# I've Rescued a Rat and i've never owned one before



## Frin13 (Aug 17, 2009)

Bascially I've rescued a rat that the owners tried to poison (don't even start me off    ) because it bites, and the reason it bits as far as I could see was the fact that the dirty s0ds couldn't be bothered to clean it out or feed it!! Gah!!! makes me rage!!!! 

I don't know if it ate the poison and I don't know the symptoms. I just couldn't leave it there in squalor. From what i've researched it could take some time for the posion to sink in if he did ingest it.
I've never owned a rat before, He/She seems well, eating well and drinking well,peeing and pooing no blood anywhere from any parts and looking pretty darn grateful to be an a clean cage with sawdust and hay and nice things to chew on. 

any advice would be really appreciated
thanks


----------



## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Oh wow that is appalling!!!!!! Well done on an incredible rescue! Am sorry i can't help with advice but there are lots of people on here who can. But well done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Would love to see a pic when he's settled in 

xx


----------



## gypsybitch (Aug 6, 2010)

basically as long as you clean it out and feed it the right food it will be fine, if it did ingest the poison i dont know what will happen as ive never ever know anyone to poison a domestic rat, if you have toys and a house or hammock for it to sleep in and just to go into if it is in a mood where it doesnt want to be seen, does it bite you? all you have to do (this is my method there are many nore) put your hand in the cage with thick gloves on and stroke it once then leave it do this a few times in the day for about 2 days then, stroke it a few times, each time you enter the cage, a few times a day, for 2 days then try to pick it up but put it down again do this a few times for 2 days then try to pick it up for longer a few times a day for 2 days then try to pick it up and take it out the cage then put it back a few times a day for 2 days you speaak in a soft voice saying 'good *name of rat*', which ever stage fails just keep trying at that stage untill it is no longer bitting, make sure that when it hasnt bit to give it a little treat like a small amount of yougart or a mealworm (dried or live) because i know my methods i am persistant so the longest i have had to train to stop bitting was about a month, any problems just ask


----------



## Argent (Oct 18, 2009)

Oh my goodness, well done on rescuing the little guy! I can't believe someone would try to poison their own pet! 

Are the shavings aspen? If they're pine or another softwood, they need to be changed for something else like newspaper as there's toxic phenols in pine that gets at their resp systems, though that's the least of your worries, I know. 

I don't think hay is particularly good for them either, try paper towels, newspaper, toilet paper instead, it's softer, less likely to poke their eyes out or scratch themselves on.

Is it male or female? Both sexes need a buddy if you're planning on keeping him/her, but you don't wanna get the wrong one! If it's a boy, it should be fairly obvious. If it's a girl, there's nipples down the belly.

The fact that it's eating, drinking and pooping is great. Is the fur standing on end or slicked smooth? If their fur is on end/scruffy looking, that's usually a sign of feeling unwell, and look out for porphyrin (red staining mucus) coming from eyes/nose, this is a sign of stress.

Any more questions, there's tons of ratty people on here with great advice 

And pics are a must!!!


----------



## Frin13 (Aug 17, 2009)

Thank you, We've been using gloves and stroking it no problem, it did have a little nip at my husband when we first got it home, I've been able to stroke it no probs but I haven't handled it yet as I wanted it to get comfortable with its surroundings, It's lovely looking, it's kind of sandy coloured with pink eyes.
I just cannot believe people are so evil, I just hope I got to it in enough time.
we don't know the sex but we've calle dit 'Nippy' I just hope he knows that I'd never let any harm come to him like those A***holes, I'm still fuming, can you tell? lol


----------



## gypsybitch (Aug 6, 2010)

hahaha yeah i think we can, does it have a bulge at the base of its tail on the belly side? like a set of balls


----------



## Frin13 (Aug 17, 2009)

Oh blow it! the shaving are 'softwood' according to the pack, how can they put that it's ok for mice,hamsters and other small pets! sheesh! It's a smart pets one I got from Asda I think, Thank you for the heads up! Will get it sorted asap. 

I'm pretty certain it's a boy, and theres no mucus anywhere I've checked eyes,ears,bum, and made sure theres not blood in urine or poo,I sound really paranoid don't i?!! i don't want him to pass away  because we can give him a lovely life with us, why are people so horrible?!! 

