My boyfriend found a baby naked mole rat in his backyard, and doesn't know what to do.?

Question

he wants to raise it because it has no mother, but we don't know what to feed it. if you watch kim possible, you know ron, he has a pet naked mole rat named rufus. its like that, except its a new new newborn. the mother wasn't anywhere, and we live in maine, so I'm not sure if it even IS a naked mole rat. it doesn't move, it only breathes. we dont know what to feed it, or how to raise it. so if anyone could help us out that would be great!

thanks =]

Answer 1

it may not be a naked mole rat. it could be a opossum. a squirrel. all baby rodents usually are naked (haha) pink and small. so it could be any possible rodent.id take it to a vet. then ask your vet if its ok to raise it. if she doesnt think its good idea, maybe you could take it to a wildlife raising place nearby.

good luck : )

Answer 2

accually 'cute girl' is wrong. they do not have rabies, they can only get rabies if it was bitten by something that had rabies....which would be unlikley.

Keep it VERY warm!!

Answer 3

it might not even BE a naked mole rat it could be a baby hamster,ratmouse or mole. i'de feed it wet soggy bread in a syringe  hope this helps

Answer 4

If it's a baby, it's possible that what you have is just a very young rat, as they are born hairless. Rats very rarely have disease, especially rabies. You have a better chance of being struck by lightning than finding a rat with rabies.

Anyway, here's a helpful article written by a woman who has a LOT of rat knowledge. She outlines what you need to know, and even has a section with tips for caring for a wild rat.

http://ratfanclub.org/orphans.html

I hope everything works out, and bless you both for trying.

Answer 5

Well one things for sure, do NOT keep it. It might have rabies or a contaminated disease. Also, maybe call the vets or the people who take in stray animals for help. If you don't think that would do much help try going on a website to see more info, or just wait and see if the mole rat has a family to take care of it.

Answer 6

I don't have any experience with naked mole rats, but the first thing I can think of is treating it like a hamster. What's really simple is just getting a rubbermaid bin, cutting a nice big hole in the lid and covering it with some wire mesh. That would be good since it's only a newborn, but when it gets older and more adventurous I suggest a full sized chinchilla or rabbit cage.

I was just reading up on this website :

http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t...

and they're saying that naked mole rats eat their own poo...

Here's the best site I found, and it tells about real food :

http://www.brookfieldzoo.org/czs/Brookfi...

it includes things like carrots, grapes and bananas, but seriously check it out.

All the other sites say these mole rats live in large colonies underground, so I think supplying some small rodent bedding will get your mole rat used to burrowing (just make the bedding really deep, and make sure it doesn't have dust that could get in the little guy's eyes.)

I'm just guessing now, so don't trust my word completely, but I think CareFresh bedding should be good for a newborn, then as it gets older seek professional help, and when it's a little older I think it would have fun in a sand bath (sold at many pet stores).

That's all I got. Hope I helped!  

Answer 7

if it's just a newborn then it may just not have grown alot of hair yet. Has it opened its eyes yet?

1. First of all you should get a cage for it. Quite big as it will need alot of space once it's older.

2.You should put some old clothes in as bedding to keep it warm while it's still young and put cat litter on the bottom of the cage. Preferably paper based because dust could cause breathing problems. Make sure there is a thick layer of this on the bottom as the Mole Rat lives underground and will want to burrow. Also, do not put hay in the cage, it could poke its eyes with it.

3. You get special rat nuggets to feed fancy rats (that's what I use) in any pet store, although since its a wild rat and mostly eats plants in the wild I would try and give it something extra to supplement that part of its diet as well.

3. While its still young, get a small baby bottle or needless syringe to feed it with (if its still drinking milk) it would be better to feed it human baby formula (as kitten and puppy formula is based on a carnivorous diet and will not do the baby rat any good,) you could also give it cow's milk diluted with warm water. Give it approx half the amount of food that it weighs ie.if the baby weighs 6 grams, you will feed .3 cc. of milk.

4. After EVERY meal you'll need to stimulate the baby to use the bathroom by gently stroking the genitals with a dampened cloth or cotton swab.

Then give the baby a gentle, full body massage, starting with the nose and moving backwards towards the genitals, to encourage proper blood flow.

If you don't give this full body massage with each meal, the baby can die of toxicity poisoning, so it's VERY important.

5. While its young you should feed it every couple of hours, it will need alot of food to help it grow up quickly and strongly. But try not to over feed.

Thats all the info I can think of but if it has a good home, is fed well and has loving "parents" it will be fine.

Try to handle it as much as possible to make it human friendly. And if you say its name while hand feeding it, stroking it or just when its out and about, it will learn it's name and come when you call it.

All of my rats have done this and it makes it alot easier when they are running about outside the cage. It means you can put it on the living room floor and when you want it to come back all you have to do is call. =]

Fancy Rats are very intelligent, mole rats (i'm assuming) are too. You can toilet train fancy rats by putting their droppings into one corner of the cage, they will then only use the toilet in that place. This also makes it easier when cleaning out the cage.

Hope your baby rat is very happy and hope you enjoy your new pet. =] Rats are GREAT pets as I'm sure you'll find out! =] Good Luck!

Answer 8

What is that? that freaky thang?! THAT THANG IS A NAKED MOLE RAT!!!

name him Rufus!

Answer 9

you do not have a naked mole rat i think you have a rat

Answer 10

well as you dont know anything you really shouldnt look after it.... or you can take it to the animal shelter or a vets so they can tell you hot to raise it, what it is and what to feed it.

Most small baby animals need a special type of milk one with lots of nutrient and vitiamins in it also they need feeding every 4 hoursish ans need to be kept on a heat mat so its pretty tricky