new rescues... should of been 6 boys... but guess what? Happy Update 3/23/14

[hopefloats]

So I was asked yesterday to take in 6 boys. I could buy their cn cage for 75.00 it is a double. I think.... I told her I didnt really have the money to buy that and I would have to check the budget. So later on she said I could have all their stuff including food and hammocks along with the cage. Her boyfriend threatened her with she would come home one day and they would be gone but I honestly dont know that I believe that now.

I went to pick them up today and I was looking at the 3 smaller black hooded rats thinking they are awfully small. So I started to inspect them and guess what........3 girls with 3 males. I will start with the boys first.


extremely small male rat. Pretty young i am guessing.

I am not a fan of agouti rats but this guy is to die for with his color. and the black hooded boy. These two boys were dumped at a pet store. If i remember correctly outside. I was suppose to get them weeks ago but this girl wanted to adopt them. well ok.

the young girls. I am guessing 3 months old. Maybe 4 they are the same size as my girls here.

Their food which said "kents" and had a picture of a pig on it. So i dont know what else it could be other than pig food.

this is the dirty hammock that came tied up in a bed. It is concerning since I am not sure where it came from.

obviously that is blood on the hammock but I have no idea from who. Everyone looks ok under my little check over but I wonder if maybe the girls?

I cannot begin to tell you how upset this made me. Obviously the size difference is there and the nipples are there and the lack of balls on them. I am fuming to say the least. I am not sure what to think or do right now so i have to debate on this for the night. I wonder if she figured out they were girls she said the person who she got them from said they were boys but hell i dont know. It is just so upsetting to see this. I dont understand how people can royally screw up like this.

 

[YorkieLove]

Even if you were a newbie to rats you could see a definite difference. :redhot: Poor babies I am glad that they are out of the situation but sorry this got dumped in your lap. :hugs:

 

[Godmother]

So sorry this is happening to you. Some people are willfully ignorant or who knows what.

 

[Joanne]

How incredibly frustrating for you! Wow, what do you do with three more litters? Is it possible to do e-spays for them? Or do they seem too far along?

 

[hopefloats]

How incredibly frustrating for you! Wow, what do you do with three more litters? Is it possible to do e-spays for them? Or do they seem to far along?

That is what I am considering. I am just a bit angry I just got the funds set the rest of the way aside for the neuters for those 3 boys and then this is going to take it. I am not sure what else to do though because I dont think I can have 3 litters. I just adopted out a bunch well I am taking the rest to chicago this weekend but I am just so furious over this. I have to look over and figure out what will come in from the adoptions this weekend i may be able to do all 6 but I dont know. I am just so angry right now. I thought since they "rescued" that wasnt a concern. I shouldnt assume.

The agouti boy is not using his front paw. It is a bit swollen but not much the cage pans are horrible extremely chewed up so i will have to see about ordering a few more of those to cover the cages. One of the girls seems to be choking she is wet at the mouth and is a doing that skin thing so I am watching her for now.

So sorry this is happening to you. Some people are willfully ignorant or who knows what.

Even if you were a newbie to rats you could see a definite difference. :redhot: Poor babies I am glad that they are out of the situation but sorry this got dumped in your lap. :hugs:

It is that i am assuming. I dont get how you cannot tell the sex apart not like sexing hamsters. I am so just not happy right now. I cannot even begin to tell you how livid i am over this.

 

[Joanne]

Let us know if you need some help to make it happen - the sooner they're spayed, the better...

 

[Dahlas]

 

[lilspaz68]

Sigh, they were either seriously stupid and wilfully blind or they used you to dump the rats on...sooo sorry Peggy.

Get your scale out, and weight daily, and also every night tip the girls over and look at their bits to see if they are in heat...you'll know within 4-5 days, and can make your decisions better on who needs it most. ((hugs))

They ARE cute at least? :wink2:

 

[hopefloats]

very social to. Happy little guys.

 

[hopefloats]

Taking the 3 girls to the vet for sneezing. Going to talk to the vet about it all.

 

[jorats]

Good luck! Hopefully they aren't pregnant.

 

[hopefloats]

I took the girls to the vet today for a check up see if she can feel any babies which she wasnt sure as of yet. They have wet sneezes so I had to get them some meds that are safe till I figure out what to do. They now have names my favorite assistant wanted names when I made the appointment so I was kinda lost in getting names yesterday so I told her to pick 3 girl names so they are now Nora, Eva and Emily. Nora was the one having the choking incident last night and she is doing better today. No signs of any problem.

