Help!! Wild rats attracted to pet rats scent??

[jas]

I know my pet rat isn’t the reason for a wild rat being my house but I think it is very interested in my pet rat!! I have a male about 2 years old. One day I woke up in the middle of the night because I heard noises, thinking it was my pet rat who had just escaped the prior day I got up fast shined my flashlight, saw that he was still sleeping in his cage and a brown rat scurried away! This point I’m not thinking anything strange about it, I just figured it was looking for food cause I also keep his food and treats on a shelf by his cage. Second day I heard it making noises this time!! Third day, I set up a trap and moved my rat out of my room so he wouldn’t hear any distressing sounds if it worked. For two days, the wild rat didn’t come or wasn’t heard. I moved my pets cage back into my room and that same night I heard the rat trying to come again! I had covered the whole with a piece of tile and could hear the rat trying to scratch at it. After that I moved his cage out of my room again and tonight at 5am I woke up to noises in my living room!! (Where I had moved his cage to) I went to go check and saw that my rats cage was open then saw a rat scurrying away so I thought mine had escaped, I turned my flashlight on and saw my pet rat still sleeping in his hammock!! The wild rat opened my rats cage and was trying to talk to him!! I went back to my room and prob 10 mins later I heard something fall on the floor, so I shine my light again towards the living room where the cage is and the wild rat was at his cage again and ran away once the light was flashed!!! Has this happened to anyone?? I tried looking online but didn’t see any stories like mine and I feel sooo paranoid now!! I also now think the first time my rat escaped was because the wild rat opened it again because he also had a bunch of little bloody marks on him and at the time I was so confused as to what it could’ve been because if it was my dogs who’d attacked him it would have been way worse and it was a day prior to me first seeing the wild rat!!

 

[Dena]

Are you sure the rat is wild? Could it possibly be a domestic rat that was dumped and is looking for a friend? Or maybe someone's rat that escaped? That's so scary, but cute and sad.

 

[Dena]

Also, how old is your boy? Rats need playmates, if they are alone, they get lonely and depressed. I know there are lots of wild rats in Houston, but also maybe it's a young rat that was a pet that escaped. You said it was brown? Not sure where about you live, but it could have also been a rat bought for reptile food that was let go because the reptile wouldn't eat it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ just a few ideas.

 

[jas]

Also, how old is your boy? Rats need playmates, if they are alone, they get lonely and depressed. I know there are lots of wild rats in Houston, but also maybe it's a young rat that was a pet that escaped. You said it was brown? Not sure where about you live, but it could have also been a rat bought for reptile food that was let go because the reptile wouldn't eat it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ just a few ideas.

He is about 2 years old and I’m positive it’s a wild rat, I’ve seen them before because there’s an abandoned house next to mine and they’ve been coming around eating our chicken feed

 

[ViciousCurse]

I think all rats are adorable, regardless of if they're domesticated or wild, but wild rats do have illnesses that could infect our domesticated friends. For now, set out *humane* rat traps and then call pest control and see if they can find any holes that the wild rat is entering through. I'm not saying the pest control guy has to kill any wild rats, he just needs to find the source of how the rat is getting in.

If you do capture your lonely wild friend, I suggest releasing him or her where humans can't hurt them. Personally, I'd love to keep the little guy, but I don't know that I would recommend anyone doing that. Wild animals can be infested with parasites, whether external or internal, and they may have illnesses.

As for your domesticated rat, he needs a friend. A pair or trio of babies could be good for him. Rats can be introduced to new ones even at two years old; I've done so successfully. I honestly find elderly rats are very open to babies, or at least all of mine have been.

 

[SQ]

Regardless of the rats next door, it is possible that it is an abandoned pet or a very young rat who is curious and looking for a friend or trying to help your rat (although rats are territorial and usually harm unfamiliar rats).
and others said, your boy needs a same sex friend

You may want to leave out food and water and bedding in a different area of the home, away from your rat