Need advice on baby rats

[wsirons]

I'm in need of some advice about baby rats. Sorry this isn't about squirrels, but I've posted here before about other squirrel issues and know that you are all the most caring people I've seen on the web.

So, here's the story. I was removing the deck in front of the house since it was quite rotten and in need of replacing. Along the way I found a mama rat in a nest with 7 little babies. The mama ran off and could not be found. The deck is now completely removed and there is nothing left that the mama would recognize as her nest.

The little ones are about a week old from what I can tell. They have descent amount of fur on there bodies, but their eyes are still closed. I had a frantic drive around town earlier looking for various formulas to feed them. The guy at the pet store insisted that I get the goat milk, but I know not to give it to them. I've read a little about what to give them and think I have the right stuff. They weren't really interested in drinking any it, and I'm trying to be very careful about getting any in their noses.

I'm not sure if I should put them back outside in case the mama will come back looking for them. I don't exactly want her raising them in the back yard. They was a lot of construction noise today as well, and not sure if she would dare to come back for them. If I could catch her, I could keep her with the babies until they could be relocated.

Maybe somebody can point in the direction of another site that is more directed towards rats. Maybe somebody can connect me with a rehabber in northern CA. A friend has already recommended that I give them to a reptile store, but I don't think I can do that. Help, what do I do?!?!

Wayne

[wsirons]

Picture of the little cuties.

[Ronda]

They are adorable...hopefully someone can help you out here soon, meanwhile keep them warm and quiet, be sure they are hydrated. They look older than one week to me... maybe 10 or 11 days old - eyes should open in the next day or two,...and they will start then to try eating on their own. The only real experience i have with rats was raising lots of them for raptors i used to raise/rehab. Others here can give you lots of better advice. Good luck with them, and thanks for looking after them

[djarenspace9]

I've raised baby rats and mice by using the same formula as I do with squirrels. Other more experienced members may have better advice. There's a lot of conflicting info online about what is best for them. I used what I had on hand.

Someone here just raised some...see this link
http://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22174&highlight=jake

Maybe scoobysnack can give you some quick pointers!

[wheezer]

Good luck, I know Scoobysnack can help:thumbsup :grouphug

We love rats here too:)

[Ardilla]

Awwww, so cute!:Love_Icon

[wsirons]

Well, they all made it through the night. They finally accepted the Esbilac. It's hard to make sure all 7 get some. I have them outside now in a cage near the only hiding place the mama could be in. Is there any hope that she will come by looking for them and follow their scent in the cage?

I'm a little worried about them being warm enough, but since there are 7 of them, they seem to do doing a good job of keeping each other warm. They definitely all cling together into a rat ball when they are in the home made nest. The original nest was under the deck steps in a very wet pile of leaves. The mama had a little lining of leaves to keep the moisture away from them, but it must have been quite cold.

I guess I will need to start reading more about how much formula to give them. So far they only seem to want a drop or two. The had some dilute Pedialyte last night to keep them hydrated, but again only a drop or two. I suppose a small scale is only way to keep track of this. If only there weren't so many of them!!

I'll get some more pics of them at the feeding. Oh, I've also been trying to stimulate them to go potty. I'm using some warm water and my fingers. Should I worry about how wet they get during this? It seems to be a process they are used to.

Wayne

[wsirons]

More pics

[Ronda]

If you end up raising them, you need a system to be sure each one is fed and stimulated to poop and pee. Feed and stimulate them one at a time, them move the just fed baby into a second nest or container... working thru the group one at a time. Some people put a small drop of different color nail polish on top of the head to differentiate. I have painted the ends of tails with food coloring before too, but with this many, even using colors can be confusing....BUT you will want to use the colors if you are weighing and keeping notes on them-and weighing is really the only way to be sure they are growing and healthy.

[wsirons]

Tonight they finally had a good apatite. Most of them were looking for a nipple after the first good mouthful. A couple of them still aren't too interested in the formula. I also see that a couple of them are not pooping. I can see that there is some there, but not moving. I'm not sure how much I should be attempting to help them with this. Since I do both processes separately, I'm not sure if they are the same ones that aren't eating much. I'll have to look next time.

In general, most of them are doing really well. I assume that a couple of them won't make it, but we'll see how it goes. If anybody has any advice about the pooping, please let me know. Thanks!

Wayne

[wsirons]

Today they don't seem very interested in any formula. I'm concerned that they aren't eating enough. Perhaps I should try more Pedialyte? They ones that had a hard time pooping last night seem to have moved things along throughout the night. I'm really glad that I didn't remove the deck last week!


Anybody in Sonoma Country interested in adopting any? They're really cute!


Wayne

[wsirons]

Well, it seems like nobody likes rats in Sonoma County. The local pet shop said they would take them as feeder rats.

Wayne

[Ronda]

:(

[TinyPaws]

By what I see in the pictures, the babies are fully furred, which means they are closer to 2 weeks old...They will begin to open their eyes ate 2 weeks of age...

The formula they should be getting is Baby Soy Formula...Rats nutritional requirements are closer to that of humans than dogs and cats...It contains no milk product, so you won't need to worry about them becoming lactose intolerant...

