# Baby rat



## KayRatz (Apr 5, 2007)

A friend of mine recently acquired a very young rat - she said it was about an inch and a half long. She doesn't know what to feed it, and honestly neither do I, though I cautioned her away from dairy products. Any suggestions?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Its a tiny pink baby?

It needs to be syringe fed human milk formula every 2 hours, Google orphan rats and see what you come up with.


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## KayRatz (Apr 5, 2007)

She said its eyes are open and it has fur.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

eyes open and fur could be 16 days plus 

Can you get and post a pic?


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## KayRatz (Apr 5, 2007)

We don't have a camera. :\


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## A1APassion (Jul 29, 2007)

if its eyes are open then it has teeth & it can eat most all foods the adults will eat... things aren't as bad here as your posts made them out to be

there are 3 suggestions on supplementing mother's milk with baby rats. Each have been used & have had success on a case by case bases

I personally use Esbilac & I have used KMR. Others have used soy based baby formula for orphaned rats. I have heard far more stories of the baby rats rejecting baby formula but this is because there are so many different formulas on the market for humans... there is only one Esbilac liquid puppy formula & one KMR liquid kitten formula. If you can obtain either of those you could offer the little guy some of that along with crushed up lab block. 

Get the small cans (about 4 or 5 bucks) pour it off into a ice tray & make small half cubes. Take each portion & mix it with equal parts of water. You can thaw out the cube in the fridge over night & add the water. Very carefully take the chill off it. You can do this a second or two at a time in a microwave.. just don't heat it up too hot. Stick your finger tip in it to test. Once all your little cubes freeze you can store them in a zip lock baggy until needed. Shelf life is 6 months if you keep them sealed & frozen.


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## KayRatz (Apr 5, 2007)

cool, thanks.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I have used regular (non-soy) human formula myself with my little orphan and he did well with it.

Its funny how human milk is more like a rats than most things. :roll:

Soft veggies, baby cereal, pick up some ensure or boost for added nutrients and the wee one should be just fine 

Does it seem healthy enough, bright eyes, active, drinking/eating/pooping?


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