Baby rat help!

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They are mobile, but the little girl has some trouble with it because of a twisted foot from the trap. I have it on medium on the left side of the box so it's not too hot but they can still stay warm. Lucky is sleeping on the warm side but the little girl prefers the cool side. This is the first time she's caught any using the glue traps, before she used poison. I'll look into mint. And she's been like this for as long as I can remember. She just wants them gone, no matter how inhumane it may be.
 
Well the problem with that, and I'd explain it to her like I did my own parents, is it's like treating a symptom and not the real problem. They will keep coming in unless she rat-proofs the house.

I'm not positive on the mint, so maybe you should look that up! lol And things like 'non-lethal rat deterrent'.

You could get a live trap or two and set them up too.
 
I know, but she doesn't see it that way. If it were up to me we'd have live traps in every room and a rat and mouse-proofed house, but she pays the bills and won't let me buy any live traps.
 
Well, now my baby count is up to 3. Luckily I caught the last one as soon as it got caught in the trap, so no major damage was done other than losing a few hairs. I think a mama rat had a litter and they're just reaching the exploration age and don't know better than to avoid traps like the adults seem to do.
 
I have a vague idea but there's no way for me to make sure. I think they're coming from under the crawlspace under the house, but I have an improperly healed fracture in my hip that makes it to where I can't run, much less get down there under the house.
 
there's 4 outside and 4 inside. Only the ones inside have caught anything. But I've checked in the kitchen cabinets and under them(which is where they're coming out of) and there's no nest, but there is a gap where the pipe to the sink goes under the house.
 
You can use a brillo pad, the hard wirey to stuff in there or use a piece of hardware cloth to cover it. I would use anything to keep them from getting in the house then you wont have to worry about the trap.
 
What are you offering them as food?

I've yet to find baby rats who don't LOOOVE baby oatmeal mixed with baby food. It's easy to digest and take in for them.
 
The babies should be able and willing to eat soy formula thinkened with a bt of baby cereal out of a saucer or licked off your finger, licked off the end of a needleness syringe, etc.

There are things you can by to keep mice and rats out of your home, not sure what the particular nontoxic products ae called but they will drive them away.
Or get a cat as someone mentioned. The scent of the cat might keep them away.
 
Have they eaten anything? Or drank anything? Gently pinch the skin on the back of their necks to test for dehydration, if the skin takes more than a second to go back down then they're dehydrated. If so, try getting electrolyte solution for babies (I don't know what it would be called near you). I've used cat/dog stuff at a pinch when everywhere else was closed, and pretty much had to force it down a couple of babies who I'm positive would have died if I hadn't. If you can get hold of that it would be great. Whatever you do get hold of to feed them (infasoy baby milk, baby cereal or electrolyte solution) if they refuse to eat/drink on their own you're gonna have to try to help them. With the ones I had to "coerce" into drinking, I used a syringe and a very fine catheter that I got from the vets, inserted the tip into the corner of their mouth so it was behind the teeth and slowly squeezed a drop in, (make sure you DO NOT hold them on their backs for this). Eventually they licked their lips and swallowed the droplet. Took AGES that way but by the next day they were co-operative. If you do try that method, and you see any come out of their nose or they sneeze, stop immediately (I didn't have this happen as I took it very slowly and didn't try to drown them in the stuff).
 
I soaked some lab blocks in KMR and they ate it. They're doing better today, they're less lethargic and are running around in their tank. Do you have any reccomendations on how to teach them to use the water bottle?
 
I just showed it to mine, with some stubborn wild babies, I put a little bit of food on the tip, and once they touched it water came out and they learned fast.
 

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