Wish Us Luck!! Saving the Rats from Arabella's Old Life

[lilspaz68]

Ashley linked me to a kijiji ad last night...UGH.

"Free rats with cheap tanks need gone asap!

Date Listed 22-Jun-14
Address Newmarket, ON L3X 2V5, Canada

I have 5 female rats and 1 male that I need gone asap they are breeders but 4 of the 5 females are very friendly and the male is also friendly the other female is ok not the best.. The rats are free but I am selling there 3 tanks for 20 each there 35 gallon with lids.. I also have a wheel $10 a huge bag of bedding 10$ and a huge bag of food 15$ it is a perfect breeding set up if someone wants it all we can make deal. Need them gone this week or they will be snake food. Txt Matt 905 716 3942"

Ashley has been looking for a male for awhile now and offered to take the boy if we could get him. I reluctantly said I would take the girls, as this was a pretty desperate situation, but wanted to contact wonderful Alex to see if she could pick up these rats for us first. I got a hold of her quickly, she looked at the ad and said THIS is Arabella's former owner!

Her story is here... http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29536&highlight=arabella

Alex contacted him, and he's going through financial difficulties and is selling everything including his snakes, racks and supplies (incl. feeder breeder rats) and she's picking them all up at dinner time today, then dropping off the male to Ash, then the girls to me...poor ladies

His setup

In the pics you see the very bored and hot male pancaked in his tank. IF he's anything like his sons, he's a wonderful boy underneath it all.

The girls in their filthy tanks, there's 5 and one is not-nice but I have no clue which. The male lives on his own and he has not put the females with him within the last 3 weeks.

Wish us luck, we have NO clue what the rats will be like or in what shape until we get them, so it will be a nerve-wracking time waiting for Alex to pick them up tonight, assess them and let us all know.

 

[dspch911]

Oh those poor babies ... you guys are definitely a special group saving all these precious fuzzies!

 

[hopefloats]

How many are there in total?

 

[lilspaz68]

1 male, 5 females'

 

[hopefloats]

Did he at leasts keep them apart? or could they be pregnant?

 

[temblabamomo]

Oh dear. They need to be out of there. I hope this is the end of this person's life with animals. He doesn't need them. Good luck getting these little ones to safety.

 

[Scythe]

A bit of a change in plan, all rats are going straight to Shelagh and later on tonight I will head over with my boyfriend to pick him up. So Shelagh will probably be posting about him before I see him LOL. Once he is settled in his cage for a quiet night, I will take photos tomorrow.

 

[Vladina]

Oh my god, I don't know why I look at these photos because all they do is upset me and make me want to cry. :cry5:

Thank the gods these kiddos are getting a new life. You guys are so wonderful saving them from a miserable life. :cuddle:

 

[Maladie]

i'm so glad you guys got them. Poor babies. I looked quickly at the story about Arabella and she looks just like my little MamaMoodle.... breaks my heart. Mama also came from snakefeeders. I really wish there was something we could do about feeder-breeders, it's horrible. Very happy you're helping these poor babes. :iluvu:

 

[lilspaz68]

They are here, settling in for now, except the big lovely boy. He is stuffed in a small cage until his new Mom comes to get him later.

Scythe's boy - young, dirty, but with a clean tail, soft fur under the grime. Very nice boy.

The girls I found out never lived all together until now...sigh, so I could have fights...joy! They haven't been near the male for at least 4 weeks. Coats are all good, and no lung sounds but I will watch the mom since her body has been sooo stressed all her life.

The beige and blue masked (?) were kept in one tank, they are a little younger (5-6 mo?) and were bought from a petstore.
The agouti hoodie and agouti blazed were in another tank...I believe he bred them and they are a bit older, just under a year?
The mom of most of them, is a himi. She's got the floppiest, loosest body I have ever seen or felt! She's been bred to hell and then back. When I picked her up, I thought she had tumours low on her chest but quickly realized that she actually has milk engorged teats, so she literally just lost her litter...they were probably taken away to feed the snakes She does NOT trust. Not mean, just has no trust in humans. She just wanted to get away from me and kept flopping onto the floor.

Mom pics

Beige girl, curious

Blue masked (?) mismarked something or other LOL, a bit nervous

agouti hoodie, the dominant one, and brave

agouti blaze, curious, and pretty confident compared to the others

Some group pics

 

[dspch911]

How sad for the himi! They are beautiful and have nice markings. I know you will give them the spoiled rattie lives they deserve.. What lucky fuzz butts! They are in for some real culture shock. :urock: :urock: :urock: :urock: :urock: :urock: :urock: :urock: :urock:

 

[hopefloats]

Poor momma. The masked one reminds me of phatty... They are very pretty girls.

