Infant Orphan Rat - kitten formula

Question
QUESTION: On Monday I found a litter of infant orphan rats who's nest had been torn
up.  I put them all (4) back together and waited for their mother to return.  
She had not returned when I went back to check on them.  But
unfortunately, the fire ants found them.  I was able to save one.  So I took
it home.  It began to get warm and was obviously hungry.  
I have absolutely NO experience with rats or mice but I couldn't leave it
there alone.  The pet store said to feed it kitten formula.  The baby rat
liked it and it was growing, doubled in size, on Wednesday it's ears
unfolded (that was cool), started growing fur, whiskers & toe nails
developing.  After every feeding I would lightly massage it, stimulate it's
genitals to release waste and give it a bath with warm water & a q-tip.  It
seemed to be doing fine, seemed happy, started "exploring" it's box.  
Thursday at the 10pm feeding I noticed the milk from the 7pm feeding had
not been digested. This had never happened before.  So instead of feeding it I massaged it with my thumb and first finger just like I always
had after feeding...  After a few minutes it seemed interested in eating. So
I let it suck on the nipple but did not allow much milk to be released.  (i
read somewhere that they sometimes need the comfort of suckling.)  after
massaging and suckling I watched it.  It seemed normal except it's
stomach seemed sort of firm; well, very firm.  But it was still moving
around and exploring like normal.  
About two or three minutes later it died in my hand.  I am terribly sad!
I feel aweful!
I am wondering what happened, and half way afraid I will find out it was my fault that it died... I miss it!!   :(...
Was it the formula (hope not)?  Was it the fire ant stings? --(i thought it
had about three but as it got bigger I noticed more, about 8 or 10)
I loved it!  I enjoyed watching it  sleep, explore, eat, feeding it in the
middle of the night, helping it expell waste.... I loved caring for it in every
way. It was my baby.    
Thank you for reading this.  I am upset.  I want to know what happened.  
I'm afraid I did something wrong, that thought makes me so sad!
It could have been the formula, the ant bites, stress & and not being warm
enough after it's mother left and before I took it home....   I am curious.  
Please let me know what you think.  
Thank you.


ANSWER: Dear Carolyn,
thank you for your question.
I'm sorry the baby didn't make it. You didn't do anything wrong, kitten formula is definitely suitable to raise orphaned rodents. But it's very, very hard to raise baby rats, especially when they are as young as the ones you found. If they already have some fur when found it's easier, but naked babies very often die after some time for some reason (problems with digestion is a likely cause, even if everything is perfect).
Here's a good guide to raising orphaned rats, if you should ever find yourself in that situation again:
http://www.rmca.org/Articles/orphans.htm

You did everything you could and the baby was warm and well-fed instead of having to starve or freeze, so please don't feel too bad about this.
Jennifer

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your prompt reply!  I appreciate your encouragement!
I'm still curious... Why do you think the food didn't digest as it had before?
Would it still be alive if I had fed it some (pedialite), or yogurt, like let it
"drink" that?  Should I have feed it more water? Can they drink just water
(distilled)?
It may have had a heart attach? Without getting too graphic, it had a sign
of heart and or artery rupture.    
It constantly staied on the cool side of the box.

Answer
Keep in mind that baby rodents are very fragile and while kitten or puppy formula is suitable, it's not the same as the mother's milk they are supposed to get. So it's possible that a small case of indigestion that wouldn't have harmed the baby normally can build up and kill the baby.
Yoghurt can be deadly - milk and other dairy products often cause diarrhea and are not suitable for raising orphans. Water can be offered, but usually they don't accept it until they are older.
A heart attack or some sort of organ failure is of course possible. Maybe the mother had abandoned the babies even before the nest was disturbed, often they know very well if their babies are somehow sick and then they don't put much work into raising the litter.
It's almost impossible to say what exactly has gone wrong, but like I said, even experienced people find it hard to raise baby rodents that are as young as the one you found.