About Becky Twogood Expertise I can answer questions about fancy rats, i.e what type they are (hooded, rex, capped), breeding, what they eat, toys, cages, propper bedding, and general care. I can help to identify common rat ailments, however, as I am not a vetranarian, I can not answer indepth medical questions. I will answer all questions to the best of my abilities.
Experience I have been breeding fancy rats for the past 5 years, and raising them for 12 years. I have about 30 rats, give or take a few, some for breeding, but mostly Rescues. I say give or take a few because I do alot of rescueing, and I have several rats in and out, quite often, BUT I know them all by name :0)
Question Hello, I just rescued a small baby rat (I think it is a rat because it is larger than a baby mouse, has sparse dark gray hair and it has not opened its eyes yet.) I am currently feeding it room-temperature skim milk, which is all I had in the house. It doesn't appear to be hurt externally. Please advise what needs to be fed to it and how to care for it.
Thank you,
Kelly
Answer Hello.
First, you need to stop with the milk, rats are lactose intolerant, and you could cause it to become dehydrated because of diarrhea.But you did what you had to do at first :0) Good for you.
You can get kitten milk at walmart or a pet store. The baby will need to be feed once every 1 1/2 hours up to no longer than 2 hours. It also will need to be kept warm. The BEST way to do this is by caring it around in your shirt in a thin washcloth against your skin. I carry mine on my chest. That is the best way, as not only are you giving it warmth, but a body and a heart beat. All babies need that connection. For at night, put the baby in a small plastic box/tub with lots of fluffy soft wash cloths and put the box on a heating pad set at med. temp.
Every time you feed the baby, you will need to take a warm wet cloth to the bottom to make it potty and poop. It will not be able to go on it's own.
This is basically all you need to do. It will take at least 2-3 weeks of this, until it is weaned. I hope it survives, but the outlook is not good.
Good luck to you, and your baby. If you have any more questions, please ask, I am more than happy to answer :0)
Becky
