Please help - wild baby rat rescue.

[AmberN23]

Hi all,
I stumbled on your group and am hoping you can help!

for better or worse, I've rescued a baby wild rat from my garage whose mom didn't come back after days and days.  He (I think) was cold and trying desperately to hide in my flower bed.  I couldn't just let the poor thing suffer and die alone, so I brought him inside to try and care for him.

I've had him for a few days and have been feeding him kitten's milk replacer as advised by a few articles, etc.  He just opened his eyes today (yay!) and is feisty and active, is breathing fine, and seems to be responding well.  His coat is nice and full, he potties (with my help) although not as much as I would think, but doesn't seem really inclined to eat on his own - I really need to coax him to take food.  I knew nothing about rats prior to this experience, so I'm learning as I go.  I've even smuggled him to work with me for the past two days to administer regular feedings, so I guess I'm trying the best I know how.

I have a few questions. 
1) At this point, is he better off staying with me at home?  Can a rescued wild rat thrive in a domestic environment? I want what's best for him.
2) If keeping him is the way to go, I've heard a lot that they need companionship.  Do I need to get another rat?  I wasn't even expecting to have the first one!
3) How do I know if he's getting enough to eat?  Some literature says I should start mixing baby cereal with the formula for him to eat on his own at this point (he does have teeth and I'm guessing is about 2 weeks old).  As it is, I have to almost force a few drops of formula in him.  I'm supplementing with a few drops of pedialyte to keep him hydrated, especially when I notice he won't urinate for several hours.

I could really use your advice and suggestions about where to go from here!  I always seem to be a rescue magnet (I already have two dogs and two cats) but rats are new territory for me, especially teeny ones!  Thanks in advance.  you can post to the list or email me at anaslund@comcast.net with your feedback.  Thanks a million!

Amber

(edit - kmw - topic title)

[kmw]

Honestly, your best bet would be to find a wildlife rehabber who will take the rat in, and return him to the wild when he's able. 

If that's not possible, he can be kept, however, don't ever expect him to be a "pet".  At most, you'll be tolerated because you provide food, and it's likely you'll not even be able to handle him.  BlueMoon has a wild rat (she's a rehabber) that she kept because she could not be safely returned to the wild to live.  I'm hoping she'll chime in here  

I suspect your guy, if kept, will remain a solitary rat.

[AmberN23]

Thanks a million for the feedback.  I've called around to wildlife rehabbers to no avail (many say they won't take mice or rats, only racoons or squirrels, etc.).  If you happen to know any in the Chicago area, please pass them along!

I'm happy to be a 'provider', I just want the little guy to live his lil' life in peace.

[Adventure Rats]

I also have a wild rat I raised from about the age your guy is. She's a Ratus Ratus and VERY timid. Most times I only know she's alive because she takes her food and drinks her water. She'll be 2 soon, so that goes to tell you how anti-social they are. So far your doing everything right, if his eye's are open you have a real good chance he'll make it. Start putting a bowl of food in his cage and very low water bottle. Mine started to eat and use the water bottle right after their (there were 4 total, 1 died very young the others around 6 months old) eye's opened. Keep him warm, that's so very important.

I'd suggest starting to limit the handleing and plan on releasing him in a nice area with shelter and water. It is really up to you though. If you do plan on keeping him I'd suggest a nice LARGE wire cage with a wire bottom and pull out try. It's been my lifesaver with Chopper, she freaks when I clean her cage and if I can do the bedding every week without her even noticing its so much better. As far as the inside of her cage, she's very clean, pee's and poo's at one side and when I do do her nesting material they are almost always pretty clean.

He'll needs lots of things to climb on and jump around on, hide in and nest in.

Thank you so much for being kind enough to take in this helpless little rat. Oh and if you do keep him he'll have to be alone.

Best of luck and PLEASE keep us updated on his progress...oh and we NEED pics...of course!!

Heather

[AmberN23]

Thanks so much for your insights!

Just out of curiosity, did you not release your wild rat for a particular reason?  I live in the city, and after going through all of this to care for the little guy, I am heartbroken at the idea that I could re-release him back into the neighborhood only for him to eat someone's D-Con or get caught by a cat.  I realize he might not be a 'pet' domestic rat, but damn if I'm not attached. 

Guess it's a trip to the pet store.  If I can muster the courage, at what age should I consider releasing him?

I'll try and get him to snap a photo to post.  He doesn't mind being handled, but loves to curl up by my neck. Maybe he's camera shy.

[Mother of Eleven]

I had a wild rat "Morsel", my cat caught her and we kept her as a pet.  She wasn't sociable for two years, and then all of a sudden she took some food from my hand (biting me at the same time), and it was uphill from there.  I was never able to hold her, but she would climb up my arm onto my shoulder and then go back into her cage.  She lived with my last two females, and after they died, I bought "Nicky" and she lived with him until she passed on.  She lived a little over three years, and was the healthiest of all my rats.

