rat baby growth

Question

my baby rat   QUESTION: First of all, thank you for answering countless questions on our dear ratties - you are truly a saviour.

Onto my rattie - I have recently started hand-raising a very young baby rat, she was a pinky when I got her.  Her growth was progressing fine, except now I feel like it has slowed down.  It might just be me being overly paranoid, but is it normal for some rats to just grow slower than others?  I have been consulting this page: http://ratgrowth.homestead.com/week2.html

just to compare how my rattie is growing.  It seems like my rattie is stuck between day 11 and 12 for 2-3 days (the fuzz has set in all over her back, but her eyes are still closed.)  Is it common for handfed ratties to be slightly behind in their development?  I have been feeding the rattie adequately, as far as I can tell (every 2-3 hours the first week, every 3-4 hours the second week; always checking for the milk band.)

Thank you,
Travis.

ANSWER: Amazing this rat has lived this long.....very few people have luck getting babies under 14 days to survive.  Yes, they do grow somewhat slower, so this may explain why the rat seems smaller.

Are her eyes open yet as of this writing?

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


my little baby   QUESTION: It has been 16 days since I got her (she was probably a few days old when I received her) and her eyes are just starting to open - I can see a sliver of her beady black eyes when I look closely.  Perhaps they will be fully open by her next few feedings.  It feels like very slow growth, but I guess there are some late bloomers in naturally-raised rat pups as well.

It seems she is healthy otherwise.  She is VERY hardy - crawling and squeaking everywhere...sometimes it is hard for me to even hold her because she is so strong!  I am so happy she's progressed this far.  She's even nibbling on me with tiny teeth!  

Thank you again,
Travis.

Answer
I am very impressed you got her this far....I am sure she will do just fine. Your right, it does take time for them to catch up.  My trio of boys were in all different shapes and sizes.  The smallest one had me worried. He ate like crazy but seemed tiny compared to his brothers and now, hes a little porker.