He's a piccie of Nippy


----------



## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Yeah rat testes are pretty big!!! He is lovely!!!! How could anyone want to kill him!! xx


----------



## SEVEN_PETS (Aug 11, 2009)

Its great that you've rescued him. I would suggest a few pointers though: 

1. From the picture, it looks like he's in a tank. If you plan on keeping him, I'd look for some wire cages, such as the Abode, Furet Plus, Furet XL, Chi Chi 2, Jenny cage, a few of which you can buy from Pets at Home.

2. I would also suggest a friend for him. There are plenty of rats in rescue that you bond him with or you could try a couple of baby rats from a breeder.

3. I would remove the hay and shavings, and replace with shredded paper, cardboard squares or fleece. You can get cardboard squares from here: FinaCARD Cardboard Bedding : Finacard, Quality Animal Bedding

4. For food at the moment, you could use simple rat food from a pet shop. But in the future, you may want to make your own mix, made from rabbit food, cereals, dried vegetables and herbs. You can find a recipe on here: Shunamite Rats

Good Luck and well done for rescuing him. :thumbup:


----------



## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

to me that pic does look like his fur is sticking up on end.what does everyone else think?

is he in a tank?

these aren't suitable for rats,so if in a weeks time and he's still with you i really suggest u buy a large rat/ferret cage and then introduce him to another same sex friend.2 babies are brill for intro to older rats.

tanks have no good ventilation and so when they wee the amoneia bulids up and can give rats respiratory breathing problems like rattly grunty noises.

wired cages are great as rats love to climb.

a good site to go on as there are tons of people that have rats on here and can give u great advice on health,cages,behaviour and various other things.

Fancy Rats | Home

as others have said certain shavings are no good only aspen.
sawdust is a no no as is woodpellets.

newspaper that has veetable print ink,bio catlet litter or fleecy material.
shredd up some toilet paper or kitchen roll or newspaper for bedding.

good luck with him sounds like your doing everything right so far.
and yes if he has large pink lumps nr his bum under the tail he's a boy.


----------



## Frin13 (Aug 17, 2009)

lol! definitely a boy then!

When I picked the Rat up in was in the fish tank you can see in the picture whist it is big, it had the lid on and was closed,no air holes drilled or anything, just the gap at the back where the filter would go for fish. So when the lid was opened the rat used to try to jump out and that was their other excuse for the poision,trust me if I hadn't have got it there was talk of feeding it to a snake. still sat here shaking my head in disbelief just typing that.

As a temporary measure He's still in the tank but we have a piece of wire mesh across the top now, I'm hoping to get a cage sorted by the end of the week, but because I didn't know if he's had any of that poision I've held out of buying a cage just yet, i hope that doesn't sound too mean, just HAD to get him away from there, I would be very happy to have another Rat to keep him company but I just thought I'd better see what happens.

He is lovely and I'm already becoming very attached to him.


----------



## Argent (Oct 18, 2009)

Awwh what a little cutie! He does look a bit stressed out but I can understand why! He's so lucky you got him!

I'd have thought if he'd been poisoned, he'd be writhing in pain and foaming at the mouth or something by now, how long have you had him and when was the poison mentioned? 

Luckily rats are wary of new foods and will only try a tiny bit to see if it makes them ill, if it doesn't, it's safe, if not, they avoid it from then on, which is why rat poison is pretty futile luckily.

Also, I reckon with a couple of cage buddies, he'll totally come out of his shell and you'll find a great friend in him - rats generally don't bite, so he should get out of the habit soon enough with kindness and love  

Come to think of it, when is he nipping? Is it when you try to stroke him? Or has he launched at you? And is it just a pinchy nip rather than breaking the skin? Because I've taken in a few rats that nip my fingers quite hard til they learn fingers are not food - they don't do it out of spite, as a lot of people might mistake it for. If they meant it, they'd bite to the bone.


----------



## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

He looks like such a sweetie! Well done for rescuing him, I can't believe how awful his previous owners sound


----------



## Frin13 (Aug 17, 2009)

Well as far as we know the poison block was put in last Wednesday and apparently he wasnt interested at all,he seems a bit off colour today to be honest. feel like I'm on a knife edge just waiting and hoping he'll be Ok


----------



## momentofmadness (Jul 19, 2008)

Do you know what poison was used.. Some poisons make the rodents poo greeny blue colour so if they ingest them ones the poo within a couple of hours will be that colour..

