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New Mammal Additions

pridecity

pridecity

Patients took over asylum
I guess I've officially become known as the Crazy Animal Lady in my neighborhood. I got home early last night to discover a shoe box at my door with a note inside. Someone's kid came home with baby rats and that was a big no-no. They hoped I would take care of them. Of course, I had to say yes (babies!!!). I'm now the owner of two baby rat girls who haven't opened their eyes yet. I'm trying to decide how old they are. They are 23-24 grams each.

I've decided to name them Push and Plop because the white one seems to like pushing on the brown one, which makes the brown one go "plop" off my hand and onto the pillow an inch below.

Plop, the brown one, is an adventurous little critter despite not having eyes to see through just yet. She's currently sitting in the crook of my arm trying to figure out how to dig through my elbow to travel around again.

I'm guessing these are probably feeder mice, but hopefully because they are young, they will end up with decent personalities. I really don't want biters on my hands. And they are the cutest when they try to groom their back legs. They don't have the balance yet to do it properly so I usually find them in all sorts of contorted positions trying to groom. Plop seems to find doing a headstand works best.

So, without further ado, here are some pictures.

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Wow... Pretty babies. Makes me sad to know that I'd feed them to my snake. I think this post is making me reconsider breeding rodents... I'll stick to frozen online orders.
 
Is it weird that I can't imagine killing rats, but mice don't bother me? Or the idea of breeding bunnies for my boa later on doesn't? But rats are just too much... I love them. I definitely understand keeping them as pets! Hope they turn out friendly!
 
Awe, cute babies! I had rats growing up, and they make wonderful pets. They are very smart and can be very affectionate if they are used to being handled. I have wanted to get more for years, but my hubby says absolutely not. Now, ironically, I have just rescued 2 baby amels. Oh well, guess I will do the snake thing now. :) I won't ever be able to do live feedings though. I'm glad that the frozen mice work because otherwise I would have missed out on such a wonderful experience owing snakes. Good luck with your new babies!
 
Rats make amazing pets!! At this age, as along as they take to hand raising they will be very friendly.They should take to it as their eyes are not open yet..its actually the best time to get them. It may take them 48hrs to start eating really well for you.

Do you know how to hand raise them?
I have done this many times and I have an awesome success rate :). You have a wonderful Agouti (the brown) and most likely a PEW (pink eyed white).

I love baby rats :) !!

They remind me of baby seals, they are so cute!

Let me know if you need any information to help raise them.
 
Additional help is always welcome. I know that human soy is recommended, but because I really really really don't want to walk the mile to the bus stop (and the mile back) in the cold and snow, I'm giving them KMR (kitten milk replacement). Yesterday the most I could get into them was about .7 cc each, give or take. I can't wait until they are weaned. I hate the smell of the KMR. But I had it on hand.

I just noticed that Plop has one eye starting to open! She weighs a gram less, but is first at opening eyes. I figured that would happen. I also noticed that someone pooped in the 6qt I'm keeping them in, so that's another win.

I've always wanted a nutria or capybara, but I don't have the room or the means to keep them. Capybaras need to be in groups. Think semi-aquatic guinea pigs the size of a small dog. Nutria are also semi-aquatic but are also illegal for me to keep. Same with African Pouched Rats.

@Alicat: I understand that. Though with me, it's more of a living/dead thing. I could probably feed a dead rabbit/guinea pig/chicken to another animal, but I couldn't put one down to feed it.
 
Rat Pups are cute!

I am allergic to rats... extremely! My husband feeds his bp rat pups. I am feel if they are breed to be food it doesnt bother me dead or alive. I grew up on a farm... we raised our animals to eat!
 
Isn't it amazing the psychology of it all? You could take any two rats and say "well this one I could feed to a snake, but not this one". There is very little difference physically between two rats, or anything else, and yet our brains demand that we attribute things to one and not the other. The same goes with whether you could eat a dog or not. Personally, I'd have no problem eating dog meat as long as it wasn't my dog. It's just like I could easily be affectionate towards a steer knowing perfectly well that there was a possibility that I could end up eating the very same animal.