 

[Scythe]

I am in the car on the way home with the boy ♥ He is already proving to be SUUPER sweet. He has twisted against my belly in the crook of my arm. He turns around a lot when it gets bumpy, and he has been grooming himself a lot, but he is so lovely. When you go to pet him he melts even in this freaky car envionment. He is just a straight out lover rat ♥

 

[Vladina]

This just melts me...your boy is probably very aware that he is in a much better environment...even just being in the car with you! I bet he is imprinting on you that you are a SAFE person for him. He is going to love you so much. I bet he already does. Your new rescues are absolutely precious. I am so glad you have them!! Keep us posted!

 

[lilspaz68]

I am in the car on the way home with the boy ♥ He is already proving to be SUUPER sweet. He has twisted against my belly in the crook of my arm. He turns around a lot when it gets bumpy, and he has been grooming himself a lot, but he is so lovely. When you go to pet him he melts even in this freaky car envionment. He is just a straight out lover rat ♥

I knew it. Just his eyes..."nothing good has happened to me before...you seem like you could be good to me...I'll trust you"

:heart:

 

[Scythe]

So it turns out that while happy as a clam last night, being safe and cuddled and rescued..... after a nights rest of relaxation in a quiet house while I was out, his "real" personality came out... and he is a FIEND. When I first got home he peered out at me from his house curiously, came to the bars a few times, let me pet him... I left the door open cause his cage is on my desk beside my laptop. So, the second I pulled my breakfast sandwhich out, just out of the tims bag not even out of the wrapper, he went NUTS. I have never seen a rat lose their mind over food so much in my entire life. He went BERSERK, racing the sides of the cage, sniffing at the sandwhich, and then when I pulled it out of the bag, he actually RAN OUT OF THE CAGE AT ME FOR IT. Twice! He ran out the first time, stole some egg, ran back, ate it, and then ran back for more! He's a little food monster!

He is a tiny bit nippy, now, but he isnt biting near enough to break skin, so I think he is just testing me.

 

[Sheldon]

He probably thought it was his last meal. so mistreated before. Glad he is with you now.

 

[Scythe]

Here is a video of the boy for those who are following.

And... pictures. The entire Imgur album is here, I'll just post a couple of them.

He is very responsive and loves being talked to. The second I start talking, he will run up the the bars closest to me and just sit there close as he can, watching me. He also pancakes out a lot, stretches out to cover as much as he can of the ground, haha.

Edit: My boyfriend also thinks we should name him Hermes, haha.

 

[Vladina]

What a sweet boy and now he has a safe and loving home, that is so wonderful! I agree with Sheldon...maybe since he has been mistreated in the past, he went crazy over the sandwich, thinking that he needs to get food when he can, poor baby. I am sure he is grateful to you for saving him. :cheerful:

And yes, those little nips are most definitely him testing you out and being a bit fearful due to his mistrust of humans (I can't blame the poor sweetheart) but he is learning fast that you are safe and he can trust you. :heart:

 

[lilspaz68]

Mom has been renamed Millie, an old fashioned motherly type of name, and I had her out on the bed last night, to give her younger friends a break from her incessant grabbing onto them and trying to drag them. She was good with every rat she met including Miniel, who gives off such a bad vibe even the nicest rats hate her LOL She started off by looking for her babies as usual, but this started to change to happy exploring , unfortunately interspersed with the occasional drag of poor old Amity, but Amity didn't carry a grudge and just lay like a sack of potatoes while dragged then didn't run away afterwards LOL
Millie's eyes started to relax, and she started to settle down a lot.

You called?

The little girls are starting to really settle, and their personalities are coming out

blue masked is a lot shyer, took her ages to actually come up to the door level and even then she lurked more in the background...coming out with her friends but not interacting with me directly, except for tiny nips. She's learning from the more confident members of her new family...

"Yes, you.."

Beige girl is funny, loves to play, but also does these little micro licks that turn into grooming of the Human's hand. She's soo sweet

My brave pair are the sisters the agouti hoodie, bravest, runs and plays like she was born here The agouti blaze who doesn't play as much but is a very enthusiastic licker

Millie in the middle of beige girl and agouti blaze

They don't use hammocks yet but are very happy with everything else. They don't seem to chew toys, but are now stashing their lab blocks. They figured out waterbottles crazy fast and the wheel does get used occasionally