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

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Owned by:

Razz-the moggy 14 years old My beautiful girl gone to rainbow bridge 17/11/09, I'll love you forever Razzy Roo, well done for being a brave girl xxxxx

Morgan- the little black ninja 8 years old

Holly the tabby terror- 8mths old


Pacha- the GSD

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

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MY ZOO-LET
Syrian: Dini
Winter Whites: Alaska, Apollo, Hero and Ares
Bunnies: Saffy, Gus, Cookie and Cream and 5 babies!!
Piggies: Bubble and Squeak

RIP Tilly, Thom, Tiny, Cassius, Stuart Little, George, Baby Pom (Mice), Melvin (Chameleon) Harry (Cambells Russian) Charlie and Roma (Syrians) Eros (Winter White) Jet, Rainbow and Angel (Rabbits) Neva (Ratty girl)

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

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!!!

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RIP - Marsh, Hugo, Mako, Rufus, Seamus, Lavender, BigBoy, Tetley and Fitch <3

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

__________________
Owned by:

Razz-the moggy 14 years old My beautiful girl gone to rainbow bridge 17/11/09, I'll love you forever Razzy Roo, well done for being a brave girl xxxxx

Morgan- the little black ninja 8 years old

Holly the tabby terror- 8mths old


Pacha- the GSD

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

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

Attached Images

DSCF9622.jpg (104.4 KB, 35 views)

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Owned by:

Razz-the moggy 14 years old My beautiful girl gone to rainbow bridge 17/11/09, I'll love you forever Razzy Roo, well done for being a brave girl xxxxx

Morgan- the little black ninja 8 years old

Holly the tabby terror- 8mths old


Pacha- the GSD

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

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MY ZOO-LET
Syrian: Dini
Winter Whites: Alaska, Apollo, Hero and Ares
Bunnies: Saffy, Gus, Cookie and Cream and 5 babies!!
Piggies: Bubble and Squeak

RIP Tilly, Thom, Tiny, Cassius, Stuart Little, George, Baby Pom (Mice), Melvin (Chameleon) Harry (Cambells Russian) Charlie and Roma (Syrians) Eros (Winter White) Jet, Rainbow and Angel (Rabbits) Neva (Ratty girl)

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.

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I OWN A CHOCOLATE ROAN COCKER SPANIEL
RIP David xx Run free at the bridge. Love you always xx 19th February 2011
RIP Jack and Mickey xx Run free at the bridge. Love you forever xx 20th June 2011

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.

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I'm Amy I have a
German shepherd-blade.
10 male rats.
2 male mice.
1 Syrian hamster.