The most adorable little wild lady lives in our neighbourhood

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SqueakingJellybean

Mission Control -- All is ratness
Joined
Apr 12, 2013
Messages
276
Location
Ontario, Canada
She has lunch on our lawn, brave creature.

She looks to be about 4-6 months old, is a sort of taupe colour with a much darker tail and a Berkshire belly. The wee lady looks like she's made of velvet. She's a tiny little ball of adorable. It's taking just a bit of effort to remember that she's a wild creature and would not run over for loves and treats if I went out and spoke to her! :lol:

If I can get pics, I'll share. Part of me wants to make absolutely sure she really is wild and not some poor baby who was tossed out the door. It's that Berkie belly that's making me wonder. Is that normal in a wild rat, or should I check to see if she's an abandoned baby?


Edit: Yep, pretty sure she's wild. She just brought some family to dinner. Not sure if we should look into live traps to relocate them, or just let them be. Any thoughts?
 
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Rofl. Brought the family. I wouldn't encourage it or feed them. They can be very destructive. I know that's hard. I want to feel and house every little critter too!
 
We have a shared household and my mother feeds the neighbourhood critters. Our lawn is like a Disney Extras Retirement Home. Squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, ducks, doves, sparrows, woodpeckers, and assorted other creatures enjoy daily meals on our lawn. We don't go out of our way to feed any single group (okay, the old mated pair of ducks get some extra cracked corn) but nobody is shooed away. That gets a little creepy at times, because a cat and a falcon have stopped by for... uh... take-out. We'd rather they didn't, but it's not like we can stop them.

The City was talking about passing a bylaw against feeding wild animals. We weren't sure what would be included, but my mother said flat-out that if it included birds and squirrels, she'd ignore it. She won't deprive our outdoor friends just because someone on the edge of town is luring the deer into their back yard. She is compassionate and stubborn that way.

We've let the neighbours know there are rats in the area, probably chased there by local construction. At least one has put down live traps. Not sure what the others are doing.

We won't add any encouragement, that's for sure, but we will enjoy the cuteness. Looking at the little wild velvety beans, you can easily see how someone went, "LOOK AT THAT. So cute! I want to have one sitting on my shoulder and nibbling treats from my hand. Let's domesticate 'em!"

Would putting some of our rats' droppings outside convince them that this territory is taken?
 
she may be feral (or not) and her babies may be half wild (or not), but she is a pet rat, wild rats and half wildies do not have berk markings .... any pics?

info re rehoming wild rats https://www.peta.org/issues/wildlife/living-harmony-wildlife/house-mice/

I believe that Jorats and her family have, or had a shed set up for wild mice to live in, might be something to consider as it would give them a safe warm place to live so your home and the homes of your neighbours will not be as attractive
I wonder if it would be possible to live trap them and get the girls spayed so they wouldn't multiply,
I also wonder if it would be possible to socialize them ...... but if you did, it would likely need to be the entire family as I think they need each other to survive ..... there are some people in the US with experience trapping and socializing rats that were released and managed to survive in the wild for awhile - if you pm me your email I can ask one to contact you in case if you want to talk to her

This sounds like a difficult situation, and I have no experience dealing with anything like this ...... just throwing out some ideas for consideration
 
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Yes, we did set up a spot in our old shed and it help kept the mice out of the home. But more importantly, you need to make sure to seal up any holes in your foundation as well as your attic. The attic is the most likely place a wild animal, especially mice and rats will settle in.
Putting your rat poops outside probably won't do a thing, in fact, I would think it might encourage them to come find them out... thinking there is a food and water source available.
 
They haven't been back in a few days. I'll try to get pics if they'll hold still long enough. I may be wrong about the white belly and hands, but I'll try to get a better look.

We had a half-wild girl once, Frida, but she wasn't well. Her non-wild half was from a line that seemed very cancer-prone, but we didn't know until too late. Long story for another time.

Attic and foundation are in relatively good repair (lots of work done over the past couple of years due to flooding), but the garage might be susceptible. We've seen at least one enter our neighbour's garage.

The little shack idea sounds like a good one.

Having a really bad few days with my hands; lengthier responses and PMs will happen once touching things doesn't suck so much. (Ratties are softer to the touch than keyboards and touch screens, anyway.)
 
Yes, we did set up a spot in our old shed and it help kept the mice out of the home. But more importantly, you need to make sure to seal up any holes in your foundation as well as your attic. The attic is the most likely place a wild animal, especially mice and rats will settle in.
Putting your rat poops outside probably won't do a thing, in fact, I would think it might encourage them to come find them out... thinking there is a food and water source available.

Especially if you have intact rats, they might have visitors when someone is in heat

...... btw, If I remember correctly, Jorats and her family provided a warm shed with straw for warmth etc and food and water
 
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The only pic I've been able to get so far is pretty blurry and doesn't show the little guy's hands (it was one of the boys, that much I could tell). I've found a pic online that looks very similar (see below)-- little white hands, feet, and underbelly. Certainly not as drastic as a domestic Berkshire marking, but that's the closest descriptor I had. Looks like, from these pics, that the markings are pretty common.
images


If the wee beans were hooded, then I'd absolutely start trying to round them up, because there's no way hoodeds are wild.

As far as spaying goes, we've got our finances tied up looking after our domestic bunch. Chess is not doing well, so I'm seeing another visit to the vet for him in the near future. We can't afford to spay wild rats, not at $300-$500 a pop.
 
definitely looks like a pet rattie to me, while bellies and paws can be a lighter colour in wild rats .....
white = pet
 
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