[shannong]

So I found this baby rat at work, and someone caught it in a box. I was wondering if it is safe to take it home, or if it is infested with disease like everyone says. If I leave it here it is sure to get caught in a trap. Should I take it home with me?

 

[twitch]

you could take it to the vet for a check-up and treatment of any illnesses if you plan on keeping it or you could take it out to a field and release it there. of course, its chances or survival are better if it becomes a pampered pet but it does not decrease much whether you release it in a field or leave it where it is. being released in a field it will need to find another colony and be accepted something that may or may not happen. being left where it is it may or may not be trapped or poisoned. if you chose to make it a pet, there will be considerable work ahead of you getting it to trust you. you will also have to take considerable more time then you would an already domestic rat to be tamed. however, as far as if this can be done or not, it most certainly can. pet rats, not too long ago, would be caught on th street in the morning and sold as pets that evening. if there is any disease, the vet, with blood tests, should be able to pick up on any. it would also be a good idea, if you decide to keep it, to treat it for mites and such right off the bat. living out in wild, its sure to have some parasites.

 

[shannong]

well I work in a warehouse, so im not sure how much "in the wild" that is considered. But its just so cute, and I had a cousin that had pet rats and I have seen that they are very good pets. but what do you start off feeding them?

 

[A1APassion]

the rats your cousin had & this one you have here are going to be considerably different

I believe we have a member here who posted a lot of info about some half wild ones she raised. Though they became accustomed to her handling them to a point... they never opened up to be as friendly as the domesticated rats we all know, love & are familiar with.

You have your work cut out for you raising a wild thing... good luck to you.

Personally, my vote is release it away from the dangers of the warehouse if weather is favorable where you are. Outside of that & if it is a baby... contact your local wildlife rescue.

 

[Forensic]

My vote is also to release it somewhere rat-safe... That's a wild creature and unless it's wounded or obviously cannot take care of itself, I'd say it would be very difficult or impossible to socialize.

 

[lilspaz68]

I have literally half wild rats at home, and they are barely handleable and when they get loose I often have to use a humane trap to catch them again Some of them bite, so theres also that to take into account. They are nothing like your friends domestic rats. You really ought to do it and you a favour and let him go in a better environment.

 

[A1APassion]

Thank you... I thought it was you that had the half wild things but I wasn't 100% sure

 

[ration1802]

I have a full fledged wildun at home and if you are expecting to bring it home and attempt to domesticate it - you have a LOT of work cut out for you. I've had mine since 2 weeks old - she was almost literally hand raised and although she's not vicious, she is incredibly fast, incredibly agile and can climb/hide anywhere she can fit her whiskers. She's now 6 (almost 7) months old and remains to be a handful (albiet very cute little handful)

If this little one is still a baby, it'll still have known the wild. It may be that you'll never be able to tame it, or at least not to the extent that you will have cuddly fluffies sitting on your shoulder.

I'm up for setting it free - IF you can find somewhere suitable and safe.

If not, then by all means attempt to domesticate the youngun - but it's going to need a BIG cage, especially if handling proves tricky. It'll also need friends eventually - my little girl has calmed down 100x since I placed her with my older girls. Rats - especially wild rats - need to be around other rats. If you separate it for a long period of time with no other rat contact - you may find you'll have more behavioural problems than you've counted for

Remember though - whatever you choose there's no going back. Good luck