Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just got a litter of six baby rats today... oh boy is this going to be a challenge. They're around ten days old; young enough to need feedings every three hours, but old enough to be squirmy and uncooperative!

I've just started rehydrating, I'll start with diluted KMR tomorrow morning. I don't suppose any of you have raised rats before? Here's hoping they last through the night.

Here's a link just in case the picture doesn't show.

Ok, over 24 hours later and all six are still alive. I ended up giving them esbilac puppy formula, feedings about every two hours (once at night) of about .5 ccs at a time. Based on their weight they should be taking twice as much, but they're just not interested after .5 ccs. They each lost about a gram since yesterday, but they seem perky and as healthy as can be expected. More updates and pictures are forthcoming...

Esbilac is wonderful! A mammal usually takes 5% of their body weight in formula. So if you have a 100 gram squirrel they get 5 cc's of formula. I use a 1 cc syringe to avoid asperating them at that small a size. Every one of the squirrels I have worked with so far loses a few grams when they first come in.. possibly stress. But if you keep them on that formula probably more like every three hours and if their umbelical cord has fallen off they don't require night feedings About 6 feedings a day I'm guessing. If they don't eat for me sometimes I give them a potty break and make them go to the bathroom.. making room I suppose. I have two 50 gram squirrels at the moment and they both chug down their 3cc's a piece. Those rats sure are cute. Good luck and enjoy!

What strength are you using as far as formula? I start with lactated ringers usually if it is a brand new intake then go to 4-1 and gradually change them down to 2-1 over several days. I also use BioPlasma which is essential cell salts that seems to help them gain a lot of weight they get that once daily.

Again... enjoy.

Glad they are doing well....can honestly say, I have never done rats....good luck with them!

Joker
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All the babies are doing pretty well, eyes open, scurrying around, and already eating on their own! They are about two and a half weeks old, and they seem to develop faster than domestic rats (yes, I keep pet rats )

They first came to me all wighing 23 grams. The weights dropped to 21-22 as they adjusted to the formula, and now the weights are 21, 21, 23, 24, 24, 25. Hopefully the two littlest ones will catch up soon; they were the last to open their eyes, and therefor the last to start on solid food.

I was giving them Esbilac diluted half-and-half with RS to start with. For the next couple of days I used 3/4 formula and 1/4 RS. I continued using that strength poured over solid food (cereal, kitten food, etc.) to get them used to eating on their own. I've just started giving them full-strength formula poured over solid food, and a separate dish of water. They really seem to be stressed by handfeeding, so as long as they're all eating on their own and nobody loses weight, I've stopped handfeedings.

These guys are very robust in comparison to other animals... they develop quickly, are suprisingly self-sufficient, and just give the impression that they have no plans of giving up. Stay tuned for more updates...

Are these common wild rats? Or are they river rats? Shaz

They look like muskrat pups.. more hair on tails though. These pups are going to get big arent they.. River rats are huge..about the adult size as a pouched rat. Shaz

I had an experieance with river rats a long time ago. I love rats.but these buggers were at least two feat tall standing. I was chased once, and the coop was infested they killed all of the chickens and rabbits in there. I guess I was lead to believe that rats were bad, but at a young age I handled a baby river rat pup. My mother was afraid that I would get rabies...least worry huh.. I deal in feeder /common rats, dumbos/and fancies..

The babies are four weeks old now, all healthy, hyper, and bouncing around. A couple of them managed to escape in between cage cleaning, luckily I was able to find and catch them. They're definitely norway rats, although they seem to develop faster than the domestic norway rats I am familiar with. They'll be released next weekend, still trying to find a good place.

Why do you spend your valuable time and resources on an exotic species that has caused so many problems. I understand that we have an obligation to all animals, but wouldn't it be better to humanely euthanize these pests? We have a huge problem with them in our outdoor pens and euthanize them once we live trap them. If they are too viscious, which they often are, its is a pellet to the head. short, quick, and painless. interested in other viewpoints. please share.

oh, and finding a release site shouldn't be hard. They'll do well just about anywhere. but please keep them far from human structures, they'll just die anyways. In an open field or something, they can at least feed a raptor or coyote.

The fact that I am a fan of pet rats has admittedly affected my decision to do the best I can with these wild babies. As was already mentioned, they will at least play their part in the food chain. The rehab clinic I work at has its share of rodent problems, so the release site was carefully chosen. I plan to release them in a park that is "wild" enough for them to exist with minimal human interaction, but they can still benefit from the food left from picnics and visitors to the park.