1-2wk old baby rat.... help?

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Dawn O

Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2019
Messages
8
Location
Vegas
So a co-worker brought in this poor little “feeder” baby rat.
I took him to my vet but they said his odds are not good.
I guess there’s a lot of issues with “feeder” rats, (inbreeding & illness)
I really want this little guy to make it.
I’m keeping him warm.
Feeding him Esilmac every 3-4hrs.
He weighs 3.21g
I rub his tiny belly but nothing so far.
He does squeak every so often.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
You have to stimulate him to poo and pee. Wet a cotton ball with warm water, and rub it like a mom licking his private parts.
 
Thank you Dena,
for such a little guy he’s very spunky!
When I try to rub his belly he wrestles with me.... lol
 
Can you post a pic so we can age your wee one? 2 weeks is fully furred and eyes should be open or opening soon. As soon as the eyes open soft solid food can be introduced which improves his/her chance for survival. IF the weight is truly 3.21 grams then this is lower than most weights at birth. Are you sure you don't have a mouse instead of a rat?
 
And if it's two weeks, I don't think you have to stimulate it to potty.

Yeah at that age, the difference between mice and rats is really evident. Mice will have fur and eyes open right around a week, and rats will have fur, but eyes closed at a week. But mice are around the size of newborn rats still, at almost 2 weeks. Mice will start hopping (like super hyped up hopping) around 2-3 weeks. Rats are fast at that age, but still clumsy. A rat will have a fatter body. More "dumpy" at that age.

Please post a pic. It also helps if you can post a full body, and one of you holding it in your hand for comparison. I was half asleep when I answered last night, so I'm sorry for such a short answer. LOL
 
Please post a picture so lilspaz68 can tell if it is a baby rat and also age

If the baby is younger then 2 weeks you need to try to find a nursing mama with litter to carefully add the baby to (shelters, rescues, stores, Kijiji social media, etc) as otherwise it has almost no chance of survival
please see the info on orphans in the Reference Thread https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/
 
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If it's a two week old mouse, you can start soaking oxbow young rat and mouse food in water, or formula, and putting it in a shallow dish in it's cage. I'd recommend you get a bin cage, or tank (the more ventilation, the better) asap. He will climb the towel, and be out of a box really quick.
 
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If I'm correct those are two week old mice ! They look a lot like your lil one..
 
The tail to body ratio is kinda indicative of mouse. He is seriously starving though. He also looks maybe a little dehydrated. You can give him baby pedialite. I usually get the plain unflavored one. I poured little cups of it, and froze it for later, and used some that I didn't freeze. It will only stay good for about 48 hours after opened.

How are you feeding him? I found it really difficult to syringe feed, and it's extremely easy to drown them, or for them to aspirate. So I held mine in my fist, with their head poking out the top of my hand, and dropped milk into the crack of one of my fingers, and they would suck it out of the crack. I had to go extremely slow, so they didn't choke. I fed every 2-3 hours, and I warmed the milk with hot tap water, and swirled it until it was just barely not cold anymore (I made up 2 ounces at a time in an infant bottle and stored it in the fridge. It keeps for I think 48 hours), I would also put a drop at a time on my finger tip and let them lock it off. Also, you can mix baby cereal in and make it really thin, and feed that. When done, rub their belly, in a head to tail motion, the then with a cotton ball dipped in warm water, wipe their faces, and then make them potty. Make sure he is really dry before you put him up. You can put part of his cage on a heating pad set on low. Put a towel between cage and heating pad. Lilspaz may have better advice.
 
Dena, you are an Angel!
The syringe I got from my vet,
they rigged with a tiny I.V. tip but he’s so squirmy.
I ordered some newborn squirrel nipples but they may not arrive until tomorrow.
I have the Pedilyte. Will do that now.
I really hope he makes it. He’s such a fighter.
 
So, he’s at my Vet’s now to get 24hr care.
They have a rodent specialist.
I’ll keep you all updated on “Biggie Smalls” progress. Thank you again
 
Babies are not fed by syringe as the risk of formula going into lungs is too great …… they are fed using a tiny clean new paint brush that they can suck the formula off of.

Thank you for the update
Hopefully the baby will survive
The baby must be kept as a pet, it can not be released because it does not have a mama to teach it how to survive, it does not have the multigenerational family necessary for survival, and it does not have territory - so will die of be killed by mice already living where ever it is released

The baby's best chance at survival is to be put in with a nursing mama and carefully added to her litter
There is a group on facebook - deer mouse rescue and friends that may be able to help

https://www.peta.org/issues/wildlife/living-harmony-wildlife/house-mice/
https://www.humanegardener.com/agai...vKd2Vc_KYysajINW6lHjIdr5lKMnlM_mCDUPAFRQw3sxQ
 
Babies are not fed by syringe as the risk of formula going into lungs is too great …… they are fed using a tiny clean new paint brush that they can suck the formula off of.

Thank you for the update
Hopefully the baby will survive
The baby must be kept as a pet, it can not be released because it does not have a mama to teach it how to survive, it does not have the multigenerational family necessary for survival, and it does not have territory - so will die of be killed by mice already living where ever it is released

The baby's best chance at survival is to be put in with a nursing mama and carefully added to her litter
There is a group on facebook - deer mouse rescue and friends that may be able to help

https://www.peta.org/issues/wildlife/living-harmony-wildlife/house-mice/
https://www.humanegardener.com/agai...vKd2Vc_KYysajINW6lHjIdr5lKMnlM_mCDUPAFRQw3sxQ

Was going to ask if it could be a wild baby mouse of some sort.....

Also, please let us know what the vet says it is. Did he get put into a litter, or is someone caring for him?
 
“Biggie Smalls” passed away today.
He fought hard. The Vet said they were surprised because he was starting to open his eyes and was very mobile.
I have a hamster but this guy really touched me heart.
 
Awwwww! Poor baby! I'm sorry for your loss! At least you did what you could to help him. Mice are difficult.
 
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