How to Hand Feed a Sick Rat

Rats make wonderful pets, but like all animals, they can fall ill. Unfortunately, small animals like rats have a very high mortality rate when illness strikes, as disease and viruses tend to advance very quickly in these rodents. Hand-feeding a rat is absolutely vital if the pet is refusing food or not eating his normal volume of food. Hand-feeding can sustain a pet rat until he can be transported to a veterinarian for an examination and diagnosis. Hand-feeding is also often required after the vet visit, while waiting a few days for the medications to take effect to the point where the rat feels well enough to resume his meals. A rat has a very fast metabolism and therefore, dramatic weight loss can occur in a matter of just a few days, which only worsens the rat's prognosis. Hand-feeding a rat can be a bit tricky, but this will help novice hand-feeders to sustain a sick rat until he's healed.

Things You'll Need

• Clean towel
• Damp washcloth
• Small liquid syringe (10 ml or smaller)
• Small plastic container or baby food jar
• Yogurt with live active bacteria cultures
• Nutri-cal nutritional supplement gel for pets

Instructions

Hand-Feeding a Sick Rat

1. Begin by making homemade rat food. Start with 1 part fruit yogurt with live, active bacteria cultures. Do not opt for a low-fat or low-calorie yogurt--the more calories and fat, the better.

2. Mix the yogurt with 2 parts Nutri-Cal, a high-calorie nutritional supplement gel for pets. Nutri-Cal is available from your veterinarian's office and online and every rat owner should always have a tube on hand. For pet owners who do not have Nutri-Cal on hand, instead opt for a meat flavored baby food. Opt for the baby food brand with the highest calorie content available.

3. Mix the homemade rat food ingredients together and place in a sealable plastic container or similar. This food will need to be refrigerated when not in use. Ideally, the average sick rat should eat at least 4 tablespoons of this mixture per day, but if the rat will eat more, by all means allow it.

4. Collect the sick rat and place him on top of a clean towel on your lap. Use the excess towel to wrap the lower half of his body. It's vital to keep a sick rat warm and cozy. Within arm's reach, you will need a wet washcloth, the homemade rat food and a liquid syringe.

5. If the rat is on any medications, the medication should be given with food to avoid stomach upset and diarrhea. Give the medication first and then begin the feeding.

6. Using a small liquid syringe (10 ml or smaller, with 5 ml syringes being ideal) and suck up some of the food, which should be the consistency of yogurt. In a 5 ml syringe, feed about half the syringe at a time; with a 10 ml syringe, plan on feeding half of the syringe at a time.

7. Gently place your hand over the rat and grasp the rat's face, behind the whiskers on the fleshy part of the cheeks. Gently pull the head slightly upwards to get a better view of the rat's mouth.

8. With one hand holding the rat's cheeks, use the other hand to operate the syringe. Gently place the syringe in the side of the rat's mouth, just behind the front teeth.

9. Once the liquid syringe is in position, depress the syringe plunger and empty a small amount of food into the rat's mouth. Be very conservative in terms of how much food is given with each bite. Rats cannot vomit and therefore forcing the rat to eat too much at once could cause the rat to choke or inhale the food into his lungs. Offer just a little bit at a time.

10. Remove the syringe from the rat's mouth and allow him to swallow the food. Sometimes, the rat will chew the food. In other cases, the rat swallows the food without much outward indication. Allow about 15 to 20 sections in between each "bite" of food.

11. After the rat has swallowed the food, use a damp washcloth to wipe the rat's mouth and face. Then, offer the next bite.

12. Continue with the feeding until the rat has consumed his meal. Two tablespoons per meal is a reasonable goal, but if he's willing to eat more, allow him to have as much as he'll eat. Aim for a minimum of four tablespoons per day when mixing Nutri-Cal and Yogurt. When substituting a meat baby food for Nutri-Cal, aim for a minimum of six tablespoons per day.

Tips & Warnings

• The rat may begin to squirm during the feeding. This usually indicates that he's full and no longer wishes to eat.

• Some owners find it easier to opt for several small feedings instead of two large meals, especially when the rat is feeling better. A sick rat tends to be more compliant, while a rat who's on the mend will usually be a bit less cooperative.

• Some rats will use their front foot to grab for the liquid syringe in an attempt to push it away. This is especially common as the rat improves and heals, as a sick rat is often very cooperative. To reduce the rat's swipes at the liquid syringe, use a towel or piece of fabric to wrap as a backwards cape around the rat's neck, with only his head peeking out.

• Do not give a rat large bites of food. When in doubt, opt for a smaller amount of food per bite. Rats cannot vomit and the key is to avoid choking and aspiration of the food.

• Hand-feeding is not a substitution for medical attention from a veterinarian. If your pet rat has stopped eating, this means he is very ill. He will almost certainly die without veterinary attention and medication, therefore it's vital to get help as soon as possible. Hand-feeding will sustain a sick rat, but it will not do anything to cure or improve an underlying illness that's causing the drop in appetite.