Occasionally you will
find babies who have lost their mom.
The best thing to do is to try and find another nursing
female with babies the same age and a small family of her
own so she can accept the foster babies. If you do have
another mom able to accept the orphans, take her out, take
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This mouse (the light one) was fosterd
onto a rat two days after her mom died.
The rat just hapened to have this litter
born the same day as the mouse. The
baby rats considered her their sibling.
Photo ©1998 Craig Robbins |
all the babies and rub them all together in your hands so
they all smell the same or place the new babies in with the
others and roll them around and leave for a few minutes or
rub a bit of soiled litter on the new babies. If you are
unable to find a foster mom (you can put orphan mice on a
nursing rat mom and vice versa; rats are excellent mothers
and will nurse about anything), then you can try feeding
them yourself. However, your chances of successfully raising
newborns are not good. If you do try to nurse these little
guys yourself, you will need to feed them EVERY 2 hours, so
be prepared for some sleepless nights.
Formula
As far as a formula to use, many people have used different ones to
their advantage. Whole, raw, fresh goat milk; KMR® (Kitten Milk
Replacer); Esbilac® (puppy formula); Enfamil (without iron); or
Soyalac human formula have all been used. The powdered formula is
usually used rather than the liquid as you can mix up a fresh batch
each day and the powder will last longer. The liquid formulas have to
be used within 3 days after opening. Lambert Kay™ makes a Mother’s
Helper™ puppy formula that can also be used for rats and other
orphan babies.
Rat & Mouse Milk Facts
RATS MICE
Fat......... 13.0% ... 12.1%
Protein...... 9.7% .... 9.0%
Lactose...... 3.2% .... 3.2%
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Nursing
A baby bird feeding syringe with a fine curved tip or a very small
doll nursing bottle will work as a nurser. You can also use a piece
of absorbent string, acting like a wick from bottle to baby, for the
very small ones until they are big enough to grasp the bottle tip
itself. Another idea is to take a piece of small plastic tubing
(strip the plastic tubing off a piece of wire—22 or 24 gague for
mice; 14 to 20 gague for rats) about ½ to 1 inch long. You can then
insert this tubing into your syringe or nipple of a nurser bottle.
Four Paws® makes an Easy Feeder™ Hand Feeding Syringe For Small
Animals that has two syringes in the pack—one with a nipple tip
and one with a tapered tip. The tapered tip syringe has an opening
equivalent to a size 12–14 gague wire tubing. The baby bird feeding
syringe has a tip equivalent to a 22 gague wire tubing. Also, you
can get a gluing tip from a hobby/beauty supply store. Heat up the
tip and slip it on the syringe. This will “glue” it to the syringe.
Feed small amounts at each feeding, being careful not to get
any in their lungs (if you see milk bubbling from their
nose, it’s an indication some is getting into their
lungs). Always feed warm (not hot or cold) formula to your
babies.
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You can tell when their tummies are full by the
white patch in the left middle of their bellies (do not
overfeed). It will take about five minutes to feed each
one.
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. . . you will need to feed them EVERY 2 hours, so
be prepared for some sleepless nights. |
Don’t be discouraged if they appear smaller than others
their age. This is common with hand-raised babies. Sometimes
they will even lose their hair for a short time, but it will
eventually grow back.
Care
After you feed each baby, they will need you to massage
their abdomen and rectal area with a warm, damp cloth to
stimulate them to urinate and pass solid wastes. You will
need to do this until they are eliminating on their own.
Remember to always handle these guys carefully as they are
very small.
It is very important to keep these little guys warm at all
times. Many people use the plastic critter carriers lined
with a towel and either a hot water bottle under the towel
or an electric heating pad (set on the lowest setting) with
the carrier placed on it. (The temperature of the nest
should be between 75°F (24°C) and 90°F (32°C).) This makes it easy
to take them with you to work or school to feed them on
their schedule.
Diarrhea
Diarrhea is one problem you may encounter when feeding these
small rodents. The main cause is overfeeding. Another cause
can be coccidiosis—a one-celled internal parasite that
can be diagnosed by your veterinarian. Dehydration occurs
with diarrhea no matter what the cause and can kill the
babies if not treated promptly. You will need to stop giving
all milk to your orphans and replace it with the same amount
of electrolyte solution for human infants. Milk will
irritate the digestive tract and prolong the diarrhea. Your
babies will need, not only the fluids from the electrolyte
solution, but also the salts and chemicals it contains. It
will often be necessary to also give a few drops of
kaolin-pectin every 2 hours to help halt the diarrhea.
Weaning
Once the babies open their eyes, you can start adding dry
baby cereal to their formula (make sure it will pass through
the tip of the nurser) as well as cutting down on the
nightly feedings. You can start to wean them off the bottle
and onto a dish when they are about 3 weeks old. Dip your
finger in the gruel mixture and let them lick it off your
fingers. Decrease the amount of bottle feedings and give
their meal in a small dish three to four times a day. You
can start to add different things like oatmeal, bread, lab
block powder, and baby food to their mixture. Also by this
time, they will start to nibble on bits of apple, carrot,
fruits, seeds, etc. Make sure fresh water is also available
at all times as they will start to drink from a bottle. Give
fresh meals each time, taking out any uneaten foods. You
will also need to clean them up after they eat as they are
very messy eaters. They can lose their coats and go bald
temporarily if they are left dirty.
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With lots of love and a proper diet, your babies will grow up to match their
relatives in size (they will outmatch them in temperament though!). |
If your babies made it this far, you will have some
exceptionally wonderful pets as they see you as mom and have
strongly bonded with you. You should feel very proud in
raising these very difficult babies! With lots of love and a
proper diet, your babies will grow up to match their
relatives in size (they will outmatch them in temperament
though!).
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