[AmberN23]

Well, "Nicky", as we're calling him, is doing great!  I gave him some rat blocks softened with formula yesterday for the first time, and that kid was ready to do some REAL eating!   I'm thrilled to have helped, honestly, even though most folks in the city see the rats as a nuisance (we have many living in our garage and alley).

we're still debating on what's best for him; I guess I'll have to see whether he becomes attached to us and seems dependent, or whether he'd be happier off on his own braving the wild.  I can't believe he'd be happy in a cage forever, especially because we have cats and dogs that are perpetually curious about the new critter, but I don't want to set him off somewhere if I'm not sure he can make it on his own.  Are they resourceful scavengers enough to find food and water in the wild once they've been fed in captivity? And could I release him somewhere like a forest preserve, or does he need to be somewhere more, well, urban? I'm also trying to figure out at what age to release him.  Any thoughts?

He's feisty to be sure.  He's nibbled at my fingers, but seems more like he's looking for food than biting at this point though I'm certain to be cautious as he gets bigger.

[BlueMoon]

BlueMoon has a wild rat (she's a rehabber) that she kept because she could not be safely returned to the wild to live.  I'm hoping she'll chime in here  

You rang? lol 

My wild rat Beatrice was a pretty exceptional case. I raised her from when she was about ten days old, she had severe health problems, and between her handfeeding and medicating she was handled a lot for the first month I had her. By comparison, the other wild rats I raised wanted nothing to do with me by the time they were three weeks old. Even though Beatrice was relatively tame, underweight, and didn't know the social "rules" of being a rat (since she was raised as a single baby), I seriously debated whether I should keep her. I knew she'd probably have to live alone, and would very likely be bored and frustrated living in a cage. She's a year old now, spends her nights chewing on the cage bars, is only just getting used to living with another rat, and rarely allows anyone but myself to handle her. It is far from an ideal situation, but I think the chances she would have made it on her own on the wild are slim to none.

1) At this point, is he better off staying with me at home?  Can a rescued wild rat thrive in a domestic environment? I want what's best for him.

Your little guy sounds like he'll be much better off in the wild. Keep handling to a minimum; at two weeks old he's ready to start trying to eat on his own. Assuming he is healthy, in a week or so you'll be able to stop handfeeding/handling completely. More on this later...

2) If keeping him is the way to go, I've heard a lot that they need companionship.  Do I need to get another rat?  I wasn't even expecting to have the first one!

I don't think you'll need to worry about this, but as I mentioned earlier, it's taken over a year for Beatrice to accept a cagemate.

3) How do I know if he's getting enough to eat?  Some literature says I should start mixing baby cereal with the formula for him to eat on his own at this point (he does have teeth and I'm guessing is about 2 weeks old).  As it is, I have to almost force a few drops of formula in him.  I'm supplementing with a few drops of pedialyte to keep him hydrated, especially when I notice he won't urinate for several hours.

If you have a small enough scale, keep track of his weight to make sure he's eating enough. Two-week-olds should be around 20-25 grams. Wild rats get the hang of self-feeding much earlier than our domestics do, and if he has teeth, he's ready to take a whack at solid foods (even if his eyes are still closed). Go ahead and mix the formula with some rice baby cereal and crushed lab blocks, and leave some dry food in with him too.  Continue handfeeding for about a week after he starts eating on his own. I actually wrote up a whole article on this a while ago for a state rehabber's newsletter, you can read it here. It has more info on different foods you can start to introduce.

we're still debating on what's best for him; I guess I'll have to see whether he becomes attached to us and seems dependent, or whether he'd be happier off on his own braving the wild.  I can't believe he'd be happy in a cage forever, especially because we have cats and dogs that are perpetually curious about the new critter, but I don't want to set him off somewhere if I'm not sure he can make it on his own.

Keep handling to a minimum, and very soon you'll see that it's best to release him.

Are they resourceful scavengers enough to find food and water in the wild once they've been fed in captivity?

Absolutely. If I let Beatrice loose in my house right now, I have no doubt that I'd find her in the pantry in the morning (actually, I might find her sleeping in my bed, but she'd have stopped at the pantry on the way there ).

And could I release him somewhere like a forest preserve, or does he need to be somewhere more, well, urban? I'm also trying to figure out at what age to release him.  Any thoughts?

Lots of thoughts!  I release my rehab rats and mice in state parks and preserves, where they will hopefully be away from the dangers of poisons and cats, but there are enough people around in the day to drop food and fill garbage pails and dumpsters with yummy things. This would be the best type of release site for Nicky, but I think a rat would be able to get along pretty much anywhere you put him. I release my critters when they're around five weeks old. There's a whole section on release in the article I gave the link to earlier.

