4 new girls coming today! new pictures of the girls!

I just adopted out 4 girls and two boys so I guess that means I have room right? I didnt want to take them in but I took one look at the cage and I wont leave them there.





Here is their cl ad..
4 adult female rats, including a larger sized rat cage...$20 obo to cover a fee for the cage.

Please make arrangements and pick these up this week. They are hand tame, however we still handle them with gloves just in case. They have not had any litters. These were for pets.

and the email response to my friend Jim who is always picking up something for me

They are healthy. We have too many animals and are downsizing. These are my 10yr old's rats. They are pets, however...one will still nip at times. None have had any litters or anything. Rats only live about 2-5yrs (if you are lucky). A couple are at least a year old. The other 2 are a little older.

I am just blown away by the cage, no boxes, no food bowls, nothing. If they looked cared for I could look away and hope their owners care enough to find a good home but you can clearly see that isnt the case here. It looks like they are kept on a porch or something. I just hope they dont add to the vet bills I just rearrange money to get the tumors removed off the 3 girls we have here now.

So glad you are getting these wee ones. What a crappy excuse for a cage. Why get them as pets and give then nothing? And why handle pets with gloves "just in case"?? They look like they're housed outside too. What the h is wrong with people? Oy. They won't know what to do with themselves when they get in to a real home.

Oh my god, that cage. :sad4: Those poor babies. I hate seeing these ads when they are posted on the forum because all I feel is rage at people that get rats, then neglect them and treat them like filth. I am just seeing red.

SO relieved they are coming home with you. I wish you could give the owners of these poor babies a piece of your mind after you have them safe at home with you. Please let us know how they are doing when you get them home! Would love to see photos of them happy and comfy. I feel so bad for these little ones. BUT, they are going to have a happy home, thanks to you.

The girls are here now. Their cage smelled so horrible you could smell it the second he opened his truck door.





what is that? Well water rust? I dont even know how a clear water bottle turns brown.


Here are the girls on the rescue drive home

This is their hidey house


I set this cage up for them for now. It is a far cry from what they had so they have a clean cage with a hammock and a wheel.


I cannot tell what color she is mink or blue. Her coat looks rough so I will look in the daylight tomorrow.

This girl appears to have black eyes with one black spot on her back.






I guess their diet was peanut butter, table scraps and bird food. They had an empty peanut butter jar but not a food bowl, i guess they didnt have one. One shelf with a busted ramp just dangling since there was nothing connected to it. I will give them a good look over tomorrow and see how they look. Poor things are scared right now. I am sure they were neglected as far as attention goes.

Hope, these photos of the girls, eating good food, with clean water, snuggle blankies, ramps, all the works...well, without starting to cry, can tell you that your set up for the girls must be like pure heaven to them after the filth and neglect they were enduring before.

I basked in the happiness of seeing them explore their new house and I know they are thinking, "Wow, this is a palace, and it smells nice and there are soft things and, wow!" So happy to see these photos.

Yes, I am sure the girls are scared right now (I would be too) in a new place and not knowing what is going on, but boy are they going to be so happy, knowing love and a good home. I could kiss ya! You saved them! :heart:

P.S. Give me the address of the a-holes who neglected these girls so I can go and punch em upside the head. Okay, just joking. Kind of.

I just actually got a lump in my throat. Oh, there it is - tears in my eyes seeing that frightful cage and the beautiful home you've just given these little sweeties. Pictures can be so powerful sometimes. I could hug you for being such god send to them! Keep us updated on their personalities and lots of pictures of them enjoying snuggles and life!

They are very scared girls the owners only held them with gloves like they were diseased ridden. I tried gerber puffs this morning and they wouldnt take them from my hand at all. I have to give them a pile of those and cheerios for a few days so they can learn to love them and hopefully in few days they will learn to take them from me. Sadly this is common they dont trust at all so they wont take them from a human.

One girl gave my kid a run for her money, she made her chase her around the livign room for 20 minutes LOL so skittish rats are very hard to catch.

Jim the man who picked them up for me, he does a lot of pick up for me They told him they used to do feeder breeders for pet store so he promptly told them that explains why the girls mean so little to them. Because they should not be living like this in a cage that stinks with no food or food bowls. He let them know I would like to punch them all in the face but sadly I cannot care for rats in jail so I just swallow my pride and help the rats out. When I can get pictures of the girls I will post some. They need names they didnt even bother naming them at all. So we will have to come up with some special names because they deserve it.

