SQ
Senior Member - Vegan for the animals
Adopted out 2 young boys and an older rescue boy to a good home. They had purchased a FN which the woman promised to cover with wire. They had 2 dumbo boys that were a few weeks older than the boys they got through me.
Never heard from them and my phone messages were not returned but didn't worry as I knew they were busy and another rat owner was a friend of theirs and visited them weekly.
Finally talked to the woman on the phone. The older rescue boy had started biting.
Reclaimed the boy after owner decided that was the best course of action and noticed that the young rattie boys had not grown much. Plus they were pooping a great deal.
Godmother and I discussed this with the woman, then looked at the lab blocks she had been feeding them. (I had left lab blocks & baby cereal & told her where to get more and she had my contact info. & gave her a copy of Debbie D.'s book.) The lab blocks she had been feeding them was 22 % protein and a main ingredient was alfalfa. Gave her lab blocks and explained where to get more. She again promised to cover the FN with wire.
Dropped by to see how things were going, to take some lab blocks & tubes to the boys on Fri. The boys were dead.
She said that the black berks she had gotten from me became aggressive (they were now teens, having been born in Feb.,) so she had to divide the FN in half to separate the 2 berk brothers from the 2 dumbos. Then over the next 2 weeks she found a couple of healing gashes on the boys sides. One night she woke up to lots of fighting noise. She investigated but the ratties were ok and quieted down. The next morning she found one boy half out of the FN - head and front legs out and body twisted sideways. One of his back legs and his intestines and organs were missing. There was blood all over the cage. The 2nd boy was barely alive, gasping, one of his eyes missing and that side of his face torn up. He soon died.
A week or so later one of her children noticed that one of the dumbo boys was bleeding from his nose. When she investigated she discovered that the 2nd boy had part of his nose missing and it was scabbed over. She took him to another room to get a better look. When she returned, the first dumbo boy was dead. The next morning she found the second dumbo boy dead. She mentioned that one of the boys had been on baytril.
Any ideas on what happened?
They were unable to find any environmental changes that may have caused this.
I told her that the first boy had probably died between the bars and then his brother tried to dispose of the body. I thought that the 2nd boy may have gotten something caught in his throat and been unable to breathe ... thus clawing at his face in panic.
I know people who adopted siblings to all 4 of these boys and their rats are fine.
Anyone have any ideas?
I can only imagine how much my boys must have suffered.
I am in shock ...
Never heard from them and my phone messages were not returned but didn't worry as I knew they were busy and another rat owner was a friend of theirs and visited them weekly.
Finally talked to the woman on the phone. The older rescue boy had started biting.
Reclaimed the boy after owner decided that was the best course of action and noticed that the young rattie boys had not grown much. Plus they were pooping a great deal.
Godmother and I discussed this with the woman, then looked at the lab blocks she had been feeding them. (I had left lab blocks & baby cereal & told her where to get more and she had my contact info. & gave her a copy of Debbie D.'s book.) The lab blocks she had been feeding them was 22 % protein and a main ingredient was alfalfa. Gave her lab blocks and explained where to get more. She again promised to cover the FN with wire.
Dropped by to see how things were going, to take some lab blocks & tubes to the boys on Fri. The boys were dead.
She said that the black berks she had gotten from me became aggressive (they were now teens, having been born in Feb.,) so she had to divide the FN in half to separate the 2 berk brothers from the 2 dumbos. Then over the next 2 weeks she found a couple of healing gashes on the boys sides. One night she woke up to lots of fighting noise. She investigated but the ratties were ok and quieted down. The next morning she found one boy half out of the FN - head and front legs out and body twisted sideways. One of his back legs and his intestines and organs were missing. There was blood all over the cage. The 2nd boy was barely alive, gasping, one of his eyes missing and that side of his face torn up. He soon died.
A week or so later one of her children noticed that one of the dumbo boys was bleeding from his nose. When she investigated she discovered that the 2nd boy had part of his nose missing and it was scabbed over. She took him to another room to get a better look. When she returned, the first dumbo boy was dead. The next morning she found the second dumbo boy dead. She mentioned that one of the boys had been on baytril.
Any ideas on what happened?
They were unable to find any environmental changes that may have caused this.
I told her that the first boy had probably died between the bars and then his brother tried to dispose of the body. I thought that the 2nd boy may have gotten something caught in his throat and been unable to breathe ... thus clawing at his face in panic.
I know people who adopted siblings to all 4 of these boys and their rats are fine.
Anyone have any ideas?
I can only imagine how much my boys must have suffered.
I am in shock ...
The thought of something like that happening makes one feel sick to their stomach. I can't offer any advice, but I can understand the shock and feeling of distrust. It sounds as if something must have been very wrong since it wasn't an isolated case of one, but all 4. Poor boys, that is just terrible 