The mind works so strangely.
 
I would say they are roughly 14-17 days old. Just a guess. They look real healthy too, not to skinny or anything. They should make great pet, congratz.
 
Mommy always said "Not to play with the food". Now you gone and done it, mommy will be mad.

I had a pet rat when I was a kid. The rat would ride around on my shoulder all around the house for hours at a time. He was a great pet.

Best of luck to you.
 
Rats open their eyes at about two weeks old! They look adorable! And make sure they're both the same gender, you probably don't want about 20 more! KMR is fine to raise them with.

I'm in the same boat right now. I was supposed to take 12 rats from a girl who had them at school, but the mother killed 7 and then died, so I took the last 5. However, one baby, the little runt, just passed away this afternoon :(. And the other babies actually ate his insides. Kind of gross, but I still felt really sad. The rest are still really adorable and playful though! Mine are 4 weeks.

Rats do make amazing pets. They are very intelligent, and love to cuddle! I had them before snakes, but I'm not actually keeping any of the rats I'm raising because I also have allergies to them, that's why I switched to snakes.

Three of mine are agoutis, with one being a russian blue agouti (lighter colored tannish agouti). And one may actually be a hairless, we will see!
 
I hope yours make it. Please share pics if you can!

It's so cute watching them grow. I'm pretty sure they're both girls. Both have what look like nipplies, which I guess males don't have. I find that strange seeing as most male mammals have nipples too.
 
ive had a few rats they do make great pets. personally i wouldnt feed a rat to a snake but mice i have no problem whatsoever.
 
They are adorable! I always hear great things about rats.

I hate eating meat (although I do, but it can't have bones or I think about what I'm eating too much and get grossed out). I could never raise an animal and kill it to eat. I almost didn't like feeding pinkies and was very careful not to "damage" them when I had them warming up - yes, I'm a weird one! I already know that the larger the mouse, the harder it's gonna be for me. I got a bag of feeders today and I'm afraid to open it and see the larger mice. I'm putting that off. I know I will not like it and I could never feed live. I even feel sorry for feeder goldfish.

I hope your rats do well with you, they are cuties!
 
Kathy, I hope it gets easier for you.

Plop gave me a scare a minute ago. I pulled them out to feed them and Plop was in such a deep sleep that it took a few good gentle nudges to wake her up. I even turned her upside down and she acted dead. Almost cried. But, she woke up and bounced around as normal.

Plop now has both eyes open and Push has one open and one kind of squinty.
 
Yep deep sleeps are normal. I recommend that you just take time and hold them that way when you can, it helps them get to know your smell. Its also the best bonding time.

Once they imprint on you in a sense, they will play with your hands and interact with you like you are one of them, grind their teeth to show they are content, and fall asleep in your hands.

I love rats, and they are awesome ;).
 
Well, they have been nibbling and licking my hands. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing as I know their teeth will get bigger. I know they aren't starving and just seem to like doing it. Also, I discovered that when Push wags her tail, she's happy/excited and she does it a lot. It's just a big learning curve for me. I'm so used to guinea pigs, hamsters, and kangaroo rats.
 
I have had many rats over the years, and only 1 biter. He had been abused as a baby, and only struck out when he was scared.
Yours will be wonderful pets, and they will love to kiss and groom your hands.
Grooming is awesome, they use their teeth verrrrryyyy verrrrrrryyyyy gently. It feels almost like a finger massage!
 
Hillybean said:
Yep deep sleeps are normal. I recommend that you just take time and hold them that way when you can, it helps them get to know your smell. Its also the best bonding time.

Once they imprint on you in a sense, they will play with your hands and interact with you like you are one of them, grind their teeth to show they are content, and fall asleep in your hands.

I love rats, and they are awesome ;).
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And they kinda make a sneezing sound when upset.
 
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