Help baby wild rat

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Howie will not survive if released.
He will be alone and not know how to survive etc

maybe someone else will take him, to socialize and bond with another baby
I would but imagine that I m too far away ....
Maybe mainely rat rescue would know of someone
 
I'm working hard on finding a place for Howie. I'm in Baltimore...

Would've thought I was pouring lava on the poor thing the way it was acting when I gave it an oil bath.... Could not ever be a bath.... Unfortunately I feel like I'm gonna have to do this daily for a few days. Howie has A LOT of bugs....
 
I wish I was closer and could help! Howie is adorable!!! He deserves a lot of love. Wouldn't it be a good idea to handle him a lot at this age to get him used to human touch?
 
Steph I keep forgetting that you are in MD. I am from Maryland, but go to school in South Carolina. What rescue did you use when you got your first two rats?
 
GRatitude Rat Rescue it's in Pylesville, MD.
Yea I guess I'm gonna have to start handling it more if it's not gonna be able to be released...
 
Don't know if you guys can see all the little specs on the towel. But those are dead bugs. So it looks like the oil bath helped to kill a lot of bugs. Howie won't come out of his/her box for a wet rat photo op. But when I get home tonight he/she is getting another oil bath and these towels are getting changed out.
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Once all these bugs are gone Howie is getting a real bath to get rid of all the oil in his/her fur.
I'm already falling in love with him/her..... But I have no way to socialize him/her with other baby rats... [emoji31]
 
Cleaning him/her-self after oil bath #2. Gotta get rid of all these bugs.
Bonding attempt #1 was a failure... Glad I wore gloves..... Teeth are so little it probably wouldn't have hurt much. But still waiting to make sure he/she isn't sick... I'll try again on a day where he/she isn't being tortured with baths...
View attachment 1504
 
Walked in this morning to find Howie standing on top of his/her box with his/her nose bowed down touching the box and his/her butt sticking up and tail hanging over the edge of the box dangling but vibrating. I read that the tail thing meant they were agitated... But I don't know if that applies to Howie since he/she is so young....
As soon as I opened the cage he/she jumped off and went back into his/her box.

Don't know if he/she has been eating much.... Still leaving little poops... But maybe he/she just ate that much the first day cuz he/she was starving...
 
Make sure you keep Howie nice and warm. With his coat oiled he has no insulation. I'm glad to see he is still with you. Are his eyes open? What are you feeding him these days?
 
He has one eye open... The other is still closed. I think it's injured.
And he's still eating soy based baby formula.... Gonna stop by the store today and pick up baby oatmeal or something to mix in with it try and start making the switch to solid food. I'm gonna put a heating pad under the cage today. Hopefully that will help.
 
Only use a heating pad if he is able to get away from the heat.
Be very careful, a vet burned my little girl to death using heat during surgery.

If you have not done so already, get the baby a small stuffed animal to snuggle with that does not contain anything that would harm him if he chews it (ex small beads, or pieces)

Please keep up the syringe feeding even after baby starts eating solids ... babies nurse for weeks after starting to eat solids.

Glad baby is still doing well.
All the best with the socializing .... it is essential to do that as much as possible, starting as young as possible
You really need to be cuddling him most of the time ... for needed socialization, and because he is all alone.
Babies all alone can die without love and contact
 
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GAWD - those bugs are discusting! Any idea what kind they were?

Poor littly oily Howie - but better than bugs.:panic: LoL!
 
Heating pad is only under half of the cage. And no way it's gonna get hot enough to burn. Through glass and 4 layers of towel.
Been trying to cuddle but he/she is terrified of me... But I'm doing my best. And have a little stuffed frog in there that was a cat toy.

Your poor girl SQ I'm so sorry that's awful.... [emoji33]

No idea what kind of bugs... But we've gotten kid of most of them..
 
People often advise putting on two shirts, one over the other and putting the rat on you, between the shirts
to socialize rats, get them used to you and your smell
Don't know how that would work with Howie where s/he is so small

If it were me, I'd probably put the baby in a soft pouch (or in my bra) under my shirt, to get used to my smell, heart beat etc
but you might get bitten or scratched

lilspaz68 and Jorats might have some good suggestions
 
Yea I'm really concerned about getting bitten or scratched... I have health care but I don't want to have to use it...
 
Is it at all possible to find a rescue with a nursing mama to raise him?
He will be less frightened with other babies
and the longer you wait to socialize him/the older he is, the worse/harder it will get
 
I used treats to get my Tesla to warm up to me. He was a feeder rat, and terrified of humans. I used the treats to build trust, and so he would associate positive things with seeing me. It worked, and now he is a timid cuddler! I'm sure people could suggest a healthy treat for a baby...
 
I haven't been able to find anyone yet that could take him/her in with a mama. We're doing some after bath time cuddling. There doesn't seem to be fear of my scent.... Just prey fear of being trapped and "grabbed"....
Thanks for all the help SQ.
 

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