# ORPHANED BABY RAT WITHOUT MOTHER. Help!



## Edie16 (Apr 24, 2016)

I recently was given a rat or mouse from my friend without a mother. She gave it to me dice I have rats already and I've had nice in the past. I'm putting it on a human formula that is soy based, not milk since I raise vegan rats, and give it to them using a toothbrush every 2 hours round clock. That why I'm up so late. :joy: I also gently rub it to help with digestion. And it has a heating pad to keep it warm. What else should I do?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Is the pinkie wild or domestic?

there are many great articles out there on how to bring up an orphan.

http://www.rmca.org/Articles/orphans.htm


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## Edie16 (Apr 24, 2016)

lilspaz68 said:


> Is the pinkie wild or domestic?
> 
> there are many great articles out there on how to bring up an orphan.
> 
> http://www.rmca.org/Articles/orphans.htm


Domestic


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

How are you not sure if it's a rat or mouse if you know it's domestic?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I would say its a rat pinkie from the size


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

I would say the same thing, however it still doesn't make sense to me that she knows it's domestic but doesn't know if it's a rat or mouse.


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## Edie16 (Apr 24, 2016)

Fraido said:


> I would say the same thing, however it still doesn't make sense to me that she knows it's domestic but doesn't know if it's a rat or mouse.


Why?


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## Fraido (Oct 1, 2014)

Because if it was domestic it would generally imply it came from a pet. In which case one would assume the parent was known, so you'd know if it was a rat or mouse. That is how I see it.


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## Kamira (Jul 15, 2015)

I'd try Kitten Milk Replacer instead of human milk. I think its closer, and every source I looked at when I had a baby mouse thrust upon me said KMR was the way to go. I used a small paintbrush to administer to keep it from getting in the lungs. Good luck!


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## luvmy4rats (Nov 29, 2013)

^^^Finally someone who sees that KMR is better than human infant formula to hand rear rat neonates! Human breastmilk has 10 times _less _protein in it than rat milk. Perhaps the concern arouse when it was discovered soy is easier to digest than cow milk. However, there are puppy milk replacers that are made of_ goat milk _which is easier to digest for rats that when reconstituted come close to the composition of the percentage of both protein and fat in rat milk.

The thing folks who are trying to hand rear need to know (who don't know) is a pup will quickly succumb if it hasn't had its first colostrum (or colostrum replacer that wildlife rehabbers use).


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## BearNecessities (Dec 6, 2016)

Definitely looks like a rat pinkie, from your photo the ear placement suggests a dumbo. I'd also highly recommend switching from human soy milk to either KMR or a PMR, the puppy milk replacer would be the better option as some are made from goats milk which, as said above, is much easier for rats to digest. Where did this kit come from? Did it have a mother originally? If it hasn't had its first colostrum from mum then it may deteriorate quickly. You'll need to be incredibly vigilant, hand rearing is very difficult when a kit is still a pinkie. Your best option is to try and find a surrogate mother, if possible. If a foster mum isn't an option, you'll need to stimulate the baby to go to the toilet, if you don't then the baby will die from poisoning from its own waste. Use some tissue and flick it across the genitals for roughly 30 seconds, it may not poo every time but should do every third feed. Pinkies need feeding every 3-4 hours during the day and once or twice during the night. Then move to every 4-5 hours on and after the second week. Feeding too often prevents proper digestion. Use the heating pad with extreme caution. It should be on the lowest setting and only on one end of the box so the baby can crawl away if it wishes to. I'd reccommend covering the pad with a towel or blanket. What is it being kept in currently? For now, a cardboard box (6" high) with a fleece or blanket on the base - make sure there's no loose threads that can get wrapped around arms/legs/tail, will suffice. Once the babies eyes open, you can move it into a cage with small bar spacing. You should put an adult rat with a trust worthy temperament in with the baby once it's eyes are open to help with socialisation and learning key rat skills, as well as company. Good luck!


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## Asiposea (Dec 16, 2016)

This is good information...but this thread is almost a year old


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## BearNecessities (Dec 6, 2016)

Is it?! I never even looked at the date, hahahah!


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## luvmy4rats (Nov 29, 2013)

Asiposea said:


> This is good information...but this thread is almost a year old


The thread may be old, but the the information on it regarding NOT using soy infant formula is important. There may be folks with abandoned rat pups searching threads on how to hand rear NOW who will stumble upon these threads and maybe one rat will live who otherwise would have died to to misinformation.


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## Nieve5552 (May 20, 2014)

luvmy4rats said:


> The thread may be old, but the the information on it regarding NOT using soy infant formula is important. There may be folks with abandoned rat pups searching threads on how to hand rear NOW who will stumble upon these threads and maybe one rat will live who otherwise would have died to to misinformation.


Yeah very important... Unbelievable that someone would deny the much needed protein and nutrients to an INFANT animal just because of that person's dietary beliefs! No animals should die because of that kind of reasoning.


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