I need help right now!

The smaller baby is limp. He's still breathing, but will barely open his eyes. Tried a couple times to walk, stumbled and fell. Help me, please

How is the baby?

What happened?
Did the baby fall?
Has the baby been eating food and getting lots of fluid?
What has the baby been eating and drinking?

Has the baby needed to use more effort to breath or is the baby making noises when s/he breathes? Listen to each side of the baby's chest.

Temperature in your household - has it been hot or cold?
Video?
Try posting on facebook group Real Rat Lovers Want To Know
Anything else we should know?

What's the history on your baby?

lilspaz68 said:

What's the history on your baby?

Click to expand...

2 orphaned nursing babies were rescued after their mama was killed (remaining 3 siblings disappeared, presumed dead) abut 6 days ago. Babies are black.
http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34623

http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34623

I read those threads linked and there's no more pics to tell us what age the babies are, if their eyes are open, or if they are eating solids and drinking on their own. Can you let us know this?

I didn't have time. I don't know how old. eyes open, not interested in drinking from dish, so i've been feeding with dropper. Little one passed last night, brother unwell this morning.
when i found him he was limp, unmoving. i held him in my hand and started stroking him gently. he perked up a little, tried to climb on my hand. put him down to see how he walks. staggered drunkenly. keeps going limp in my hand, but gets up and moves when i rub by his hips.
he's also very thin now, whereas just yesterday he was quite chubby. what's going on? what should i do?

sounds like they are either dehydrated or starving ... if there are no breathing problems

are you feeding the squirrel formula? because if they are not eating blocks, block mush, vegs etc then the human soy formula is not enough. (Are you feeding soy formula?)
Are you feeding Kitten Milk replacer (KMR) or Esbilac, both purchased from the vet?

How much and how often are you feeding?

you can also see if baby will eat baby food or solids like scrambled egg, cooked oatmeal or cooked quinoa,

can you put the baby in with a nursing mama?

How much are you feeding with the dropper, when did the eyes open?

He's suckling soy milk from a (clean) strip of cloth until he's full, on the hour every three hours. He seems to be back to his normal self, but I daren't jinx it by saying we're out of the woods. I'm aware soy milk alone doesn't tend to have enough nutrients in it, but their systems are too delicate to supplement them for now. Soy milk was the best I could manage, given that I live in a small town.

My hopes are minimal contact and then release. Their instincts are strong, and often overcomes whatever imprinting has taken place. There isn't a mama I can put with him, and I'm unsure as to when his eyes opened.

If the baby's eyes are open then he should be able to start eating soft food, like baby food, cooked peas etc .... adding that to the baby's diet will help provide more nutrition. You can also thicken the formula a bit with baby cereal.

Do you have more then 1 baby?
Soy milk? That definitely is not ok ...... organic soy infant formula is one of several infant formations recommended ..... the kitten milk replacer etc are supposed to be better

Baby can never be let go or it will die. It will need to be introed to pet rats and kept as a pet by an experienced rat owner (baby will need to be introed to at least 1 same sex weaned baby rat).

I joined a closed group on Facebook that specializes in taking care of and giving advice on baby rats and mice, and the one person in particular I've been talking to on there says that if he's in a tank set up to mimic the wild, with a place to hide and minimal interaction, his instincts should kick in just fine once he's released. They also said that soy milk does not contain enough nutrients, but otherwise did not rule it out as a milk substitute. They said formula or kmr would be ideal, but they did not say that soy milk was not okay. Besides, this little guy's instincts seem pretty intact - he's afraid of loud noises and fast movements, and he burrows into the hay.

I'm going to wait before adding solid foods, and when I do, I've been told milk soaked cereal is best, so that he learns to eat food, but still gets the milk.

As I said before, I only have the one. His brother passed a couple nights ago. I also live in a very small town, so finding an experience rat owner to take on this baby is nigh impossible.

The fact that it does not contain the neutrients the baby requires is why it is not ok to feed it .... that is the reason why the baby needs to be fed a formula designed for infants.

Of course the baby behaves like that .... rats are social and live in huge family groups and babies normally have constant interaction from mom and siblings ...... of course a terrified baby all by itself is going to hide, any pet baby rat would. ....... The behaviour is not an indication of instincts other then you hide when you are frightened. It in no way indicates that this baby will be able to survive .... and I can assure you that the baby will have absolutely no chance of survival if not kept as a pet.
Hopefully an experienced pet rat owner can be found soon

Soy milk is known as a nutritious milk substitute for people with dairy allergies. I will also begin weaning him soon, so he'll get nutrients from other things before long, anyway.

I agree. Of course he does. His brother didn't, but of course the survivor does. He's scared and alone. I was by no means using those behaviours as sole justification or validation of release, and if you misunderstood, I apologize for not being more clear. However, I've been speaking with a woman experienced in rehabilitation and release of wild rats and mice, and she believes this is the way to go.

I very much appreciate the help you've given me, so forgive me if this sounds unkind, but one on one with a single person leaves less room for misinterpretation, and I feel I must choose the person with not only a name and a face, but experience specifically in this area.

Is it possible to have your contact info to pass on re your request for someone to adopt the baby. You could message it to me instead of publicly posting