If you think of the size of a rat if he was to eat the poison within 24 hours I reckon you would know he had been poisoned or would be dead.. The poison shuts all the major organs down, which does take a good few hours and isn't a very nice ending.. 

His hair did look a bit stick uppy.. But then again was he chilly or frightened...


----------



## Frin13 (Aug 17, 2009)

It's quite possible he could have been worried I guess new home etc, he does seem a bit down today,I'm probably completely out of my depth I guess,I don't know what poison it was but his poos have been poo colour,I don't know if he's just got the hump or what. I don't think he's very used to much social interaction 
Honestly I'm fuming at the previous owners


----------



## NicoleW (Aug 28, 2010)

Oh well done!

I've owned two rats, and I loved them, so intelligent! I used to make mazes for them all over my bedroom with a piece of cheese at one end, within minutes they found their way through the mazes and got there used to have loads of fun with mine. Until my little sister left the cage open and I've not found them since  she was only 4 at the time (AND WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SUPERVISED!)


----------



## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Unfortunately, I think you're just going to have to wait and see how he is over the next few days before you know for certain if he's eaten any of the poison. His fluffed up fur and lack of activity could easily be down to the stress of changing owners, or he could just be generally under the weather because of how badly he was being kept.

Had the poison been in there continuously since last Wednesday, or did they have it in for a bit and then take it out?


----------



## Frin13 (Aug 17, 2009)

You're right its like is a case of waiting it out,i found out friday and told them to get it out then as i was coming saturday,have no idea if they took it out or not. When I got home i took him out straight away and hubby tipped out the tank but didn't really take any notice of what was there as it was riddled with poo and wee so he chucked everything which was stupid in hindsight


----------



## Frin13 (Aug 17, 2009)

Hi just to let you know nippy passed away in the night, I am gutted. Thank you so much for your advice. I just hope at least the last few days were bearable for him, xx


----------



## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Omg I just read this story, what sick individuals his previous owners were I highly reccomend reporting them to the RSPCA so they dont do anything like this with their next pet. Poison is a horrible way to go and at least he went knowing he was loved and safe in the end. I cant belive anyone could go out of their way to poison a pet in their care, Im seriously sickened by this. RIP little Nippy xx.


----------



## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Oh, I'm so sorry 
RIP little one


----------



## Daisymoo (Apr 14, 2010)

Frin13 said:


> Hi just to let you know nippy passed away in the night, I am gutted. Thank you so much for your advice. I just hope at least the last few days were bearable for him, xx


I am so upset I cant stop crying!!!! I really hoped he was going to be ok ,at least he was loved in the short time that you had him. You should defiantly do what the dosmother said and report his previous owners to the RSPCA I cant believe people can be so cruel !! If they didn't want him anymore why didn't they just give him to a rescue centre :sad:


----------



## Frin13 (Aug 17, 2009)

Blimey,I can't stop crying, I feel so bad that I just couldn't get to him in time.


----------



## Frin13 (Aug 17, 2009)

R


Daisymoo said:


> I am so upset I cant stop crying!!!! I really hoped he was going to be ok ,at least he was loved in the short time that you had him. You should defiantly do what the dosmother said and report his previous owners to the RSPCA I cant believe people can be so cruel !! If they didn't want him anymore why didn't they just give him to a rescue centre :sad:


I only had him since Saturday and I feel devestated, lovely little rat too. Have buried him in a little box with some nice bedding and a little wooden chew under the pear tree in the garden. Poor mite


----------



## Daisymoo (Apr 14, 2010)

Frin13 said:


> R
> 
> I only had him since Saturday and I feel devestated, lovely little rat too. Have buried him in a little box with some nice bedding and a little wooden chew under the pear tree in the garden. Poor mite


That sounds a lovely place for him to be laid to rest xx Try not to feel too bad you did the best that you could and you got to him as quick as you could it is the previous owners that should feel disgusted with themselves!!


----------



## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

sleep tight little nippy.

if i was you i'd report them to the rspca.