They will need some work but they do enjoy coming out of the cage




These faces always melt me when they come out of the cage or start to

Is it safe? Yes baby girl it is now



The two black hooded are younger. What I dont understand is they tell me the other two are one year and 3 months old but how do you not know how old these younger ones are they had to be newer than the other two. I am guessing about 5 months old. I still see the hint of a baby face on them.


The one with the longer stripe is a tweeker she just zips around like mad.

Bossy as well

SO glad they are in a better place with you hope.

Claireybelle voiced my own sentiments perfectly, Hope. So grateful to you for saving these girls and showing them a much better life (worlds apart from their old one) and those photos put a lump in my throat...seeing that beautiful dark eyed white girl and her brown sister peeking out carefully...and the white girl with such hope in her eyes. It really got to me. Especially when you added the caption that said, "Is it safe? Yes, baby girl, it is now." Gulp. I almost lost it.

They have such wonders and love awaiting them when they start to trust and love you. It must be a wonderful feeling for you.

And so glad Jim told that owner what he thought about his care (or lack of) these sweet girls. I totally get it when you say you have to swallow your anger in order to keep helping rats, rather than being in jail. Agreed!

Keep us posted, and please give yourself a pat on the back. And tell Jim he is awesome, from all of us at the Rat Shack. :cuddle:

Gah, they're ever so sweet! Look at those cautious, innocent little faces. They do look scared yes. But that will pass soon enough with some persistence and hard work. I took in an adult male that I adopted from a sanctuary. He was terrified at first. I'll see if I can post some pics of him when I first got him and when he was settled. I took him to bed with me everynight and placed his big comfy cube next to me so I could read with one hand and stroke him with the other. At first, he would very gently take my finger in between his teeth and direct me to the exit LOL.

After a few weeks of petting and taking him to bed with me, it really turned things around and he deliberately put himself within 'stroking distance'. They are very smart and the more time you put in the quicker the results.

So pleased they are with you! What a lovely, happy ending - LOVE it Thanks for posting pics of them. I'll be keeping a look out for them.

I ♥ the white one!!!! I thought that same thing they look much younger than one... That isn't a cage, it looks like a trap... One of the Boris boys won't take treats either - he sniffs them and refuses.

Yeah, that little white girl's eyes just melt me into butter. So timid but so hopeful.

Clairybell, that was a great story about your boy and his comfy cube right next to you on your bed. You put in the time with him and he responded. Great to read that. I loved how he gently directed your finger toward the exit door of his cube. Awww...such a sweetheart he sounds like...and very gentlemanly about telling you what he thought! You must please post some photos of this sweet boy, I would love to see him!

Dpsch, do you have another thread where you mentioned the "Boris boys" before? If so, let me know, I have not read about their start with you, have I? Or did my brain just go to the Bahamas for a minute and I forgot? (It is possible).

And of course, as if you did not already know, your Boris boys will trust and love you more each day! Hang in there!

My kid loves the white one as well. She has always wanted a blacked eye'd white and that is probably as close as she will get. It will be a tough one if she gets adopted out. LOL

Ahhhh, it is so wonderful to read another story of how some ratties have won the lottery and will now have a chance at a happy forever home!
You rock! :thumbup:

Oy, it would be near impossible for me to let that sweet eyed white girl go. :love7:

So sickening....so sad & now relieving. Poor girlies.
Glad you got them..I'm doing lots of research on by-laws and licensing and such to try and set up some kind of law or order about this kind of thing. Like a citizens arrest on people we find instead of having to wait out the SPCA or other authority or at least get some regulation change for small animal ownership
Good on you Hope!

^ yeah I was just sitting here thinking to myself how does that not count as animal cruelty punishable by law? I mean of course we here at the shack would prefer for the rats to have toys and beds and out time, etc, but there are still basic needs that HAVE to be met. How is no food (or inappropriate food) and a water bottle that is growing God knows what, along with very likely being exposed to the elements not cruelty?

I like the little mink/light agouti girl. I just love that wittle face!!

So glad they are safe now. I have this fantasy that the ghosts of abused animals haunt their abusers but alas, they are too perfect and forgiving. They go straight to heaven.

Sterling, agreed. There HAS to be a cruelty law that applies to small pets, you would think? But, different perceptions of animals by us humans can led to so many contradictions...there are cruelty laws protecting dogs and cats, but yet animals like pigs and cows, who suffer enormous pain and suffering in factory farms, guess what, no laws apply to them as they are considered part of the "food" industry. :sad4: Sigh.

So there are not any forms of protection currently for small pets? I have no idea about that so I was wondering!