Care for Rat Babies

Rat babies require great care and attention. Before undertaking this responsibility, complete research to ensure you can handle the task. If you can get the rat past the crucial baby period when the rat is most vulnerable to illness or death, it will make a wonderful pet because it will be highly bonded to you.

Things You'll Need

  • 10-gallon tank
  • Heating pad
  • T-shirt or thin towel
  • Formula
  • Syringe
  • Dry cereal
  • Oatmeal or baby food
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Instructions

    • 1

      Build a warm, safe habitat for the rat to live in. Use a 10-gallon tank, or a similar enclosure, to start. Create a nest for the rat out of an old T-shirt or a thin towel. Because rats need heat, you should place a heating pad set on low under one portion of the tank. Avoid placing the tank under or around any bright lights; instead, work to keep the habitat relatively dark.

    • 2

      Stimulate the baby rat to go to the bathroom after you feed it, because it will not be able to go without this stimulation. To do this, take a warm cloth or cotton ball and gently massage their stomach and rectal area. You'll need to continue doing this until they can eliminate on their own.

    • 3

      Find another nursing female rat with babies around the same age as yours if you have rat babies that have lost their mom. She may be able to take the babies in as foster babies. If you're unable to find a nursing female, prepare to feed the rats about every two hours for the first week and every three to four hours for the week after that. Choose from one of several different formulas, including KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer), Enfamil, Soyalac or Esbilac. To feed, use a baby bird-feeding syringe or you can use plastic tubing (14 to 20-gauge) that has been inserted into a syringe or bottle's nipple. Feed only small amounts of warm formula to the baby rats at a time. If you see the formula bubbling from the rats' noses, this is an indication that you should stop feeding because it is beginning to get in their lungs.

    • 4

      Begin adding crushed dry cereal to the formula after the rats have opened their eyes. Reduce the number of times you feed the rats at night. After the rats are 3 weeks old, begin weaning them off the bottle by feeding them soft, easy-to-swallow foods, such as oatmeal or baby food. Place this food in a dish in the cage three to four times a day. If they are resistant to it, dip your finger in it and let the rats lick the food off the finger until they become comfortable with the dish. At this time, you can also give them small pieces of food to nibble on, such as cut-up apples, carrots, fruits or seeds.