How to Care for Baby Rats

Since rats are not pets that like to live alone, it is likely that your pet rats will eventually have babies. The average rat lives two to three years, so breeding the rats means you will always have a pet around. When your rat has babies, you need to know how to care for them. The more prepared you are ahead of time, the better the chances are for the baby rats to grow up healthy and happy.

Things You'll Need

  • Infant soy formula
  • Large cage
  • Bleach
  • Water
  • Medicine dropper
  • Laboratory pellets
  • Fresh fruits and vegetables
  • Workout wheel
  • Tunnel
  • Aspen shavings
  • Dish soap or cat shampoo
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Instructions

    • 1

      Keep your cage clean. This will protect the baby rats from catching any diseases. To properly clean your rat cage, use 1 part bleach to every 10 parts water. When you are done disinfecting the cage, clean it out with a tiny bit of dish soap and hot water. You don't want to leave any bleach residue on the cage. Let the cage air-dry before putting the rats back inside.

    • 2

      Allow the baby rats to feed on mama rat's milk for about five weeks, give or take a week. If for some reason the mother rat cannot feed her babies, you will have to do it. Use infant soy formula and administer it through a medicine dropper. After that you can feed the babies fresh fruits and vegetables along with their daily laboratory pellets.

    • 3

      Get a bigger cage. Once your rats have babies, they are going to need a larger cage. Rats like their space and should not all be cramped together in a small cage. You need room for toys, water, food and an exercise wheel. Rats also need an area where they can lie down and go to sleep.

    • 4

      Keep lots of water in the cage. Don't use a regular little water dish, because the rats will knock it over. Buy the type of water bowl that attaches to the cage and has a metal dispenser that reaches into the cage. Whenever the rat drinks from it, it will dispense the water without spilling any. This is especially important while the mother rat is feeding her newborn babies. The mother needs to be hydrated and nourished to provide her babies with the healthiest milk.

    • 5

      Add toys to the cage if you don't have any already. Rats love to play, and baby rats will eventually need to start getting exercise so they can grow stronger. A workout wheel should be placed in every rat cage. Rats, including baby rats, enjoy crawling through tunnels. You can buy tunnels in a pet store or make them yourself out of PVC piping.

    • 6

      Keep your rats clean by giving them a bath. After a few weeks, you can begin giving your baby rats a bath too. You must use lukewarm water. It is best to do this in a sink rather than a bath tub. Rats should not get water or soap in their eyes, so don't fill the sink up all the way. A tiny bit will do. You can use dish soap to give your baby rats a bath, or you can use shampoo made for cats. Hold the baby rat up so you don't get anything in its eyes. Create a lather on the body and then rinse thoroughly.

    • 7

      Find homes for your extra baby rats. Rats have large litters. The average litter is 12 babies, and rats can produce up to 22 babies. It is highly unlikely that you will want to keep all of these rats. Choose the babies you want to keep. When they are weaned from their mother, you can find the other babies new homes. Check references for anyone who wants to adopt the baby rats so you are sure they go to good homes.