Otto the agouti has a swollen paw but he seems better today was putting weight on it. The little naked boy Opie is a joy and I am sure someone will scoop him up since he is naked. I am thinking maybe with one of the haired babies i have here. The black hooded boy will be clay since I didnt get his name but I know they are a SOA themed so I will just keep those. So Clay and Otto was dumped at a pet store they were living in a 2.5 gallon tank. I was to take them weeks ago which I wish like hell I would of insisted. I wouldnt be in the spot i am now.

We have a few issues first is my heart and mind. I am againist babies dont get me wrong I would never allow for an animal in my care to become pregnant. I remember with Noel I cried the whole way there to her espay for me this is more upsetting than losing one of my rats. The truth is the amount of babies scare me half to death. My daughter says " well we have done it before" which we were lucky and they has small litters. I am crazy and 26 babies are nothing to me. I have been a wreck since I picked them up deciding their fate. It makes me emotional just thinking about the whole scenerio. I believe in preventing pregnacies. Spaying, keeping them safe in a appropriate cage and being mindful when you have the opposite sex in the house. I dont like the idea of babies but the idea of killing them is almost worst to me. So I am again battling with the whole thing.

We are also having the worst winter known to mankind. We have more snow coming tomorrow, and by weds we are suppose to have another foot. So I sit here with this in mind as well. The major highways have been shut down most of the week going towards my vets office and they should of shut them down today with the drifting we are getting here. It is just impossible for travel and that is another hindering fact I am facing along with my hours at work. I can drop them off the day before and pick them up the next day which would be ok but the problem is the weather wont stop.

I am still working on all the details and convincing. I know it would be best to do it, save the homes and not make more but at the same time. I have never let a rat in this house I didnt plan on caring for till the day they died if they never get adopted. I think my ability to cope is my downfall. I am to willing to take on any thing with these guys.

 

[Godmother]

Truly a huge dilemma, tough whatever you decide.

 

[Joanne]

It's such a tough decision - whatever you decide will be the right decision for you.
And if you decided to let the girls have the babies, you could share the burden by putting up all kinds of nasty pictures so we can commiserate with you...LOL

 

[SQ]

:hugs:

 

That is infuriating, I wish people would just think!

Sent from my Nokia Lumia 520 using Tapatalk

 

[hopefloats]

It is so upsetting. The thing that makes it so bad is I knew the girl she is a GP rescue so I find it very difficult to understand how this happened. Checking sex is always the first thing to do when you rescue. I just dont understand how it happened in a rescue.

I know you guys will support me in any choice I make and will go ga ga over the babies with me if I decide to just let nature happen and hope not all are pregnant but it is just funny how hard this choice is for me. It is because it is babies that makes it so hard.

I am gonna weigh them when I get home from work and see how it goes over the weekend. Nora is my first concern she seems a little rounder than the others but I could be paranoid as well.

[attachment=0:zupoe4hd]image.jpg[/attachment:zupoe4hd]

 

[SQ]

Hopefloats,
I certainly understand because I couldn't do it and in the past I have made the decision not to - while hoping and praying that the ratties were not pregnant .... but I never had 3 at once, and ....

I wouldn't want to suggest what you should do or influence you as you are the one that will have to deal with the consequences, not me.

I just wanted you to know that I understand the struggle you are going through
and I know that you will make the best decision you can.

:hugs:

 

[victoria]

How long did she have them? Honestly, they look old enough that they should have already had a litter if they'd been with males this whole time. I'd be flipping out...

Guinea pig food is usually like rabbit pellets or it's seed mix if the manufacturer is trying to appeal to the masses. I think it's one of these two foods that you got with these guys: http://kentfeeds.com/products/other-ani ... -products/

 

[Dahlas]

I guess all my years working rescue has made things a lot clearer for me....you don't bring more lives into the world. You don't have that luxury when working in the rescue world....those homes are needed for the lives that are already here and struggling. Of course it was never an easy decision...I love babies, who doesn't but if you have the opportunity to prevent more babies being born you do it. (This is how I was taught)
Ultimately the decision is yours not mine...and I KNOW you will do what is best for these rats and for you. There is a reason I am no longer involved in rescue...it is very hard and the decisions you have to make can be unbearable... Good luck to you...what ever you decide I am behind you!