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Here is how you can take care of an infant rat.. that is if the mom is not around to feed it or you have no other rat to foster it to.. It is always best to have a rat nursed by it's mother or another rat.
Ok, if your ready for alot of work and want to help this baby out this is what you could do.
* First this baby needs to be kept warm at all times because he/she don't have the rest of the litter to snuggle up to, to keep warm. A water bottle under a nice warm rag or piece of fleece will work good. Make sure he is covered up too.
You could also place rags in a container and place the container on top of a VCR or something that is always on that has heat, just make sure the baby don't get too hot..
* Next you want to feed that hungry tummy. Rats are lactoce intolarent and can't digest milk well. So the best formula for them is SOY infant formula that is made for human babies. You will need a small scringe or dropper to feed the baby, along with lots of toilette paper/ or cotton balls along with a small cup of hot water( for helping with the bathroom).
* Mix the baby formula up as directed on container,
and make sure it is warm, you don't want to burn your baby. Then suck it up with the scringe. You will find that the milk gets cold fast in the scringe( I have used a heater that I would set the dropper on for a couple of seconds and keep shaking the scringe to keep it mixed and warm) babies don't like cold milk either.
* First before you feed the baby you have to help the baby go to the bathroom, to do this use a small piece of toilette paper ( one square)and wet it with warm water, then rub the bum and genitals of the baby till they pee or poop. (very important) when they are very young they can't go them selves, so they need help.
* I usually wrap the baby in a piece of toilette paper so he/she is under control and not squirming around and it helps keep the baby warm while feeding..
* Place the dropper or scringe to the baby's mouth and let him/her lick at it/ if the baby don't lick yet and is very young then place one drop at a time till the baby sucks it down then add another drop. Please make sure you don't give to much at one time, ( you will know this if the milk comes out of the babies nose) if this happens and the baby is opening his mouth and looking like it can't breath rub him our her around the chest/rib cage area, making sure it is not on it's back and make sure you wipe it's nose and clear the milk away from it.. This can be pretty scary if you get to much milk in the baby's lungs, just be carefull.
* If the baby is young their bellies are transparent and you can see the milk filling up in them, once you see a white bar across the babies tummy you can stop feeding. Or when the baby is older he/she will turn away from the dropper or stop licking at it.. but when their young you will have to see if they are full, just be carefull you don't over feed.
* When your done feeding you will have to make the baby go to the bathroom/ pee poop again. Make sure you use warm water to help him/her go. Their bowel movement should be loose and greenish in color, it won't be firm till the baby starts eating solids.
* After your all done feeding give the baby a very GENTLE massage over it's belly and body, this will help the baby digest.
* Make sure the baby is clean and warm that no milk is all over it's body. You can use a wet warm piece of toilette paper and then make sure the baby is dry.
* Then when your finally done you can place the baby between the sheets on the water bottle, don't just put the baby on top of the sheet or rag, they like to be covered. Just make sure they are warm. You will know that your not keeping them warm enough if they feel cold to the touch..
** Good luck! it is alot of work. But rewarding to see the baby grow and know that it is you that is helping him/her grow.
**** Feed every 2-3 hrs 24 hours a day up to a week then you can feed them every 4 hrs and skip the night feedings. When they are 11- 14 days (once you see some teeth in their mouth) you can start introducing cat food to them or something like dry pasta. Just that cat food or dog food is nice and high in protein and has everything they need in them, which will give them a boost. Or you can feed them just about anything they will eat, there is a list on my rat care page, which foods to feed rats. ALSO introduce a water bottle, and let them start drinking water from that as well. You can have another water bottle that has the soy milk in it as well to make it easier on you, just make sure you change it every 2 hrs so it don't go bad.
You can wean the baby rat from soy milk once they reach 3 1/2 - 4 weeks.
There is a high chance that the baby may not make it if you had to feed it right from birth, baby rats have a higher chance of making it after they are 5 days old. The best thing is if you had another rat that had babies around the same time and that are around the same size or close to it, you could place your baby in with the rest of that litter and the mom may accept it and take it on like her own. Most moms are good at fostering anyone elses kids without a problem. If there is a problem or you think there may be, just take that mom out of her cage for awhile so that the rest of her babies can rub their scent on the new baby after 10 minutes or so they sould have crawled over the new baby and mixed their scent on it.. Put mom back in and leave it along. If she pushes him out of the nest she may pick him/her back up after awhile thinking it's her own, if it's been out of the nest for a long time and is not getting fed or she don't want him/her near her then take the baby out.
Good luck and if you need further help e-mail me, and I'll help ya out.
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