New member handrearing 4 wild baby rats.

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They were getting REALLY tame, hopping onto my hand for snacks, grooming themselves in my palm, giving me little licks and tiny nibbles (gentle ones!) and starting to enjoy rubs behind the ears. But after the escape, they got really skittish (well, I can't speak for the escapee because it was busy having the time of his life having full control of our bathroom!)

I can only assume that when the escape happened, something happened to spook them about being handled.

I have started the taming process again, we are making slow but steady progress ( they are beginning to show an interest in food I hold in my hand with my hand lay on the floor of the cage) and are also once again occasionally coming to the bars of the cage as if they are interested in me.

I'm not going to build my hopes up, but I'm going to do the very best I can. I'm buying an extra cage when I get paid, so that I can attach it to their current cage to double it's size.
 
The escape was a blessing in disguise somehow.:) Is she in a separate cage now? Hope she'll be okay.
We separated the girl, and had the cage next to the main cage, so that she was still near to the others.

It was a disaster.

She didn't eat, drink, or come out of her bed for over 24 hours, and seemed extremely distressed and depressed.

We put her back in with the others, and she perked right up. I know that rats are supposed to be in pairs or groups, so I wasn't happy about separating her, but obviously we are running the risk of her being pregnant if she stays with the boys. None of the vets will neuter her as they say the anaesthetic would be too risky. So, I had to put her back in with the boys, rather than her die through not eating, drinking, or stress, or all 3.

We have to assume that she is either already pregnant, or will become pregnant. The client of mine who helped me when they were very young has said she MIGHT be able to take the girl rat, even if she is already pregnant, because she already has girl rats, some are fancy rats, some were originally wild, but she is recovering from an operation at the moment and not going anywhere!
 
It's better to hope than let her suffer from isolation.:) Yes, they also have feelings as much as we do, right?
 
Yes. I know that some people might see this as irresponsible, and yes, I do admit that I feel extremely guilty at basically "dooming" her to get pregnant, but, the way she was when she was separated seemed very cruel.
 
When rats are alone it dooms them to dying an early, miserable death. You didn’t have a choice. Will you be able to isolate her before she gives birth?
 
Im keeping a very close eye on her every day, checking for larger stomach, because she is not fully tame yet. We have a large cage ready with closely spaced bars and a medium sized solid sided cage, so we have two housing choices when the day comes....but I do worry, definitely.
 
Im keeping a very close eye on her every day, checking for larger stomach, because she is not fully tame yet. We have a large cage ready with closely spaced bars and a medium sized solid sided cage, so we have two housing choices when the day comes....but I do worry, definitely.
No signs yet?🐭
 
Nothing yet. Lots of boisterous fighting, but that seems to be just two certain boys....she just takes herself off to one of the other houses when the boys start their rough and tumble. You can almost hear her tut and roll her eyes. Haha.

Tomorrow I am going to put a shallow bowl of water in their cage with some peas in it, as I've heard that rats like fishing for peas?
 
Nothing yet. Lots of boisterous fighting, but that seems to be just two certain boys....she just takes herself off to one of the other houses when the boys start their rough and tumble. You can almost hear her tut and roll her eyes. Haha.

Tomorrow I am going to put a shallow bowl of water in their cage with some peas in it, as I've heard that rats like fishing for peas?
Well, you're not hoping for it, right?😄 Good for her.
Fishing for peas will be interesting.
 
No, I definitely don't want her to be pregnant. Poor baby, I just hope the boys leave her back end alone for as long as possible
 
Can I ask where you’re located? I have a male wild rat that was a recuse (I adore him, was going to release him but couldn’t because he imprinted on me) and my veterinarian neutered him because we ended up rescuing two female rats to be his companions (one dumbo rat and one fancy rat, their original owner lost her home). Neutering males is a much, much less invasive surgery than spaying a female. My veterinarian happened to be willing to neuter my male rat though she had never done it because I was working at the clinic as her veterinary technician. Maybe you could ask around about getting your boys neutered? Did you ever catch your boy that had escaped?
 
I am in Sheffield, UK.
Although there are quite a few vets in our area to choose from, there is only one that deals with rats, and they have said that in their opinion to neuter/spay any of them would be too risky of a procedure due to the anaesthetic.

Yes, the escaped baby was recaptured a few weeks ago now, all 4 are healthy, fit and well.
 
Yes, absolutely rats LOVE pea fishing. Even after all the YouTube videos I watched while waiting for my rats from a breeder, I didn’t quite believe that every rat on earth would really LOVE the heck out of it but lo and behold they do. Well mine went at it with fervor at least! I cannot wait to know if wild rats do as well.

I was wondering if you had any photos of your wild rats that you could upload? I’m so curious what they look like. I’m so invested in this story. You should write a childrens book about this experience.

You’re so lucky to be in the UK. On many, many fronts. I’m Kate in Los Angeles and I have some family in Scotland. Isn’t it much easier in UK to get vet care? I rescued a 2 week old American eastern red fox squirrel last year and when it got aspiration pneumonia due to my faulty bottle feeding techniques, I had to cry and beg for anyone to see him. Finally, a day later, some vet an hour away agreed to see him on the hush because it’s illegal for them to treat wildlife here. He insisted on an X-ray even though I knew what it was and just wanted baytril. After $500 he gave me the antibiotic and the squirrel perked right up. It was a heart wrenching ordeal. It seems much easier in UK to get humane care for animals and people alike.

I am so so so grateful to read here that we can purchase baytril online! Thanks to everyone who mentioned that in other threads. And the squirrel was released at 6 months old a happy and healthy man.

oh yes and also it’s illegal for pet stores of any kind in California to sell rats anymore. No fancies or feeders anymore! Ridiculous
 
Well, the pea fishing was a bit of a letdown....they weren't interested at all, but I'll try again in a few days.

Yes, there are a few photos of the baby rats dotted around the other posts I've made in the forum.

I'm not sure what you mean by saying that Vet Care is easier to get in the UK, there are vets, but they mostly deal with the usual dogs, cats, rabbits etc.
Some vets (although not all) deal with exotics such as reptiles, and then of course as I've discovered recently, getting a vet within travelling distance that deal with rats has been extremely difficult. The nearest vet to me that will treat rats is about 35/45 miles away, if I remember correctly.

The quality varies wildly, too. There are some vets around here who have not so great reputations, so it's always a bit of a gamble which one to choose, which is very unfortunate when it your much loved pet.
 
Awwwww well that’s disappointing! The grass is greener til you find out it’s not. Those are exactly the same problems here. I’m so sorry about your heartache. I’ll look around for your baby pics.
 
It is what it is, unfortunately! We do what we can for our pets, and it is frustrating to discover that you don't have many health care options for them.
 
Latest photo of the 4 babies
20220702_202213.jpg
 
I wish they were curious about me! It was just a mixture of making sure the bars were not in the photo, and zoom in!

We tried pea fishing, but they didn't seem interested. I've given them some pitted cherries, they seem to be getting lively about them.
 
I wish they were curious about me! It was just a mixture of making sure the bars were not in the photo, and zoom in!

We tried pea fishing, but they didn't seem interested. I've given them some pitted cherries, they seem to be getting lively about them.
Not even once?☺️ The second is clearly a better option.😃
 
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