Baby rat help!

[12lawliet12]

About an hour or two ago, I walked into my kitchen and saw that my mother had put down glue traps for the rats that moved in once it got cold, and noticed that she caught one. I think that glue traps are cruel and inhumane, and I didn't want to see this poor baby die just because he was trying to stay warm through the winter, so I cut away the glue and washed him to get it all off. He can't be more than a month old, and I'm trying to see if he's weaned or not. Currently he's in a 10 gallon aquarium I had lying around in my bedroom with a heat lamp on one side and a saucer of water and cheerios in the middle. He has a cardboard tube and some unscented toilet paper to make a nest with. I think he's blind in his right eye because he was laying with it in the glue when I rescued him, and he hasn't opened it up since I got him out of the glue. Is there anything else I can do for him? If he is blind, will I have to raise him as a pet? I don't mind keeping him, and he seems tame because he didn't fight me when I was cutting the glue out of his fur, but I'd like to know for sure. Please let me know if I'm doing this right and if there's anything else I can do for him, I haven't had rats since I was 10, nearly a decade ago.

 

[jorats]

His best chance at life would probably be a wildlife rehab centre. Do you have anything like that there? If not, a vet might help and know what to do about his eye.

 

[12lawliet12]

By the way, I named him Lucky. Here's a pic of his glue eye: http://puu.sh/1rNZA And no, we don't have any rehab centers here.

 

[jorats]

Oh poor little bugger. I'd try to flush the eye with warm water.

 

[12lawliet12]

I washed it for a good 10 minutes, but that didn't help much at all. He seems perfectly fine other than his eye, he's just incredibly young. Here's his other side: http://puu.sh/1rOoM

 

[*Rebel_Angel*]

Aww poor guy, but he is a looker!

 

[12lawliet12]

He *is* adorable. Thankful to be alive, too. He started licking me after his bath when I was drying him. Is there any way to tell what kind of rat he is? I think he's a norway rat, but I've been hearing a lot about roof rats lately and I don't know how to tell the difference. And do y'all think he's weaned yet or not?

 

[lilspaz68]

He looks like a roofie rather than a rattus norvegicus. Lots of people in FL have ended up with little roof rats...socialize him constantly and you may end up with a nice little pet.

 

[mamarat]

He is a cutie. A vet could probably remove the glue from his eye. I actually saw this on TV, it was a rescue show for wildlife. Good luck with your baby.

 

[SQ]

If you decide to that him to a wildlife rehab center check it out carefully - most use small animals like rats as food for other animals.
Hope you are able to discuss the use of glue traps with your mother - they should never be used as they are so very inhumane.
It would be much more effective to do things to try to keep rats and other small rodents from entering your home.

Rats normally eat a good quality block as 80% of their diet and daily vegs as the other 20%, with occassional healthy treats.
Baby rats can also be supplimemted with soy infant baby formula mixed up with a bit of baby cereal.

Links to threads on baby rats:
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=27608
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=17673

Member's post re raising a wild baby rat:
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=30255&hilit=wild+baby+rat

 

[Poisoned]

I would call a vet and ask what to do for the glue in his eye Poor little baby. Good luck with him.

I hope your mom has seen how hard you've worked and the pain and suffering it caused this little baby and will rethink glue traps, they are cruel.

and I wouldn't go with a rehab center - as said, most use rats for feeders for their predatory animals.

 

[12lawliet12]

I've tried to talk her out of using glue traps, but she won't budge. She won't even look at pictures of Lucky, and this afternoon I found another baby girl in the trap. I got her out and bathed her, and I'm going to put her in with Lucky. And I'll call a vet ASAP

 

[12lawliet12]

Here's some pictures of the little girl:
http://puu.sh/1s6y4
http://puu.sh/1s6AD

 

[hopefloats]

It is kinda sad that your mom sees you fighting desperately to save these rats and she puts more down. Try to convince her to use something different.

 

[VacantEyes]

What a pair of cuties. Glue traps make me sad If people must kill them, I wish they'd do it more humanely... I don't understand why they're legal really, urgh. I'd suggest vegetable oil for the glue, I've used it to get rodent trap glue from a cat, left it on the sticky bit for about 15/20 minutes then wiped it off as much as I could with a cloth. It might help the eye itself as well if it gets behind the lid and frees it up. I'd hope his little eye was shut when he got stuck and it wasn't damaged too much. Poor little things.

**EDIT** you'll need to wash the oil off well afterwards with very VERY mild animal shampoo.

 

[12lawliet12]

Thanks VacantEyes, I'll try that. And Hopefloats, it is. It makes me cry

 

[VacantEyes]

Instead of talking your mom out of using glue traps, could you try to rodent proof your home instead? If you go around blocking holes etc. then you'll minimise the animal traffic over the glue traps. We have a MASSIVE mouse problem due to our neighbours storing open sacks of grain, and my parents were getting poison ready, so I've been catching them and releasing them (though I'm sure they're just running back in :roll: )

Hope these little guys are okay after their ordeal!

 

[12lawliet12]

I've been trying to, but this house is from the 30's and has holes everywhere. Before we had an old cat who wouldn't kill them because he was too old to do much more than sleep and beg for treats, but his scent kept them away from the house and in the garden shed. Now that he's passed, ther's no cat smell to keep them away and they moved in. I've been researching pheremones to see if that'd work. Also, do you have any idea of what their general age is? I've been trying to feed them KMR but Lucky won't drink from the syringe, and I'm trying to teach them how to use a bottle.

 

[12lawliet12]

They seemed cold so I put them in a cardboard box with a towel in it and put the box on top of a heating pad set on low. Will this work to keep them warm?

 

[Poisoned]

Are they mobile? Like able to walk and everything?
If so I'd put half of the box on the heating pad, and half no, so if they get too warm they can move off of the heat.
Otherwise, put layers under the box and over the pad until it's just enough heating getting to them to keep them warm.

That's really heartbreaking that your mom doesn't care enough about your emotions to just use a more human trap. Makes me sad from just hearing about it.

Look up some non-lethal methods of getting rid of rats. I know they do not like mint (supposedly), and there are other deterrents you could put around the house.

God, did she just throw they away before? I know people who do that.. just toss the live rat/mouse in the trash can stuck to the trap. I REALLY don't understand why it's legal.