A few questions about my baby rats

Question
Hi. I have two female rats, one I just got from PetsMart two weeks ago(Valkyrie), and one I have had for a year(Charm). A month ago I went on vacation and left Charm with a rat-loving friend of mine, who supposedly had a 4 month old female rat. She let them out to play together every day. When I returned I noticed Charm was looking fatter, and it ended up my friends rat wasn't a female. So a month later Charm had babies. Now the babies are a week and a half old and I have noticed that they are sneezing alot. Niether of the parents have active myco, and the babies have no poryphin on their noses when I look at them. Is it normal for baby rats to sneeze a lot or could they be sick? They move around and act healthy. My other questions are: One of the baby rats seems a few days behind in development than the others. I honestly didn't think it would last this long. Is it normal to have a runt in a litter and should I do anything to help it? And is it OK for me to handle them a little bit now? They have all their fur and Charm doesn't mind when I move them to change the bedding. She acts like she could careless about them really...Sorry for the novel, but I have never had baby rats before and want to make sure these survive. Thanks!
Katherine

Answer
Hi Katherine

First things first: its pretty normal for sneezing,but I need to ask what kind of litter are you using?  Also, its normal for there to be a runt in the litter. Is the baby nursing?
I must warn you now because I am not sure if you know this but male rats can get females pregnant as young as 5 weeks old, and at that age he can also get his mother pregnant. Nursing mothers can get pregnant as early as 24 hours after giving birth.  You must separate the males soon and be certain when you do it that they are indeed males.  Male rats have an open inguinal canal, canal and can draw their testicles up and appear to be female but they do it only when scared.
As for handling the pups, you could and should have handled them the day after they were born. Mom rat wont care as you have noticed, and in fact she would love the break from them.
In order to socialize the babies, it is wise to handle the from the first or second day of birth. This makes for very social and sweet baby rats. So now you have something fun to look forward to doing...getting this rats social. Are they scared of your touch? I hope not...its not too late to socialize them if you start now. Devote time every day or even several times a day if time allows.
How many pups did Charm have?  Also, how did your friend NOT KNOW that her 4 month old rat was not a female? Testicles on males are pretty dang big at that age.
The little runt pup....is it male or female?  Does it nurse alot?   In a few more days they will start to take interest in food. You should offer a good diet low in protein and fat , but not the commercial seed mixes from pet stores. Lab blocks are the best and you can moisten them to soften them for the pups.  Be sure a water bottle with a nipple low enough for the pups is available so they can learn to use the nipple.  If they still have transparent skin, you can turn them over and see what is called MILK BAND which appears like you can see milk in their bellies, and in fact that is what you see.  When pups are very newborn, this is the way to be sure mom is producing milk and that the pups are indeed being fed.
Also, Valkyrie should be in quarantine for at least another week before bringing her around the existing rats since she was from a pet store. In fact I would wait another two weeks and make sure the quarantine was a month instead of the normal 3 weeks since she may incubate SDA. Its impossible to tell if Valkyrie is a carrier since they show no signs until the virus strikes and sadly, pet store rats are notorious for transmitting this deadly virus. The pups would be in danger so again, at least 2 more weeks to be safe.

You can check out my website for more info on how to tell what sex the babies are if your not sure, or for anyone that may be reading this.  I still have a hard time myself but one sure way to tell is if you see nipples since males don't have them.

Sexing pups:

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/healthcare.htm

Quarantine info:

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/thequarantinepage.htm

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As for the runt (sorry I keep skipping around)if you think he isn't nursing, you can offer him soy baby formula and mashed kitten food to see if he or she wants any. Use a dropper for the formula and let him suck it from the side of the dropper.
I love rat pups. They will start to chase each other soon and start to wrestle around like crazy, chasing, squeaking, rolling and playing and just having fun. This is when its wise to have them socialized or they may be scared of you and try to escape. NEVER let them out of the cage in a big room where they can run and hide and if you take them in the bathroom, be sure to look under the vanity, behind toilet and all over the bathroom to be sure there is no escape holes since they can take off fast and will get lost in the hole.

I hope I covered everything....if not, please let me know.
Oh, almost forgot...do you have an exotics vet? If not I can help you find a good one. Its good to find one now before you need one to save time in case of an emergency.

Regards

Sandra