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Rattie Rookie

3K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  Jaguar 
#1 ·
Hey all you rat lovers! I guess I'll introduce myself and tell you guys a little bit about my rat situation. My name is Kevin I'm 30 and live outside Atlanta, GA. I have never owned a rat up until a few weeks ago.. so I'm new at this... but I have already fallen in love with rats. I can't play with mine enough, and the perfect pet for my current work/living situation. So, a few weeks ago a friend was getting rid of a pet rat, Doug (a male fancy) that belonged to his girlfriend. And she had just got him about 2 months prior but didn't want to keep him because they said he was just too mean, and would constantly bite them. So I went and got Doug and they gave me a ton of stuff to go along with him like: a brand-new ($175) 4-story cage, 2 bags of paper bedding, tons of fleece, 2 water bottles, 2 food trays, a hammock, a running wheel, a running ball, a big box of rat food, trail mix, 2 bags of rat treats, chewing sticks and a few balls and toys... AND THEY PAID ME $20 TO TAKE HIM! So once Doug was at my house I tried my best to get him to calm down and stop his aggressiveness. I spent hours online researching topics on rat behavior, and tried many various methods for taming him... but ultimately could not. Although there were some times Doug was so nice and sweet and would be the best. But he was very unpredictable and after about 4-5 weeks (around my 5th bad bite in which he almost ripped of my pinky) I had to release him into the woods. But once Doug was gone I felt lonely and since I still had this big cage and all of this rat paraphernalia, so I decided to go get another rat. I got Bosco, a tan and white male dumbo. That's my rat story and experience. I'm really looking forward to being a rat owner and also using this forum! ...sorry about the long post guys
 
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#4 ·
You never have to release any animal into the wild. That is beyond cruel. Never ever release pets into the wild, there is no excuse or reason to do so.

Find a rescue, find a new home, or put them to sleep. All of which are more humane.

That really breaks my heart :( I can not understand why anyone would think that is an ok thing to do to any type of animal.

Small pet shelters are not a thing in most of the world.
That does not make releasing it ok. In any way. You take on a pet, you are responsible for its life. You do not just abandon it. Not only does it spell disaster for the pet, in very very rare circumstances will it survive, and even then not for long. It almost always equal a very cruel death and much suffering. But it is also not good for the environment. There is so much damage done by people releasing pets into the wild.


I also highly suggest buying a second male rat. Rats need to be kept in groups. They are highly social animals and should never be kept alone except in rare circumstances where the animal can not live with others.
 
#6 ·
Reading this post has really angered me. How you can have the audacity to say you've "fallen in love with rats" yet no more than a few sentences later admit to releasing a domesticated rat into the woods simply because he bit you I'll never know. That is possibly one of the cruelest things you can do, you never release pets into the wild under any circumstances. It truly breaks my heart to even think about, no animal deserves that :( When you took on that rat you took responsibility of his life. You don't just abandon him because it wasn't smooth sailing right from the get go. It's inevitable that you may encounter problems when you first bring home an animal, especially rodents, they're prey species. It takes time to gain their trust. Some longer than others, and judging by the reasoning for your friends girlfriend rehoming him I'm assuming he was never handled under her care, meaning more work would've been needed to have been put into taming him on your part - 4 weeks is nothing. You gave up on that animal and your incredibly selfish actions will have had incredibly detrimental effects on that poor baby. If I'm completely honest, I don't believe you deserve to keep any animal but unless you decide you want to release this rat into the wild as well, you're more than likely going to keep him. If that's the case, go and get him a cage mate. A male. I wouldn't want someone as irresponsible as you bringing babies into this world, you might release them into the woods.
 
#7 ·
I thought the whole point of this forum was to not be judgmental and give advice... Like he said, he's new at this and maybe that's what he thought was best for the situation. There is no reason to make him feel guilty about what he did, I'm sure he already felt bad enough having to make that decision in the first place. I have a rat who was always very skeptical of us humans, but still could be held, hand-fed, petted, etc. Then that rat became aggressive towards us and his cage-mates out of nowhere after about 9 months of being kind-but-skeptical. I've tried everything to change his behavior in the last 5 months, but nothing is helping. I hate to admit but I myself have considered letting him go in the park. So really, everyone's circumstances are different and we can't judge others for what is done. The past is the past and I'm sure after all this ridiculing he won't release into the wild again. So let's stop being so harsh now mkay?
 
#8 ·
It is not about trying to make anyone feel bad. But it is giving not only the OP but others reading this the information that it was insanely wrong to release a pet. Hopefully it saves another rat because someone will read this and not do that.

If someone is doing something cruel, abusive, neglectful I think the right thing to do is tell them and hopefully prevent it from ever happening again. I definitely will judge someone for making a choice to do the wrong thing and harm an animal, a pet they were responsible for. If someone beat their dog, or starved their cat, etc... I am also going to be judgemental. It wasn't an accident that happened here. There were much better options. (he also showed zero remorse or hint that he thought what he did was wrong)

Having a difficult pet is not an excuse. I feel for you, but you are still responsible for it. As I said in my other post, find a rescue or take it to the vet and have it put down humanely. Often when a rat has aggression like that it can not be fixed. I strongly believe in not letting them suffer, they are not going to have a happy life. Instead their life will be filled with fear and stress. I would end its suffering just like I would if it were physically sick. It is sad but it is humane. Releasing it is not humane in any way.

Please if anyone reading this has a difficult pet, ask for help! Seek a rescue or talk to your vet. Never let the animal suffer and never release any type of animal. They are not wild animals. It is truly unlikely that they will snap into instincts and live a lovely life (even wild rats do not have all that lovely of a life) Disease, predators, poison, mean humans, weather, etc... it is going to be a sad slow suffering short life. It is not humane.
 
#10 ·
Releasing a pet into the wild is not okay, ever. I'm glad that was addressed. There were a few more personal attacks than I'd like to see, but I think it was handled pretty well given the sensitive topic. Thread closed.
 
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