He's feisty to be sure.  He's nibbled at my fingers, but seems more like he's looking for food than biting at this point though I'm certain to be cautious as he gets bigger.

Yup, by the time he's released you'll have to look out for those teeth. Baby rat bites aren't too bad, but adult rat bites are really no fun. Of course any bite should be thoroughly washed out, but one of Beatrice's bites left me with six holes in my finger  and a 14-day course of Cipro. My finger was swelled up for days and it was weeks before I could bend it all the way (I think this may have been due to nerve damage, but I'm not sure). Yet another reason why wild animals should not be kept as pets, no matter how tame you think they are.

If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask!

[nancycccslp]

*Nancy is forever grateful that Bluemoon is such an incredible resource*

[BlueMoon]

*Nancy is forever grateful that Bluemoon is such an incredible resource*

*BlueMoon is glad she isn't the only rehabber on this board to answer questions, these guys keep us busy!*

[TheChicagoCrew]

You mention you are in the Chicago area? Whereabouts? I live in northwest Indiana but am in Chicago often. We have tons of forested areas around here with plenty of opportunity for food, as well. If you need help, let me know.

-Melina

[BlueMoon]

How's the little guy doing?

[AmberN23]

Thank you so much for all of your AMAZING help!What a great group!

Nicky is doing well! About a day after he opened his eyes he seemed to be wanting something substantial to eat beyond kitten formula, so I gave him some rat pellets softened with formula.  Now he's eating them whole all on his own!  What an appetite he's got.

He pretty much stays burrowed inside the old t-shirt I have in his cage during the day - I'm sure he comes out at night, being a nocturnal critter and all.  He's not mean when I'm around and often comes out to say hello when I'm changing water and food, but I think we've decided that since he seems healthy and happy, we're going to set him off on his own so he can go be a rat the way he was meant to be.

I dunno if my neighbors would see this as having done them a good deed, but I feel much better knowing Nicky had a fair shot thanks to my smuggling him to work for 3 days to feed him with an eye dropper.

Melina, thanks for your offer! I'm sure I can find a forested area around in the 'burbs that would be suitable for my lil' buddy.  I do have pictures I managed to take, and will try to remember to post them soon.

I so appreciate all of your help and insights. now the trick is going to be fighting off that urge to go get myself a domestic rat!   

[Ratwings]

Congratulations - you've saved a life!   I'm sure he'll be very happy to be out in the wild when you release him.

now the trick is going to be fighting off that urge to go get myself a domestic rat! 

Why fight it?   If you need anyone to tell you what wonderfully perfect pets rats are, I'm sure everyone here would be thrilled to help!

[AmberN23]

Hey everyone!  Thanks again for all of your insight, help, and kindness!

I just wanted to head on back and update everyone.  My boyfriend and I proudly released 'Nicky' in a local HUGE forest preserve, fittingly on july 4th, which we've now nicknamed Ratter Independence Day.

I was sad to see him go since he was becoming such a fixture in the house, but I'm sure it's better for him in the long run.  We laugh because, with him being a city rat and all, we're convinced that Nicky is pimpin' it up in style in the forest preserve (and probably making many babies, thankfully out of the city).

Thanks again for all of your great advice.  We'd love to adopt a rat ourselves, but our two overly curious cats and two dogs might mistake the rat for lunch. 

Best wishes to all of you and your critters!
Amber

[nancycccslp]

Glad to hear it went so well!
Good luck Nicky!  Teach those country cousins a trick or two!

[Adventure Rats]

What a wonderful and happy ending for Nicky!!!

Good luck Nicky, have fun!!!

Thanks for taking such great care of a "pest" (LOL)!!!

Even if you don't get pet rats now, at least you now know how wonderful they are and can spread the world. I hope one day your life is blessed with another rat (or 2).

[laurie]

Go to http://www.ratlife.org/ and enter the site, go to the film sections and download film clips about an experiment on releasing lab rats into the wild. It might make you feel better about your rehab ratties survival. If nothing else it is a fascinating account on how a colony of labrats went from domesticated to wild.

[ibrakeforbugs]

Maybe my girl (Possum) is an exception rather than the rule, but I hand-raised a wild roof rat (rattus rattus) who is extremely friendly. She came into my care when she was about 12 days old, and she's a bit over 5 months old now. When she was 6 weeks old I got her a domesticated rat of the same age for a companion, and they bonded right away. She startles easily and is wary of other people, but she loves to play with me and is very affectionate. She licks and nibble-grooms me (especially my fingers and nose for some reason), climbs all over me, wrestles with my hands, and snuggles in my sleeves. She has never bitten or acted aggressively towards anyone. She's actually more friendly than her domesticated companion. The hardest part is getting her to go back into her cage, which can take up to half an hour to get her back inside when she doesn't want playtime to be over (she's a ridiculously agile climber and jumper). Raising and caring for Possum has been an extremely rewarding experience.