WILD BABY RAT PLEASE HELP

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oasisandbambi

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 6, 2018
Messages
48
Location
Portugal
I'm cleaning this rat infested house. The owners wanted to poison them but I'm trying to get rid of them using strong smells etc so they will leave. They made nests in some of the drawers and today I came in and saw this baby. He didn't even open hes eyes yet. I'm not sure if the mom left and left him. I don't wanna bring him home cuz I don't wanna put my rats at risk of catching anything and I don't think we have any associations that rehabilitate rats. Will the mom come back to feed them? Do I just leave him or? I really don't know what to do with him but I don't really want him to just slowly die.
 
Does the baby have a milk belly or look well cared for?
If so I would leave the baby and check back in a little while to see if the mama returned for the baby. Hopefully she will soon feel safe enough to do that …… she was likely interrupted while removing her babies.

You need to find a nursing (pet) rattie mama with litter to carefully add the baby to …… so start looking for one immediately - one that you can buy along with all her babies.
Babies that young have almost no chance at survival if not fostered by a (pet) rattie mama.

The chance of the baby having a disease that your ratties could catch is so low that no one worries about it

Please see the Reference Thread for info on how to care for orphans …… until you can find a nursing mama with litter. https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/

Baby will need to be kept warm (not too warm) and fed every 2 hours (incl all night) - with a new clean tiny paint brush, and will need to be stimulated after eating with a damp warm cotton ball so that it will pee and poop. Also rescue formula and more info I posted is here : https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/infant-rat-uri-clicking.35697/#post-496055

Formulas are not good enough and most young babies often die after 5 days unless a foster mama is found ……. I have read that the formula for orphaned squirrels is the best, but people also feed organic soy infant formula
 
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Does the baby have a milk belly or look well cared for?
If so I would leave the baby and check back in a little while to see if the mama returned for the baby. Hopefully she will soon feel safe enough to do that …… she was likely interrupted while removing her babies.

You need to find a nursing (pet) rattie mama with litter to carefully add the baby to …… so start looking for one immediately - one that you can buy along with all her babies.
Babies that young have almost no chance at survival if not fostered by a (pet) rattie mama.

The chance of the baby having a disease that your ratties could catch is so low that no one worries about it

Please see the Reference Thread for info on how to care for orphans …… until you can find a nursing mama with litter. https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/

Baby will need to be kept warm (not too warm) and fed every 2 hours (incl all night) - with a new clean tiny paint brush, and will need to be stimulated after eating with a damp warm cotton ball so that it will pee and poop. Also rescue formula and more info I posted is here : https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/infant-rat-uri-clicking.35697/#post-496055

Formulas are not good enough and most young babies often die after 5 days unless a foster mama is found ……. I have read that the formula for orphaned squirrels is the best, but people also feed organic soy infant formula
My phone's battery ended before I could read this. I ended up having leave the house and decided to leave her there. I feel horrible but a little better now that I am reading this since I believe it would be impossible for me to find a mama rat + babies I could buy. Where I'm from and where I'm located there are barely rats for adoption. The drawer she is in, has a drawer on top and one on the bottom both, I think, with rat nests ( a lot of chewed up clothing and other tissues stuffed inside. I didn't open these drawers cuz, if there were rats inside that were potential her family, I didn't want them to get startled and run away. My guess was, as you said, the mama was moving the babies out as I got in. Now that I left and the house is empty and it's night, hopefully the mom will come back for her.
 
This is a tough situation but personally, I would have left the baby there too but if you return and there doesn't seem any mom around, I'd look for a wildlife refuge.
 
I did check on her the next day, she was dead.

There aren't any wildlife refuges where I'm from that take in rats ( Portugal ).

If this happens again, should I take her in even if I can't find a nursing rat? And if I'm not able to take her in, what can I do? I debated on wether or not to take this baby home and my parents really weren't keen on me bringing home a wild rat.

If I do take her home and she survives, is she realised after? Do I or other people need to be cautious while handling her or around her? Is there a chance that she is carried decease that can be transmitted to humans or other pets?

Also, do you have any suggestions on repellents ? I'm using some with very strong smells but some of them just won't leave. I really don't wanna have to deal with something like this again. I feel horrible about this baby. It would be great if the mother's carried the babies with them when moving out.
 
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That poor Baby :(
Something must have happened that made the mama unable to return …. mama rats can only carry one baby at a time. Older babies have a more likely chance of surviving without a foster mama because once eyes open they can start eating soft food …… but imo it is always worth trying

Baby rats can never be released, they need to be kept as pets
The only info I have re encouraging wild rats to go are the links I posted above

Is it possible that they are dumped pets?
 
That poor Baby :(
Something must have happened that made the mama unable to return …. mama rats can only carry one baby at a time. Older babies have a more likely chance of surviving without a foster mama because once eyes open they can start eating soft food …… but imo it is always worth trying

Baby rats can never be released, they need to be kept as pets
The only info I have re encouraging wild rats to go are the links I posted above

Is it possible that they are dumped pets?
I edited my previous reply asking if we need to take any precautions while handling a wild baby rat? Could we or other pets catch decease from wild baby rats or parasites they carry ?
I did read the links you posted, forgot to thank you for those.

Since they got to be kept as pets, would I introduce them to my current rats? Even tho there is very little chance of them catching anything, I have to admit it still scares me a bit. I don't want my babies to get sick.

No, not at al. The house was empty for a while and is located next to a farm. The previous owners left furniture in, clothes etc. They made several nests in drawers, inside couches and beds.
 
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Here in North America the likelihood of catching a disease is so small, no one worries about it.
It is likely the same where you are

You would intro babies to pet babies, and then when older could see about introing to older ratties
Jorats and Lilspaz68 have rescued babies that were half wild so can speak more from experience
There are also a couple of groups on facebook for people who have raised and kept wild orphaned babies
There have also been a couple of former members in the USA who raised and kept wild orphaned baby rats - at least one story is in the Reference Thread https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/
 
Here in North America the likelihood of catching a disease is so small, no one worries about it.
It is likely the same where you are

You would intro babies to pet babies, and then when older could see about introing to older ratties
Jorats and Lilspaz68 have rescued babies that were half wild so can speak more from experience
There are also a couple of groups on facebook for people who have raised and kept wild orphaned babies
There have also been a couple of former members in the USA who raised and kept wild orphaned baby rats - at least one story is in the Reference Thread https://www.ratshackforum.com/threads/reference-thread-read-only.35894/
Thank you!
 
Some people have rescued wild babies and have successfully tamed them enough to be happy pets. Rescuing babies before their eyes are open is a huge challenge and the chance of survival is pretty low.
 
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