----------



## Frin13 (Aug 17, 2009)

I Will be reporting them to the rspca for sure,evil. They'll be getting a mouthful from me too!


----------



## Daisymoo (Apr 14, 2010)

Frin13 said:


> I Will be reporting them to the rspca for sure,evil. They'll be getting a mouthful from me too!


Good for you!!! Make them feel really guilty!!!!!


----------



## Daisymoo (Apr 14, 2010)

Oh and let us know what the RSPCA say


----------



## Argent (Oct 18, 2009)

That's so awful...RIP Nippy.

I'm so sorry, you did the very best you could for him. Now I hope the RSPCA actually does something about it since there IS a dead animal involved - that's usually what it takes for them to do a thing...


----------



## momentofmadness (Jul 19, 2008)

RIP Nippy......

He had a good last few days I am sure..

Now if you report him to the RSPCA they may ask for his body as evidence..... 
Good luck with what ever you decide... 

Some people dont deserve to breath let alone own pets.. 

Big hugs to ya.. xxxx


----------



## xXhayleyroxX (Apr 18, 2008)

Frin13 said:


> Hi just to let you know nippy passed away in the night, I am gutted. Thank you so much for your advice. I just hope at least the last few days were bearable for him, xx


omg  I've only just found this thread. Nippy was beautiful, and I bet he was really grateful to have you for the small amount of time he did. Its so nice of you to rescue him... once I found 4 Nippy coloured rats in a tied carrier bag  It reminds me of that. Im really sorry to hear what happened, I truly am  I've cried a few tears for your Nippy 

R.I.P little one  Run free with all the ratties in rainbow bridge and look after my boys and girls 

@everyone bad mouthing the RSPCA-- don't be so silly! Maybe they're not as active in cities but up here they're brilliant. You call them about anything, they act upon it. My sister's ex best friend rang them about us and they came round -- obviously it was a faux case.


----------



## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

xXhayleyroxX said:


> @everyone bad mouthing the RSPCA-- don't be so silly! Maybe they're not as active in cities but up here they're brilliant. You call them about anything, they act upon it. My sister's ex best friend rang them about us and they came round -- obviously it was a faux case.


who's bad mouthing?

we all suggested she should report the previous owners the ones that poisioned nippy to the rspca.:confused1:


----------



## xXhayleyroxX (Apr 18, 2008)

blade100 said:


> who's bad mouthing?
> 
> we all suggested she should report the previous owners the ones that poisioned nippy to the rspca.:confused1:


I saw some comments saying the RSPCA don't do a very good job.


----------



## niki87 (Nov 18, 2009)

Oh hun that is awful!! Murdered too!! Horrible! But yes you gave him some quality of life for the last couple of days at least!

RIP darling Nippy.


----------



## Sarah+Hammies (Jul 20, 2009)

I've just read through all of this, it sickens me that anyone could poison their pet  why couldnt they have just taken him to a rescue ffs? :

Well done for taking him in when he needed someone on his side, you did your best and im sure he was happy to have a warm, safe loving home in the end even if it was only for a few days.

I just cant stop crying over Nippy's story  I hope the RSPCA get justice for poor little Nippy.

RIP little one, Run free at Rainbow Bridge with all of your fuzzy friends. xxx


----------



## NicoleW (Aug 28, 2010)

Oh no! I just checked in on this thread again to see how he was doing, the poor little thing. I think the last memories he had were of a loving person and a loving home, you did the right thing.


----------



## Frin13 (Aug 17, 2009)

Thanks everybody, I really appreciate all the support. I still so angry that my husband doesn't want me to even speak to the people in question until i calm down  
I miss him already even though I only had him 4 days. 

I'm fortunate that I at least got some pictures although he looks a bit spikey but at least it's something. 
just frustrated at the whole thing, We've buried him now I'm not sure if I want to dig him up and disturb him again, He's guarded by our big stone dragon (Dave ) in the garden. 

On the upside, having Nippy for a couple of days realyl opened my eyes to just how lovely Rats are, I've had a nose through some of the phot galleries on here and some of your Rat's are gorgeous!!! Maybe one day I shall have a pair of my own. 

Can I just say want a lovely group of people you are, I really appreciate all your help. thank you 
xxx


----------

