Opinions on a litter of wildies. ..

Hello
It's been so long since I was active on this forum, unfortunately my rats have all passed on. I had lots of eye issues with a bad line of hairless and my others were mostly tumour related since then, I promised my partner no more rats.

On to the story. I noticed a post on a local for sale site saying how her dad had accidentally dug up a litter of baby rats in their garden, and he has quite a lot of poison down and as a result there were a couple of dead adults in the garden too. They left the babies for just over a day but the got louder and louder so it is a assumed that mom was one of the poisoned ones. They were asking if anyone could help as the local wildlife rescue had refused :cuss: but they got about 100 comments offering traps and shovels and poison this upset me greatly so I messaged her and offered to take them. I set a cage up for them and when they arrived they all had their eyes closed. I guessed they were about 10 days old based on when I used to breed my pet rats, and I think I was right as all had their eyes open by day 14/15. I've had them for just over a week now and they have almost doubled in weight. Took a couple of days to get them used to the milk but they handled it well. They were nervous at first and their tails were wagging. However, they're now running around and climbing like little loonies... but they still run onto my hands and groom me. I only ever intended to release them and as soon as they were able I had them feeding from shallow dishes, yet they seem just as friendly as my old babies. They're more alert and way more agile, but they haven't bitten yet and seem so affectionate. Will they be okay to release?

A couple of people have expressed interest in rehoming them if they remain friendly. I am really torn. Part of me insists wild is wild and should be released, but another part of me knows they're likely to be hunted with terriers or poisoned at some stage. I've reared lots of wildlife and all was released, but nothing was ever friendly like these guys. I know they are nothing like pet ones, I know they can be much harder to deal with.

I just want to hear from people who know more about this than I do. I want what is best for these guys, I'm so happy I took then in, I've missed interacting with these amazing creatures, but if it's in their best interests to release them then of course I will. I will however need to try and acclimatise them to bejng outside gradually as it's cold now. Any help would be appreciated.

No, they will not know how to survive in the wild
and any suitable habitat is likely already populated by rats that would see them as invaders and kill them.
Since they are used to humans they would not have a chance

(I have to take off but will try to give some links etc later)

Ah, okay. Thank you. Looks like I need to find some homes then!

I hand raised a wild baby from the age of 2 weeks, and when she grew up she was still just as tame and loving as my domesticated babies. She eventually moved in with them and lived happily in my colony

Without mom teaching them how to survive, they'd have no clue what to do in the wild, and wouldn't make it. How many babies are there? Why can't you keep them? I would consider letting them stay with you, they're obviously very bonded to you, and consider you their mom

Since you have raised them since before their eyes were open, they are imprinted on you and I too do not believe they would survive if released. If you rehome them, make sure the people understand they may have a different temperament from a regular domestic rat and accept that.
Congratulations on keeping them alive! Good job :thumbup:

I have 8 of them, 5 girls and 3 boys. I have asked on Facebook today if anyone knows of anyone that would be interested but I've had no interest. Not sure how to go about finding homes for these as I've already had an ethics debate over them this morning (I own a pet shop, a customer asked if they were live snake food, I explained the situation and apparently keeping wild rats as captives didn't "sit right" with him - but live feeding would have!!)

It's too bad you're in the UK, otherwise I'd have offered to take them. There's a facebook group specifically for people who have wildies, most of whom have raised them from abandoned babies like us. Maybe try asking there?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/WildPetRats/

I don't suppose you could link me to the page could you?
Also, I've read lots of things about the differences between little wildies and domestics... Some say you can't miX the two as wildies are particularly feisty? I've noticed that these babies are already play fighting like crazy. What other differences should I be aware of? Interestingly, these babies have a toilet corner even at 3 weeks old with very little straying... Some of my pets were never litter trained at all, let alone this early!

I don't think there's an issue introing them in to a domestic colony, especially if they're still young. They are slightly different, like you said, a bit more hyper. They'll stay active like that their whole lives, they never really slow down. They can be a bit more timid too, especially when meeting new people. They'll probably be more destructive, and will need a lot of toys to keep them out of trouble, and from destroying their cage.

