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  1. #1
    BPnet Veteran slartibartfast's Avatar
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    More baby rat rearing questions

    So my friend brought over a litter of baby rats to feed off, and danged if they aren't the cutest things ever. So perfectly velvety soft, and such tiny little ears and footsies and whiskers and...well, you get the point.

    I've previously been feeding mice of an equivalent size, which aren't nearly as cute and which caused me much less consternation.

    Apparently the snakies didn't think the rats were quite as succulent as they looked, so at the end of the day I have two very active crawlers on my hands, and I can't bring myself to put them down.

    They are quite furry, with whiskers and teeth present but eyes not yet open. If they were kittens, I'd say the eyes would be opening shortly. Both appear black with white tuxedos (bellies, gloves, and tail tips) and I believe they are both female, so my imminent attachment is not a huge problem as I can always turn them into breeders if necessary.

    They are actively clambering all over my lap, sniffing and licking everything. Aside from puppy formula, which I can get when I go into work in a few hours, what else can I give them?

    Edit: A close inspection of the tubs shows there are in fact -three- of them.
    Last edited by slartibartfast; 01-18-2007 at 06:50 PM.
    ~Jess
    Balls: 2.10 normal, 1.0 pastel, 2.2 het albino, 1.0 50% het pied, 1.2 poss. axanthic, 1.0 pinstripe, 1.0 black pastel,
    Misc. snakes: 1.1 blood python, 1.0 Tarahumara Mountain kingsnake, 0.1 RTB
    0.0.1 Red-eyed casque-headed skink
    1.2 dogs (Lab, Catahoula, Papillon-X), 6.1 cats, 1.0 foster dog
    6.4.8 ASFs
    1.0 Very Patient Boyfriend

  2. #2
    rhac wrangler mlededee's Avatar
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    Re: More baby rat rearing questions

    i once added water to some rat feed and warmed it in the microwave--made a nice warm mush and fed that to a mouse that wasn't quite weaned yet and didn't get eaten. that worked great and i still have the little bugger. who knows what i'm going to do with her but what's another rodent to the collection?
    - Emily


  3. #3
    BPnet Veteran slartibartfast's Avatar
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    Re: More baby rat rearing questions

    I don't even have rat feed...I don't house any of the little boogers; the snakes do that. :-P

    In a couple of hours I'll have access to puppy and kitten formula and a wide range of canned cat and dog foods. Until then...nothing.

    How soon should I expect their eyes to open? When will they be self-sufficient?
    ~Jess
    Balls: 2.10 normal, 1.0 pastel, 2.2 het albino, 1.0 50% het pied, 1.2 poss. axanthic, 1.0 pinstripe, 1.0 black pastel,
    Misc. snakes: 1.1 blood python, 1.0 Tarahumara Mountain kingsnake, 0.1 RTB
    0.0.1 Red-eyed casque-headed skink
    1.2 dogs (Lab, Catahoula, Papillon-X), 6.1 cats, 1.0 foster dog
    6.4.8 ASFs
    1.0 Very Patient Boyfriend

  4. #4
    BPnet Veteran frankykeno's Avatar
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    Re: More baby rat rearing questions

    If there eyes are still closed and they've got that velvety type coat and are sort of belly crawling around they are fuzzies. They should become pups at about 14 to 15 days old (they are fuzzies from about day 8 to day 14). Their ears will become fully upright, their coat will come in completely and their eyes will be open by the pup stage. Most baby rats will continue to nurse even though by day 20 they are usually eating mom's food and using her water bottle. Some will start trying food much earlier than this of course. I wean our pups at about day 35 or thereabouts but I know some folks are weaning them a fair bit before that and they do seem to do okay.

    I'd try kitten formula for them and soft, easily digestible foods. Make sure they are pooping okay (if not wipe their butts with a soft warm cloth to encourage it but they probably are doing that just fine by themself by now). I don't know about others but whenever I've had a very unyoung, unweaned animal to care for I swear by the pure meat, pureed human baby foods. They seem to love them and have no problems with digestion. Alternately cooked chicken hearts which are super soft can provide them with tons of protien. Avoid too much greens as they can cause the runs. Multi-grain Cheerios are a great hard but not too hard cereal that all my young unweaned rats adore. Raisins are another huge fav with that age group in the colony.