At this age, you can also mix the soy formula with baby cereal and let them lick it off thour fingers....Once the eyes open, you can put some in a jar lid and they will lap it up themselves...just be sure to clean them, as they can get a bit messy...

Once their eyes open, you can also begin to give them solid foods to gnaw on...high quality rat blocks (ie. Oxbow), also non sugar Cheereos, Rice Crispys, oatmeal flakes (not instant)...and vegies such as peas (frozen, not canned) but do let them defrost..I usually run mine under hot water then paper towel them dry...They also love Edamame (Soybean in pods)..can be found in the frozen section near the sugar snap peas...These will need to be cooked as they should not eat raw beans...I put mine in some water and microwave it for about 4-5 minutes..a little past boiling...rinse in cool water and take the beans out of the pod and take the skin off the bean itself...

NO PINE OR CEDAR BEDDING!!!! It's a killer to rats, rodents, squirrels.....

[crazysquirrels]

Try this. Get a small cage. You can get them at any local feed type store. They are humane type traps. My first 2 squirrels were caught this way. They step on a small plate to get to the food and the rear of the trap comes down and locks them in. Try to capute the mom this way. If you do get a rat it will be easy to tell if its mom. She should come looking for them. If I had the money to drive to you I would come get them and help you out. I would get the esbalic goats milk and mix it with Jackie's squiirel formula mix. ITs
Jackie's Goat Milk Recipe
1 cup goats milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup dannon all natural vanilla yogurt
First make sure they can have this as I see maybe they should not have milk and need soy stuff. Just double check or somebody let him know.
Then I would would look into see if Fox Valley makes a formula for rats. They make it squirrels, skunks. racoons and such.

[TinyPaws]

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

[Feeze]

How are the babies doing today?

[wsirons]

The babies are doing great still. The have all survived and are eager to eat. I'm still trying to use a small eye dropper while making sure they don't get too much at a time. I am worried that a couple of them have inhaled some into their lungs. I'm adding a small amount of antibiotic to the formula with the hope that it will prevent them from getting sick from aspirating.

A couple of them definately eat better than the others, and a couple of them don't eat well at all. Their fur is looking good, their skin seems fine. They are going potty when stimulated. They don't like to let go of my hand once I pick them up.

I can't wait for their eyes to open up. Hopefully today or tomorrow. They are getting very squirmy and energetic. As far the mama goes, I do have a safe trap like the one described waiting for the mama. It has some food and a rag that the babies slept on inside of it. I haven't seen her at all yet however. I've got a larger cage ready for them for when they get a little more mobile.

It seems like they are almost ready for some cherios in their formula. I've been using Esbilac puppy replacement, and sounds like I should switch over to soy baby formula.

Do the males have a dark patch of developing testicles between their anus and genitals? So far the plan is to release them in the country near a little stream. I'm still trying to convince the powers that be to let me keep one of them. At what age should they ready to release? Thanks for the replies and help. I am forever in your debt! I will post new pictures this afternoon.

Wayne

[wsirons]

I saw 3 eyes this morning. One guy has 1 eye open and another has both. They were very active this morning and couldn't wait for food. I think this afternoon I will try to put them into the cage. I assume in the next couple of days they will turn into little rascals!

I'm ammazed by how they already know how to wash their faces. I wasn't able to get pics yesterday, hopefully this afternoon.

I never realized how much people don't like rats. People can't believe that I would consider hand raising a litter. "Oh my god, aren't they full of disease?"

Last night, at the evening feeding time, my 12 year old terrier came over to the box and started whining. She keep poking her head in looking for them. When I pulled them out, she wanted to lick them. I'm still not sure if she was trying to be motherly, or wanted a snack. She was really gentle with them and appeaded to be washing them, but made to sure to keep a close eye on her.

Wayne

[island rehabber]

PLEASE keep the terrier away from the babies!!! :nono
There is no terrier on earth you can trust with a rodent. They were originally bred to kill rodents and their instinct is far stronger than your yelling "No".

[scoobysnack]

Sorry I didn't see this sooner. Rats are lactose intolerant. Use human soy infant formula. I lost two babies before I found that out. I managed to pull the last guy through. He's all grown up and tons of fun!

I have a thread on here all about him. Good luck with them. Do you know what kind they are?

[wsirons]

Oooh, thanks for the terrier information. I'll keep her away. And thanks for the lactose information. I've stopped with the puppy milk and they only get soy baby formula now. They were very active and happy this morning. I can't wait to go home during lunch for the noon feeding!

I'm not sure what kind they are. Beside the cute kind. (Aren't they all?!) One of them is brown and the other 6 are a really dark grey, almost black. I'll try to get up some more pictures later today.

Thanks for the help, I am forever in your debt!

Wayne

[scoobysnack]

Hi Wayne,

They look like they may be "black rats" or "roof rats" otherwise known as Shiprats. Make the switch gradual. In about 4 feedings you will be switched over. Do NOT overfeed these guys. They seem to bloat easily.