[xStatic]

I rescued an extremely malnourished hairless rat this evening. She is skin and bones but still seems pretty active and friendly. I bought some soy based infant formula and oatmeal baby cereal flakes and I have been mixing both with water to form a paste and feeding it to her. I also mixed a little bit of Gatorade in with her water but I am also offering her clean fresh water in case she doesn't care for the Gatorade flavor. Should I be doing anything differently or anything else on top of what I am already doing? Any and all advise is really appreciated.

 

[kksrats]

Sounds to me like you're doing everything right. As long as she's eating and drinking I'd continue what you're doing. You might also try some high calorie puppy food.

 

[Smilebud]

Baby food. Get puréed baby food from the dollar store, also try yogurt and peanut butter mixed with water. If you go to The Rat Wharehouse (Google it) you can get weight gain mush shipped from Europe.

 

[xStatic]

Okay, thank you both. I will go find some baby food tomorrow since I'm absolutely worn out tonight. She seems to be doing good still. She is willing to eat Oxbow so is that okay for me to keep feeding her mixed in with the formula/oat cereal mix? Is it possible for her to eat too much food or should I just keep giving her food as long as she will eat it? Thank you again

 

[xStatic]

Just an update: It's amazing how much can change overnight. She honestly looks so much better today, I had no idea rats could put on weight so quickly but she definitely has filled out a bit overnight. Yesterday I could see her ribs and today they are almost invisible. Her hip bones and shoulder blades are still sticking out and her spin is very obviously protruding. My next question has to do with her skin. She is hairless and her skin is covered in an orange waxy substance and seems to be bumpy/flaky and just overall looks bad. Looks nothing like my other hairless girls' soft pink skin. Is there anything I can do for this? I was thinking her skin was irritated from living in a filthy cage before but I'm not sure what might help. Maybe rubbing a small amount of coconut oil on her skin or something? Thanks a lot, she still has a wonderful personality and lives giving kisses. I'm really hoping she will bounce back from this whole situation quickly.

 

[JAnimal]

Can u post a pic of her skin. Maybe that would help people identify what it is.

 

[kksrats]

The skin problem comes from bedding; either the type or how dirty it is. Are you using carefresh paper bedding or did she come from a place using that? Aspen or fleece bedding should make the orangey skin go away with a couple of days. Pip was orange when I picked him up from the rescue and she said she'd been using carefresh, I don't use carefresh and he looked absolutely perfect within a few days of being on aspen.