I have a rat named Mouse

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Baron

New Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2021
Messages
1
Location
Glen Davis, NSW, Australia
Earlier this year we found a bunch of dead and near dead, mice (or so we thought) in the cabin air filter of the car. All bar one passed away overnight and we figured the survivor would shortly follow. We were wrong. I fed it with an eyedropper and baby formula and it just kept growing. We soon realized that "Mouse" (we are so original with names) was a rat. He/she is now a young adult and is living in a converted BBQ. I always intended on releasing Mouse when the weather got warmer but I have had people tell me that he/she won't last in the wild. Unfortunately, Mouse has become tame and loves a cuddle. This is bad as we will be moving and will not be able to keep him/her. I don't know what it is but it is not huge I.e. easily fits on my hand. There is a large tree about 30 metres from my house and I regularly see rats running up and down it. Maybe Mouse is from this group.
We live in a rural area and the nearest town is about 80 kilometres away. Is it true that Mouse would not survive the wild? I understand that domestic rats are not built for it, but Mouse comes from wild stock.
 

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Just saw this post now, Mouse is cute! Wondering what you did with Mouse? Sorry I am not knowledgeable enough to answer your question as to whether he will survive in the wild. Hopefully you have found a solution for him. But he actually looks like a little mouse to me.
 
Mouse is a girl. And no, she won't survive. Your best bet is to find a rat rescue nearby that has knowledge and experience with wild rats. Some will be sort of tame, and some will never be tame. They need to be with other rats, but not in the wild. She will not have learned skills from her momma to know where is their territory, and how to find food, and if she is somewhat tame, she won't have that survival instinct around humans. She is so freaking adorable, and it's awesome that you gave her a chance at survival. But she needs to be in a group of other ratties, with someone who knows, and understands about wild rats.
 
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