Can Baby Rats Drink Cow Milk?
WouterRats love milk, and they will drink copious amounts of it. Rats are highly intelligent, but they do not always know when a certain food isn’t suitable, so you must consider the amount of milk your rat will consume and what type of milk you’ll give it. There are limits to the amount of cow milk you can serve your rat, and cow milk is best served in small portions.
For a bottle baby rat, a feeding tube attached to a syringe with a volume of 1 cc is used. The feeding tube is approximately four inches long, with an end that resembles the nipple of a mother. You can also use an eye dropper with a narrow tip to feed your rat. You must make sure that you never overfill the mouth of your rat, or the formula will end up down their nose.
In some situations, it may be beneficial to give a rat goat milk instead of cow milk. But remember, a baby rat won’t get enough nutrients from cow milk, and it could get very sick if you give it too much of it. Therefore, it’s best to provide baby rats with milk only once or twice a week.
If you don’t have a bottle of cow milk handy, you can still feed your rat with formula. Sugar water is a good emergency formula, but remember to discard it after eight hours. Human formula milk is the ideal formula for baby rats because it shares the same nutritional profile as humans.
