VacantEyes
Well-Known Member
Hello
It's been so long since I was active on this forum, unfortunately my rats have all passed on. I had lots of eye issues with a bad line of hairless and my others were mostly tumour related since then, I promised my partner no more rats.
On to the story. I noticed a post on a local for sale site saying how her dad had accidentally dug up a litter of baby rats in their garden, and he has quite a lot of poison down and as a result there were a couple of dead adults in the garden too. They left the babies for just over a day but the got louder and louder so it is a assumed that mom was one of the poisoned ones. They were asking if anyone could help as the local wildlife rescue had refused :cuss: but they got about 100 comments offering traps and shovels and poison this upset me greatly so I messaged her and offered to take them. I set a cage up for them and when they arrived they all had their eyes closed. I guessed they were about 10 days old based on when I used to breed my pet rats, and I think I was right as all had their eyes open by day 14/15. I've had them for just over a week now and they have almost doubled in weight. Took a couple of days to get them used to the milk but they handled it well. They were nervous at first and their tails were wagging. However, they're now running around and climbing like little loonies... but they still run onto my hands and groom me. I only ever intended to release them and as soon as they were able I had them feeding from shallow dishes, yet they seem just as friendly as my old babies. They're more alert and way more agile, but they haven't bitten yet and seem so affectionate. Will they be okay to release?
A couple of people have expressed interest in rehoming them if they remain friendly. I am really torn. Part of me insists wild is wild and should be released, but another part of me knows they're likely to be hunted with terriers or poisoned at some stage. I've reared lots of wildlife and all was released, but nothing was ever friendly like these guys. I know they are nothing like pet ones, I know they can be much harder to deal with.
I just want to hear from people who know more about this than I do. I want what is best for these guys, I'm so happy I took then in, I've missed interacting with these amazing creatures, but if it's in their best interests to release them then of course I will. I will however need to try and acclimatise them to bejng outside gradually as it's cold now. Any help would be appreciated.
It's been so long since I was active on this forum, unfortunately my rats have all passed on. I had lots of eye issues with a bad line of hairless and my others were mostly tumour related since then, I promised my partner no more rats.
On to the story. I noticed a post on a local for sale site saying how her dad had accidentally dug up a litter of baby rats in their garden, and he has quite a lot of poison down and as a result there were a couple of dead adults in the garden too. They left the babies for just over a day but the got louder and louder so it is a assumed that mom was one of the poisoned ones. They were asking if anyone could help as the local wildlife rescue had refused :cuss: but they got about 100 comments offering traps and shovels and poison this upset me greatly so I messaged her and offered to take them. I set a cage up for them and when they arrived they all had their eyes closed. I guessed they were about 10 days old based on when I used to breed my pet rats, and I think I was right as all had their eyes open by day 14/15. I've had them for just over a week now and they have almost doubled in weight. Took a couple of days to get them used to the milk but they handled it well. They were nervous at first and their tails were wagging. However, they're now running around and climbing like little loonies... but they still run onto my hands and groom me. I only ever intended to release them and as soon as they were able I had them feeding from shallow dishes, yet they seem just as friendly as my old babies. They're more alert and way more agile, but they haven't bitten yet and seem so affectionate. Will they be okay to release?
A couple of people have expressed interest in rehoming them if they remain friendly. I am really torn. Part of me insists wild is wild and should be released, but another part of me knows they're likely to be hunted with terriers or poisoned at some stage. I've reared lots of wildlife and all was released, but nothing was ever friendly like these guys. I know they are nothing like pet ones, I know they can be much harder to deal with.
I just want to hear from people who know more about this than I do. I want what is best for these guys, I'm so happy I took then in, I've missed interacting with these amazing creatures, but if it's in their best interests to release them then of course I will. I will however need to try and acclimatise them to bejng outside gradually as it's cold now. Any help would be appreciated.