wild rat

Question
Hello Sandra ..
I have a dilemma .. i have 3 girls left from my 5 which are very happy and loved .. when i moved into my rented home 5 years ago now the very 1st night i heard scratchin & squeaking from inside the wall (it would only happen now and then).. around 2 weeks ago i heard proper chewin wood comin from the kitchen ground floor, it then stopped and then to my shock 3 nights ago i saw a little stunner runnin across my kitchen floor .. i keep my ratties in the kitchen as they have the run of the dresser, so iv taken them out as i was nervous about leaving them in the same room .. i have since taped mags all around the 3rd of there huge cage to stop ant contact with the wild rattie ..
i have been watchin this little wild rattie runnin round my kitchen for the last 3 days and i dont seem to be hearin or seein anymore so im thinkin his she on her own but how can she wen she only looks around 4 months old .. do i try to catch her and keep her can the vet give her any injections of any kind to make sure she is not carryin any diseases just to make it safe for her and us .. also u say u cant mix them wiv domestic ratties that it just dont work (why wont it work) as if i catched her and then with time got her to feel safe and secure i would like to buy her a friend or 2 as i hate ratties livin there life on there own .. i really need some advise .. plzzz help!!!
kindest regsrda .. sandie  <:3-)~~~

Answer

Wild babies Hi

For starters, wild rats do not get injections. They do not carry anything that any injection can cure etc.....they are not natural carriers or rabies. In fact, rats have never transferred the rabies virus to any human because the small size of the rat means the rat would never survive an attack from a rabid animal and leave through the injuries sustained during the attack long enough for the virus to even incubate.   Rabies and rats are nothing to every worry about.

However, you can NEVER put this wild rat with a domestic rat. Trust me. The wild rat and fancy rat will never get along and they will fight till the death. I raised a wild rat from a baby and she hated the domestic rats and they hated her.  No matter how tame you may get the wild rat, they never accept the domestic rat. They are not the same in the way they think or anything. Please do not think that even if you tame it, it will make a difference or you may come to find a terrible bloodied mess one day. Wild rats are more independent than fancy rats so this wild rat will not be lonely like the fancy rat would. Although they live in a colony, they are loners when they are hunting for food etc...and prefer it that way.  You will notice a difference in the way they look and feel and even walk.

As for capturing and keeping it: I recommend this to a veteran rat owner only, never to a novice.   You seem like you know enough about rat care but must understand the first few months this rat will be touchy and hard to train.  Even with a fancy rat, if you do not socialize them from birth, they will be shy and hard to get them to trust you.  With wild rats, they are even harder to get them to trust you.  We are their natural enemy. They may not attack you like people think but their defense is to run fast and hide well. You can trap her with a humane trap (have a heart) and she will be terrified at first so be sure to have a cardboard box in the trap for her to hide in or she can have a heart attack from fear or go into shock.

You need to provide her with a cage that is much like the dark tunnels she has traveled over the past few months.  It should be spacious and have lots of boxes etc...for her to hide in. Her diet, just like with fancy rats, should be low protein, not the seed diet. Their bodies are just like fancy rats, with their kidneys not being able to handle high protein and they also are prone to mammary tumors like the fancy female rats are.  They are swift, clever and intelligent but always looking for an escape from you even if you thik they are starting to tame.  You need to let her play in a secure area she cant escape.  If you think she wont jump from your bed or a high place, think again. She has been jumping up to 4 feet for months as a wild rat esp if she came in from the walls. She has seen alot more "action" than your fancy rats have ever seen.
I just dont want you to be disappointed in her once you capture her because once you start to feed and water her and she starts to lose her natural instincts, feeling more trusting that she wont have to hunt for food and that it is always going to be in a dish for her, but she may not want held yet or maybe not ever held the way you want to hold her, you cannot set her free again.  Once you tame her even just a little, your pretty much going to have to keep her or she will die in the wild after she has the human imprint on her.

My wild rat used to run taking wide strides and she would strut across the floor. She hissed at the other rats, and would also spit at them. She growled and showed her teeth yet she was a tiny little thing herself!   LOL   She was sweet with me but it took a while. She bit me like crazy and it took me over a week to get her to stop.She was a baby too.  This wild rat may even bite at you so my advice would be not to try to pick her up for several weeks after she has been put in the cage.  Let her come to you. She will feel threatened and attack you thinking you are going to hurt her. Again, no worries about disease, but rat bites hurt like heck.

What do you have as far as cages go and how do you plan to trap her?

I attached a photo of a group of wild rats born when a woman that wrote to me about a wild rat living in her wall wrote to me.  She caught the wild rat too and a few days later, BABIES!   The mother was scared to death for months before she allowed anyone to touch her and the babies were shy too, even at birth. They tamed down alot though but still show alot of wild characteristics.  They are adorable though.....dont you think?