    Big thing is to make sure they are kept warm as they aren't fully furred yet and will be missing their mother's body heat. If they have to produce too much of their own heat through shivering it tends to burn a heck of a lot of calories they need for grow and development.
    ~~Joanna~~

  5. #5
    BPnet Veteran Alice's Avatar
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    Re: More baby rat rearing questions

    Joanna, you always have such good advice. Thanks for all your rattie postings!




    Alice

  6. #6
    BPnet Veteran slartibartfast's Avatar
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    Re: More baby rat rearing questions

    Cool beans, thanks girls.

    Sounds much like kittens as far as the whole "feed every few hours, stimulate, provide heat source" stuff...quite familiar with that drill . I dug up a few websites during down time tonight, and it looks like puppy formula is a better nutritional balance for them, so that's what they're getting.

    They are now 18 hours off of mom and still very active and warm and wiggly so hopefully they'll make it.
    ~Jess
    Balls: 2.10 normal, 1.0 pastel, 2.2 het albino, 1.0 50% het pied, 1.2 poss. axanthic, 1.0 pinstripe, 1.0 black pastel,
    Misc. snakes: 1.1 blood python, 1.0 Tarahumara Mountain kingsnake, 0.1 RTB
    0.0.1 Red-eyed casque-headed skink
    1.2 dogs (Lab, Catahoula, Papillon-X), 6.1 cats, 1.0 foster dog
    6.4.8 ASFs
    1.0 Very Patient Boyfriend

  7. #7
    BPnet Veteran frankykeno's Avatar
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    Re: More baby rat rearing questions

    Thanks Alice, I just find the rat colony as fascinating as the snake collection really. Jess, they should do fine. Rats are incredibly hardy usually. I'm sure in a matter of days they will be pups and running around all over the place. Once they are bigger, if you want a laugh, hard boil an egg and give it to them whole (shell and all)....lots of rat fun though it makes a gawd awful mess! Bits of stale bread dipped in olive oil are a great hand taming treat as are chocolate chips (in moderation of course). Leftover cooked spaghetti provides tons of fun and stimulation.

    Can't remember if I've posted it lately but this site is great for showing you what human foods are appropriate for rats. One of the side benefits of rats is they are great for using up those kitchen scraps that would otherwise end up in your garbage can. Keep them fit though, too many treats make for obese rats and that's just as bad for their health as it is for ours.

    http://www.ratnutrition.com/suppleme...forbiddenfoods
    ~~Joanna~~

  8. #8
    BPnet Veteran Alice's Avatar
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    Re: More baby rat rearing questions

    Good link Joanna! Thanks



    Alice

  9. #9
    BPnet Veteran slartibartfast's Avatar
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    Re: More baby rat rearing questions

    Update: We have eyes!

    Everybody's eyelids are separating. I'm feeding them 0.5 - 0.7mls of puppy formula every 3-5 hours. One has been notably harder to get to eat and was having some skin tenting, but it was really eager this last feeding so hopefully will do better. They're all active...so cute watching them try to groom themselves without falling over. Also, now that they can see a little they've been much more commited to hiding themselves in the bedding when I open the lid.

    Today I also offered bread sopped in formula in a little dish. We used this with great success with some wild baby bunnies years ago. I have not seen anybody eat it yet though...
    ~Jess
    Balls: 2.10 normal, 1.0 pastel, 2.2 het albino, 1.0 50% het pied, 1.2 poss. axanthic, 1.0 pinstripe, 1.0 black pastel,
    Misc. snakes: 1.1 blood python, 1.0 Tarahumara Mountain kingsnake, 0.1 RTB
    0.0.1 Red-eyed casque-headed skink
    1.2 dogs (Lab, Catahoula, Papillon-X), 6.1 cats, 1.0 foster dog
    6.4.8 ASFs
    1.0 Very Patient Boyfriend

  10. #10
    BPnet Veteran frankykeno's Avatar
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    Re: More baby rat rearing questions

    If you have an old cardboard shoebox or something like that around you can put a few entrance holes in it and they'll love it for a place to go snuggle and rest (plus it will help somewhat to trap their combined body heat). It will get messy and have to be replaced but rats like "hides" too. Sounds like they are doing beautifully! Pics please! LOL
    ~~Joanna~~

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