brought it in the house and we ended up getting a cheap little "starter" cage for it. It wouldn't eat or drink anything and spent all of it's time just sitting there. Sometimes it would move around but that was it. I ended up turning it loose in the yard in the same area she found it because I didn't think it was going to survive in captivity. I was hoping it was an adult that could survive in the wild. I have no idea if it survived.

About a month later I ran over a nest full of baby wabbits with the mower. None of them were chopped up, and I didn't even notice them until I was on another pass. I had a hard time keeping my girlfriend from touching them. I said this time we're not going to even touch them because without their mama, they'll surely die. We're not vetrinarians, and we don't know how to take care of orphaned wildlife.

About a week later, I discovered the nest was empty and there was half a baby wabbit lying nearby. I think the cat did it, or maybe one of the owls that hang out in the trees here. We had been keeping close tabs on our indoor/outdoor cat but there's an orange Garfield type cat that lives in the barn and runs every time he sees a human. It might have killed them. But then another couple of weeks went by and I saw two juvenile rabbits hopping around. I got pretty close to one of them and managed to get a couple of crappy cell phone pix before it ran away. So I don't really know what happened with that nest.


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## lilmiss_paradox (Apr 9, 2012)

A.ngelF.eathers said:


> The caps are completely unnecessary. Makes you post even more difficult to read, and it's extremely annoying.
> 
> Use Kitten Milk Replacer, not puppy milk.


Agreed! Kitten milk has a higher protein content, which is what baby rats need. Also invest in an eye dropper (not one that comes with anything, just a plain eyedropper). Clean it REALLY well and try to feed the baby every few hours. Also make sure that the baby isn't kept too warm or too cold. If you find that it's too cold I suggest a water bottle, or hot rocks around the cage/enclosure/whatever you are keeping the baby in. Just don't warm it up too much (a bit warmer than room temp) and don't actually put the baby rat in contact with it. If you don't have hot rocks or a water bottle a well rung warm, wet cloth could work too, but DO NOT let the baby get wet. It could really easily get a chill. 

If you do not feel confident in caring for it I would suggest bringing it to a local SPCA or Humane Society.


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## ChickenLittle (Apr 9, 2012)

Hello everyone. I as well found an abandoned baby pack rat yesterday "Easter". It has fur but the eyes are not open yet. It may only be 2" in length and weighs 14 grams. It is the cutiest thing ever. But I as well want to make sure I am feeding it correctly. I am giving it liquid kitten formula. Is this ok to do? Also, should I dilute it and if so by how much? I want so bad to save this little one. I for sure thought yesterday he/she wouldn't make it through the night. But it did. Thank goodness for that and also for the forums which have helped in educating me. Thank you in advance.


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## British (Apr 2, 2012)

ChickenLittle said:


> Hello everyone. I as well found an abandoned baby pack rat yesterday "Easter". It has fur but the eyes are not open yet. It may only be 2" in length and weighs 14 grams. It is the cutiest thing ever. But I as well want to make sure I am feeding it correctly. I am giving it liquid kitten formula. Is this ok to do? Also, should I dilute it and if so by how much? I want so bad to save this little one. I for sure thought yesterday he/she wouldn't make it through the night. But it did. Thank goodness for that and also for the forums which have helped in educating me. Thank you in advance.


...Call a wildlife rehabber and they can walk you through it.  Good luck.


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## ChickenLittle (Apr 9, 2012)

Thank you British. We are on day 4 and all is good


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## PitterPatter (Feb 28, 2012)

That's great. What will you do once the baby is older?
Also. For the first few days I hope you're doing at least half and half. The thicker the milk is in the beginning the better. What brand of KMR are you using?


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