# Rat Rescue



## TigerCoastal (Aug 8, 2010)

Hey guys i know i am going to have some hung me for this one, but my mrs was just out going through all the velvet rats to check for pattern/color to see if there are any that she want to keep and found one that was on the verge of death from being abandoned, the mother had walked over it a few times and it had no response so my mrs got it out and it felt really cold so she has warmed it up, but she wants to know what kind of milk to feed it and how often to try get its strength back up to get it to survive? She didnt like my solution of feed it to a snake which was my first response so any comments will be directed her way :lol::shock:
Cheers


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## Wally (Aug 8, 2010)

I like your solution.


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## byron_moses (Aug 8, 2010)

yeah mine would be co2 will fix it up no problems


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## JAS101 (Aug 8, 2010)

were they bred for snake food ? if yes then it should be snake food and the others reguardless of patterns/colours . i dont think your snakes will care if the rat has a black head and white all over the body [ if u get my drift ]


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## relyt (Aug 8, 2010)

i fed 2 baby rats that lost their mum in the heat and were too cute to kill one time, they were about 2 weeks old with eyes open and walking around, i just fed them that cat milk or pet milk you buy from the supermarket, they loved it.


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## Kristy_07 (Aug 8, 2010)

How old is the bub?


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## python78 (Aug 8, 2010)

There is a milk powder you can buy from the vet or stock feed place that I have used for a joey and some lambs.
she can try a bit of luke warm water from a dropper so it doesnt get too dehydrated.
I dont know much about rats but would a different female rat that also has young accept it?


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## jazdan (Aug 8, 2010)

soy baby formula via A VERY TINY tube ask at vet and ya should be able to feel milk in belly but between 2-4 hrs 
hope this helps lol


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## TigerCoastal (Aug 8, 2010)

Python78 i only have one other female that is lactating at the moment and i tried to put it in with her and she attacked it that was my first thought.

Kristy the bubs are just on 2 weeks old, eyes have opened in the last day or so.

ZOOJAS they are for snake food, but we are also having a bit of fun trying to breed something that we like the look of while we are at it


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## cris (Aug 9, 2010)

Just use the mother rats milk. Also get it to a vet ASAP for a check up.


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## redbellybite (Aug 9, 2010)

cris said:


> Just use the mother rats milk. Also get it to a vet ASAP for a check up.


BAHAHAHAAAA sorry all life is precious I know ....its snake food  give the wifey an older rattie thats already eating solids


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## Kristy_07 (Aug 9, 2010)

He hasn't said how old it is... if it's 3 weeks old or there abouts it'll be fine on pet/soy milk, kitten and baby food, and put solids out for it so it will start to chew and wean itself. 

cris, how is he going to milk the mother rat?


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## redbellybite (Aug 9, 2010)

Kristy_07 said:


> He hasn't said how old it is... if it's 3 weeks old or there abouts it'll be fine on pet/soy milk, kitten and baby food, and put solids out for it so it will start to chew and wean itself.
> 
> cris, how is he going to milk the mother rat?


Kristy the bubs are just on 2 weeks old, eyes have opened in the last day or so.

Is what he said in his last post see up there ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


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## Kristy_07 (Aug 9, 2010)

Oh sorry - I missed that one! Thanks rbb!

If you're desperate to keep it going, feed it the soy/pet milk for a week with an eye dropper. Offer the dropper 3-4 times a day. By 3 weeks they should be hopping around on their own a bit and will start to chew on solids. Put a dish of milk out as well, so that they learn to starting lapping as soon as possible.

Or, if it's all too hard, and they are for snake food anyway.... :shock:


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## wood_nymph (Aug 9, 2010)

don't forget at that age you need to help them poo and wee- mum would usually lick their bums to make them do their biz before and after meals- to simulate this just rub them with a tissue with warm water on it. that said i've never been able to nurse any abandon babies much further then a few days, i've only bred pet rats before and even i have come to the conclusion that if mum have abandon then its' for a reason and best to give them a quick end


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## FAY (Aug 9, 2010)

Other rat mums will adopt. Mice won't, but rats will.


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## JAS101 (Aug 9, 2010)

FAY said:


> Other rat mums will adopt. Mice won't, but rats will.


 thats interesting to know


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## Kristy_07 (Aug 9, 2010)

FAY said:


> Other rat mums will adopt. Mice won't, but rats will.


 
It's true sometimes, Fay, but not every time. I think he already said he'd tried to put with his other lactating female and she'd attacked it. Rats will often adopt newborns (pinkies) of other litters, but I never managed to have any mums adopt an older bub.

If your wife's prepared to put in a week's worth of feeding, cleaning, etc, it should be okay on it's own by the 3 week mark.


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## FAY (Aug 9, 2010)

That is probably true Kristy. This pup may have been rejected as it could be sick, therefore no mum will adopt it.Animals seem to sense these things.


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## redbellybite (Aug 9, 2010)

Faysee I had a pet mouse that took on a rat pinkie her bubs were at the fuzzy stage ,but this rat was a pinkie ,,,by the time she was two weeks old she was bigger then her adopted mother ..we had that rat as a pet for 4 years ..called her 'Lucky' she died of a tumour


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## FAY (Aug 9, 2010)

hahaha rbb...there are always exceptions to the rule!!

Did you ever see that doco about a lion adopting a gazelle?


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## TigerCoastal (Aug 9, 2010)

thanks guys we got some pet milk and have been getting a little bit into him, but havnt seen alot of improvement so i am guessing that it was abandoned for a reason. The mother that was raising it stole the litter off her tub mate while she already had a litter, so my first thought was that she had taken on to much with the 2 litters but the rest of them are doing fine. So if there isnt any improvement by tomorrow i will be euthing it to put it out of its misery.


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## raaaa (Aug 26, 2010)

small animal milk powder should be able to get it from your local pet shop should be getting 2-5 mills every 2 hours feed with a syringe and if your licky your pet shop may have rat teats...


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