what to do with live rat pup?

so I offered my bp Eli a live rat pup today, but he apparently wasn't interested, which I'm not too concerned about. however, I now have a live rat pup in a critter cage I bought a while ago to keep Eli in while cleaning, and I'm wondering how long I can keep it in there. should I try offering later tonight when it's darker or tomorrow? will the rat pup still be okay by them without food or water?


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Depending on how old the rat pup is it isn't going to live long without food and water and may or may not be able to feed itself. Are the eyes open? A little bit of water from an eye dropper will help it live longer.

Sounds like you need another snake!:)

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Originally Posted by piedlover79

Depending on how old the rat pup is it isn't going to live long without food and water and may or may not be able to feed itself. Are the eyes open? A little bit of water from an eye dropper will help it live longer.

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His eyes are closed, I might be able to find an eye dropper. is there anything I can feed him with out going out and buying rat food?

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Originally Posted by rlditmars

Sounds like you need another snake!:)

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lol in a few months time I plan to!

I really don't want to have to get rid of the guy so hopefully he'll eat later

I had to look it up a few weeks ago.

I don't have details on rats, but I was able to save two baby mice (they had fur, but mostly closed eyes - slits?). These guys are thriving now. Try some puppy or kitten formula, or try "milk" out of soaked oats. I used raw goat's milk - but you may not have that.

A tiny artist's paint brush may be better accepted for delivery than a dropper or spoon. Be Careful! You do not want any fluids to touch the nose - approach from under the chin. This may sound obvious, but my eyesight sucks, and I needed some trial and error, plus a magnifying glass to get that right.

Keep temps up. I actually kept mine for a few days in the heated snake enclosure in a ventilated tupperware type container. (Weird, yeah, but the snake wasn't interested.)

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...al+dislocation

I had this happen. I eventually felt bad and used a dropper to feed it baby formula. I now have a pet rat named Frankie. Cow milk will kill it. Goat or human milk, or kitten formula. I gave him mushy dog food till I could get rat food.

I always have a canister of kitten milk replacement on hand since I have a couple pet rodents. It started with a couple feeders impressing the heck out of me by facing down my BP until she freaked out and wouldn't take them, and I found out I really enjoy having pet rodents around lol. If you want it to live more than overnight you're going to need to look up a feeding schedule and the appropriate temp to keep it at though, babies that don't have their eyes opened yet can be pretty sensitive.

I got 2 boas who double as garbage disposals for my BP.....