Here's the link

https://www.facebook.com/groups/WildPetRats/

Actually, it is suggested that young wild babies be paired with domestic babies so that they better adjust to captivity.

http://ratfanclub.org/orphans.html

The babies need to be handled a lot by you - the more the better
as they need to be extremely well socialized and bonded to people to be happy in captivity

They're being handled as often as I can every day. I've joined a few groups and a local lady has offered to take the 3 boys which is a good start. My next question is how old should they be when they leave? They have their milk in a dish and they're eating dry food and small bits of veg. Should I let them go earlier than you would usually to allow for bonding? I used to sell my babies previously when they were 8/9 weeks but I was wondering about letting thesee go at 4/5 weeks?

Where they do not have a mother, leaving early doesn't matter as much. The boys and girls should be separated at 5 weeks anyway, so that seems like an appropriate time for them to go to their new home.

Wild rats mature slower then pet rats
You might want to discuss this with Lilspaz68. Jorats and Hopefloats
Joanne is correct about one thing ..... because they do not have a mom, as long as they are with siblings and go to very supportive homes,
they will likely be ok
People have found that it is important to spay and neuter wild rats ...
especially the boys as it lowers hormone levels and makes it easier for them to have happy lives
so I hope that there are good experienced rat vets in your area

I may regret asking this lol but where are you located? I'm in Surrey in the UK and I've been thinking about getting another cage and adding to my fur fam.

It is suggested that wild babies are bonded to domestic babies to help them adapt

I want to warn you, if you consider getting them spayed or neutered, really think about it. If it isn't necessary, and after "puberty" they aren't showing aggressive behavior, I'd not put them through surgery. That's how I lost my wild girl, Rhydian. I decided to get her spayed, to intro her in with my colony of males, and her heart gave out under the anesthesia. I think she may have had a heart condition I wasn't aware of, but I'm not 100 percent sure, and she may have died from shock, having been so afraid of the surgery, since wildies tend to be more skittish.

It isn't the same, but Lilspaz68 has had several litters of half wild babies and might have some helpful ideas

Well today has been incredibly disappointing. I have advertised these babies on rat groups on Facebook and I (had) found two people who wanted 3 rats each, leaving me with only two. However, it has been pointed out to me that these babies may carry leptosporosis and should be treated before being rehomed. I have spoken to all the vets locally and only one will test and treat. They want £80 PER RAT for the test, then around £8 per rat for the treatment if it's required. Every baby must be tested. They will not give the antibiotics without the test result. There is no way I can afford to do this. I can get a test directly at a lab that costs £50, but the vet wants a result for each baby before prescribing. The new homes no longer want them, so I'm back with 8 rats that I can't keep.

I honestly wish I'd never stepped in to help these. My vet has advised me to euthanise them all (which I would have to pay £100 for all of them. I've been crying on and off all night, I just wanted to help these little babies but it's like I've just dragged it on. No wildlife hospital will entertain talking to me about them. A lot of vets have flat out refused to see them and the ones that will want a premium. I'm completely at a loss.

I think the vets are being greedy by forcing you to pay to pay for testing that is prohibitively expensive when the treatment is so cheap.
Try contacting the SPCA or a rescue group. They will have a vet(s) that work with them that may be more willing to help. Keep trying to find a vet that will help. There must be a web site with a listing. There must be a vet out here with a heart. What about vet school? Maybe they could do the testing at a discounted price.
Don't give up yet!
Did you talk to Clairybell2477 yet?

Don't mention they're wild when talking to the vets. Pet rats come in agouti too.

edit:

"Mild leptospirosis is treated with doxycycline, ampicillin, or amoxicillin. For severe leptospirosis, intravenous penicillin G has long been the drug of choice, although the third-generation cephalosporins cefotaxime and ceftriaxone have become widely used. Alternative regimens are ampicillin, amoxicillin, or erythromycin. Several other antibiotics may be useful—for example, broth microdilution testing has shown sensitivity to macrolides, fluoroquinolones, and carbapenems[45] —but clinical experience with these agents is more limited."

So just about any antibiotic will work, so long as it's safe for babies. Just treat as a prophylactic if you like. People do it all the time, it's not as awful as it sounds. If they're gonna screw you, you have to take desperate measures for your babies. Your vet is awful to suggest euthanizing animals for essentially no reason.