[cloeymadeline]

Hello friends,
I need advice/help. Five days ago, on Sunday, my dad found an abandoned rat's nest in his yard. All the babies had died but one, so he called me. I have hand-raised baby feeder rats before so I knew how to take care of him. I wasn't expecting him to make it but here we are! He is about 2 weeks old and just opened his eyes yesterday so he is ready to start weaning. I have read that wild rats don't make good pets so I was thinking of releasing him near a local pond when he is old enough (6 weeks or so). I know that other rats live there already so I wouldn't be introducing a new invasive species or anything.. However, I just called the animal shelter to ask for a cage donation and they berated me for keeping a wild rat, telling me he'll just get eaten as soon as I release him, that it's illegal, that I shouldn't keep him any longer, etc. I understand it's likely that he could get eaten if released, as wild rats do, but he would have surely died as a helpless pinkie if I didn't rescue him and I just wanted to give him a fighting chance.
Did I do the wrong thing? Should I have left him in the nest? Should I try to keep him as a pet? I am so, so conflicted. I already have a dog who hates rats, otherwise I'd probably adopt a second feeder and attempt to raise them together.
Ugh, what would you do??

 

[Tinytoes]

Hi and welcome! I would have done the same thing. A baby is a baby, and we instinctively want to care for them. There's nothing wrong with giving him a chance, he needs a colony of rats to live with but at an age where he can defend himself. He will need to be much older I think, at least 8-12 weeks old. Where do you live? I have an extra cage and supplies.

 

[Mkd]

You definitely did the right thing. Every life you save is a miracle that you made happen. The shelter people sound like a bunch of no goods that don't understand what wonderful creatures rats really are. Its is very difficult to decide whether to let him go or keep him for a pet. Either way he should have a companion. I'd probably get a dark colored feeder rat and raise them together and might let them go when they got older. The dark colored feeder rat would probably have a greater chance of survival in the wild opposed to a light colored feeder rat. But without a mother they might not survive in the wild. Very difficult decision. I hope other people reply with their opinions . But for now you have created a miracle through your gift of life. What a wonderful person you are

 

[OhhhRats!]

There is a colony of wild rats that live in my yard. They have been here for years. Mostly they eat fruit in my yard when I have some on my trees but they also eat other vegetation when there is no fruit. There is an owl that regularly eats some of the rats as well as a few feral cats and a fox that eat some. When the rats would eat half an avocado, I would put the uneaten half up high for them to finish. Over the years, they have gotten used to me doing that and will come within a few feet of me. They seem pretty friendly.The point is, the rat may adapt and be fine as a pet. Norway rats and other rat species have been kept as pets. If it were big enough, it might survive in the area where you found it. I think it would have a better chance of integrating into a colony if it is a female because the other males would view it as competition and kill it or drive it away.

As to the morality of the situation, I would have saved the baby rat. Rats are part of the food chain and are needed to keep a heatlhy ecosystem. Most of the wildlife in my neighborhood, and I am in the city, survives in the yards of those of us who provide habitat for animals. On my small city lot, I have a critically endangered bat and a threatened butterfly. We have destroyed so much of the natural habitat that we are forcing animals to adapt to our habitats. While rats are smart and adaptive and not at risk of becoming extinct, at some point in the future, when the human population is starving, we may well be eating rats ourselves in order to survive. Better to save the rats because you never know what might depend on rats for survival in the future.

 

[RATBOI]

I would get a Norway rat of the opposite sex and raise them together they are not able to have babies due to it being a different species

 

[Leah]

Hello friends,
I need advice/help. Five days ago, on Sunday, my dad found an abandoned rat's nest in his yard. All the babies had died but one, so he called me. I have hand-raised baby feeder rats before so I knew how to take care of him. I wasn't expecting him to make it but here we are! He is about 2 weeks old and just opened his eyes yesterday so he is ready to start weaning. I have read that wild rats don't make good pets so I was thinking of releasing him near a local pond when he is old enough (6 weeks or so). I know that other rats live there already so I wouldn't be introducing a new invasive species or anything.. However, I just called the animal shelter to ask for a cage donation and they berated me for keeping a wild rat, telling me he'll just get eaten as soon as I release him, that it's illegal, that I shouldn't keep him any longer, etc. I understand it's likely that he could get eaten if released, as wild rats do, but he would have surely died as a helpless pinkie if I didn't rescue him and I just wanted to give him a fighting chance.
Did I do the wrong thing? Should I have left him in the nest? Should I try to keep him as a pet? I am so, so conflicted. I already have a dog who hates rats, otherwise I'd probably adopt a second feeder and attempt to raise them together.
Ugh, what would you do??

Do not ever question your heart. You did the right thing. I'm so sick of hearing let nature take its course. Sometimes nature has nothing to do with it, and it's humans building, and building, and destroying habitats. Would we look at a baby on side of road and say let nature take its course? Do people not diet, exercise, get plastic surgery, get their hair done, take medications for illnesses, use chemicals to kill in their eyes pests, etc. Those people are not practicing what they think they are preaching. I could never turn a blind eye to helping anything! If help is truly needed. (I'm not talking about the idiots who put baby buffalo's in their car because they thought they were cold.) But I have helped to raise an orphaned Barred Owl. He was successfully catching and eating on his own after a few months. He was then set free.

 

[Jbprats]

Hello friends,
I need advice/help. Five days ago, on Sunday, my dad found an abandoned rat's nest in his yard. All the babies had died but one, so he called me. I have hand-raised baby feeder rats before so I knew how to take care of him. I wasn't expecting him to make it but here we are! He is about 2 weeks old and just opened his eyes yesterday so he is ready to start weaning. I have read that wild rats don't make good pets so I was thinking of releasing him near a local pond when he is old enough (6 weeks or so). I know that other rats live there already so I wouldn't be introducing a new invasive species or anything.. However, I just called the animal shelter to ask for a cage donation and they berated me for keeping a wild rat, telling me he'll just get eaten as soon as I release him, that it's illegal, that I shouldn't keep him any longer, etc. I understand it's likely that he could get eaten if released, as wild rats do, but he would have surely died as a helpless pinkie if I didn't rescue him and I just wanted to give him a fighting chance.
Did I do the wrong thing? Should I have left him in the nest? Should I try to keep him as a pet? I am so, so conflicted. I already have a dog who hates rats, otherwise I'd probably adopt a second feeder and attempt to raise them together.
Ugh, what would you do??

I have four babies that I am hoping to release. At first I thought it would be easy but I do so much want them to have the best chance. I know how you feel. 🙏🐀