Help baby wild rat

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Yea I'm not really sure If Howie is a rat. But I do know it's young.
Do you guys think that after 3 weeks if it isn't showing signs of illness it would be okay to introduce him/her to my rats?
And what are the chances they could all live together? I have a DCN for my two rats and Howie is in a 20 gallon reptile aquarium that my gerbils lived in.
 
Just went in and little Howie has left me a little black poops. And it's solid! :)
So I think he/she is old enough that I don't have to massage the belly after feeding cuz I didn't do that today. Little dish of formula and a little dish of water. And one piece of Oxbox to see if she is ready for solid food. Will go to store and get the oatmeal tomorrow and see if he/she will eat that....
Was telling my gf about this all and she decides to tell me she doesn't actually like rats that much... She hasn't met any yet. Only been reading about them... And she likes every other animal on the planet including her brother's two pet mice.... Little pissed at her for saying she doesn't like rats.... But I think she's just jealous and annoyed cuz I talk about them too much or something (been trying not to since she pointed it out) ... Plus she's in a bad mood today...

That's totally off topic though.
Back to Howie! Waiting for someone to give me an age estimate and a confirmation on rat or mouse... I haven't seen any balls yet although haven't really gotten a good view of the behind. At this "age" would a rat/mouse have balls if it was a male? Also his/her one eye is still shut is there something I should attempt doing with it? Not sure if it's injured or what....
He/she has been cleaning his/her face a lot. Which I think is good. Hasn't been scratching much but I see the bugs crawling in and out of the fur...
And I can't tell for certain but some of it's toes appeared to have broke and healed wrong or might still be broken... Today's kicking and sweeping with a broom was pretty bad....
 
Looking at least 2-3 weeks old...if eye(s) open and he/she is standing up for food.
But no expert.
It looks like a rat to me but the pictures are fuzzy on my phone.
A closer front shot would be easier to tell.
 
Don't want to dump her/him out of the tissue box I put in there to hide in. It's been a rough day. I don't have a scale to measure but he/she is about 2 inches long not including the tail. And yea he/she stands. A little wobbly standing up tall but easily perches on back legs. I'll get more pics tomorrow
 
:bliss:

I can't find the dancing POOP sign icon -- but, "YAY -- POOPIE" !!! :bliss:
 
Oh my goodness!! Howie left me a lot of poops last night!! They're so little and cute! [emoji5]️
And double yay Howie can eat from a dish!!
View attachment 1495

Glad we made it through the first night....

Got a better look at the eye and it looks scabbed shut....
 
Definitely a baby rat, probably 2ish weeks, which means the testicles have not developed.

I have sexing pics that will help you figure out what he/she is :D

These are 5 week old babies but these have the diagrams/explanations

Girl

sexinggirl1.jpg~original


Boy

sexingboy.jpg~original


Here are 20 day old babies

Girl

Girl-20daysold.jpg~original


Boy

Boy-20daysold.jpg~original
 
Babies can not be introduced to rats over 21 weeks old, until the baby is around 10 weeks old.
Because it will not smell like a rat so will be prey. Also rats over 21 weeks will injure or kill unfamiliar rats.
There are established gradual steps to follow when introing new rats so that no one is hurt

Baby will need to be put with another baby in a few weeks .... other baby needs to be same sex and around 5 or 6 weeks, so they will bond and the baby will learn how to live as a domestic pet.
 
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Steph said:
Thanks guys!
I know how to do intros. No one will get hurt. SQ I don't have any other babies... Just this one.
Click to expand...

You will need to get a same sex baby (about 5 or 6 weeks old so they will be close in age) to intro when your baby is about 3.5 weeks old. They will bond and your wild baby will become better able to be able to be happy.
Babies need to have at least one other same sex baby to play with and that is especially critical with wild babies needing to be paired with domestic babies.
 
Steph said:
Thanks guys!
I know how to do intros. No one will get hurt. SQ I don't have any other babies... Just this one.
Click to expand...

If you can't find any rescue rats that age, just "rescue" a healthy baby feeder rat. If they won't let you hold it and listen to its chest/lungs, try another place. You want the healthiest companion you can find.
 
Howie is adorable. Don't you love how rescuing one baby rat means you get to rescue another one? I think once you start owning rats they multiply exponentially. You start of with two and soon enough you have 20.
 
Those last pics of Howie made my day ! :love11:

I do believe he/she has to be one of the cutest rattie babies I have ever seen :love11:. So glad you saved that little furry doll.
I don't know where Howie's siblings are but I hope they are able to stay clear of what he went through! Can't wait to see pics as Howie grows. What a lucky little furball & what an angel you are!
And the more poops the better!
 
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Lol yea I know right Murphy.... Wouldn't be an issue if I didn't live with mom. And she hates the two i have. She despises Howie.
Been following instructions from a lady that rescues baby mice and rats. She lives in Cali so no way I can get Howie there. But it looks like as long as he/she is healthy I can release in a month or two. Because Howie is old enough to drink from a dish I haven't had to handle. Just refill the dish and check in to make sure he/she is moving alright. In a week we will start the transfer to solid food and then meal worms, berries and nuts since that's more like what he/she is gonna find in the wild.
As long as his/her eye opens back up I will plan for a release. If not I'm not sure what I'm gonna do cuz there is no way mom will let me get another baby rat. I'll talk to the lady I adopted my ratties from and see if she knows anyone with babies.
 

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