Feeding An Orphaned Baby Rat

Many people have asked what I feed them, and this is important, since most conventional milk replacer formulas don't work well for babies as small as rats and mice. Most formulas won't keep them alive, because they just aren't nutrient dense enough, and these tiny babies can easily get bloat and die from starvation, even if you think you're giving them enough. If the formula isn't dissolved well enough, they may not be able to digest the nutrients. And most formulas, per label instructions, won't be nutritionally dense enough to support them. I'm talking about the amount of fat, protein, and other nutrients per volume, because most of these formulas are meant to feed much larger animals, like squirrels, who will get enough nutrition, because they are drinking a much greater volume than a little rat can. Over the past 2 decades I have raised a ton of orphaned baby roof rats, cotton rats, and deer mice. I have found the following to be the best: Straight fresh goat's milk, powdered WHOLE goat's milk (Meyenberg), Esbilac Goat's Milk based formula. If you can't find fresh goat's milk, or goat's milk based Esbilac, then find a bag of Meyenberg WHOLE powdered goat's milk and you may use it as the base with KMR, Fox Valley, or some other Esbilac/PetAg milk replacement formula. I HIGHLY suggest you adhere to using goat's milk in some form as the primary base of your formula because it's just so much easier for them to handle and their chances of survival are much better. I've raised dozens of rats and mice over the years, and I've lost a lot of them too. I lost a lot fewer of them when I discovered using goat's milk was better than standard rehabber formulas. Now, whether it's a rat, squirrel, or cottontail - goat's milk, powdered goat's milk, or goat's milk Esbilac is what I use. Another rehabber's trick that might help, other than the dental applicator tips, are sponge makeup applicators. The idea is that you soak these with formula and allow the baby to suckle on it until it's dry. Then, you can use the syringe with the dental applicator on it to add more formula to the end of the sponge as the baby is suckling. Now this only works well if your sponge applicators are small enough for the baby to fit it in their mouth. These sponge applicators vary in size, but you can find them in many stores if you want to check the right size before purchase. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Meyenberg-... https://www.amazon.com/Fashionclubs-D... https://www.amazon.com/VNDEFUL-Dispos... To donate to this rescue: PayPal: [email protected] Donate without a PayPal account at this checkout: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr... FB page:   / reptilerescue