newborn rodent

Question
QUESTION: Hello,
My daughter found a 2 3/4 inch rodent 2 days ago.  It appeared to be newborn.  It is dark gray with pink tummy, eyes and ears closed, a white spot on forhead, a short tail 1/4 inch. The head looks about 1 inch. I would not say it has real fur yet.  

My daughter gave it goat milk replacer w/colostrum the first day. Kept it warm. We thought it would be dead by the next day but it was just as lively on day 2 and has little whiskers fanning out each side of its nose. She offered it fresh goats milk and it seems to like that better than the replacer. It has been urinating regularly but no signs of BM.

We want to put it in an incubator today and need to know what tempurature is best.  

We were wondering if you have any idea what this little rodent may be. Its head does kind of look like a ground hog but I thought the overall size may be too small. Nose is like a mouse or rat although more wide than pointy.

Thank you for any assistance you may give us in this matter.
Julie Wilson



ANSWER: Without a picture I am unable to tell what you may have. I know here we have moles that end up on our porch all the time. They look just like baby rats but their nose is pointed. However for milk you would want to try doing either soy milk or continue with your goat milk and make it 1/2 tsp water and 1/2 tsp milk feeding every 3 hours. Since I am unsure of what type of animal it may truely be I am going to give you a chart for rats but it is based on weight so it should work for you little guy.

http://www.rmca.org/Articles/orphans.htm


I personally have never used an incubator for an animal other then chicken. I am not sure about temp and time for such an animal. On that I feel that I would not be qualified to answer this part of your question for concern it may cause something to go wrong. If you have a manual look it up on Google or call the number for customer service is my only suggestion on that. I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Thanks for asking all experts and good luck!

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


newborn critter   QUESTION: Here is a picture of the little guy. On the 3rd day

ANSWER: He definately looks like a baby rat. I am sorry that I didnt not know about using the incubator for a rat. However, I do know how to keep them warm, but you did not ask. Here is how.

1)Heating pad on low

2)Place the baby in a small box or container and line with a piece of felt that you can also wrap the baby in. The felt isnt going to get caught around his legs and arms and is best to use.

3)Use a hot water bottle in a temp about what you would for bathing a baby. Test it on your arm. Cover that rat with a felt blanket

4)Use a heating lamp as well for extra warmth just make sure it is a good distance away so it doesnt cause burning.

I hope that this helps and thanks for the picture :)

Pictures of other baby rats:
http://acrorats.homestead.com/files/one_day_old_rat.jpg



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

QUESTION: We were just curious, what types of rat have such short tails?

Thank you
The Wilsons

Answer
One type of rat called the Manx has either a short tail or no tail at all. They are like the Manx cat which also shows to have no tail or a stubby tail. Their back legs are  slightly longer in the back  appear to be more rounded like rabbits in their body instead of slender.

Fancy Rats also can come in tailless or small tailed. They are standard in appearance and body shape but have so many varieties of colors and even eye oddities that it hard to keep up with them.

Short-tailed Cane Rat looks more like a mole in the face. They have short tails compared to other rats and have long pointed noses.

short-tailed bandicoot rat is also a rat with a very short tail. These come from Asia and Bangladesh and are very large version of our every day house/pet rat.