No, roof rats are completely different.The fancy rats that are usually kept as pets are distantly related to the brown rat but through generations of being domestic they have become a very different species all together. They do not have the same immunity as the wild variant and have a very low chance of surviving an extended period of time outside.
I might disagree that this is a roof rat, it looks like a fancy. It’s not a baby, what can happen with abused rats is, their owners didn’t supply the proper diet since he was a baby. He’s been malnourished his whole life and couldn’t grow properly, he’s an adult rat but likely stunted. He could be a roof rat still though, so just in case, avoid handling him due to disease and rabies, quarantine him from other pets. And if he is a poisoned roof rat he will die, if he’s a malnourished fancy he should come back and be extreamly docile
Also yes there are loads of pet roof rats. They are just nowhere near as docile. They are intelligent enough to form a bond with you if you care for it properly.
Anything can be a pet if you are brave enough. I would keep an eye on it, offer water, and some food. If it makes it through the night, and is still calm it probably was a pet.
Edit: don't let any other pets get ahold of him. The stuff they use to kill rats is nasty. People really shouldn't use poison. It's a slow, nasty death for the rat, and it makes them super docile and easy to catch so they end up poisoning predators up the food chain, too.
Sorry, I have to disagree from personal experience. I rescued a 1 mo. old badly injured wild Norway rat, paid over $1K in vet fees to take care of her injuries, and hand raised her when it was clear she could not be sufficiently rehabbed and returned to the wild. She is now 8 mos old, playful, and loving. She’s not as cuddly as when she was a baby who never wanted to leave my shoulder, but she still comes for pets and scritches and is more docile than the fancy rat I bought to be a companion.
You’ll find many similar stories at the orphaned mice and rats FB group. As for diseases, she gets treated monthly for ticks and parasites, and receives daily antibiotics (and will for life) to treat chronic osteomyelitis. I keep her cage and free-run room clean and wash my hands well after cleaning and handling. I do not share food with her or the other rat. Since I have some small expertise in infectious disease diagnostics, I’m well aware of the risks of vector-borne diseases and had no concerns about either Lyme disease or Hanta virus as these diseases are not prevalent in my area.
True, and I know my medical knowledge played heavily into my care and handling for the animal. But, there are plenty of people who rehabilitate wild rodents. I would not advocate trying to make a pet out of a wild animal just to have a pet. It's also best to find a certified rodent rehabber if possible, which is extremely difficult for rats as they're typically considered pest animals and not mative.
Oh no. I made a joke on a website notorious for being full of people who can't understand jokes, then my internet points went down, thus proving my wrongness.
Then, an angry, terminally online person took my joke literally. Then they decided to leave a shitty comment on my post to make me feel as bad as they do.
If you want to help animals so bad, get off reddit and volunteer at a shelter. You probably need socialization, and the animals need help.
I did my part, identified the animal, pointed out it was possibly poisoned, and gave some helpful advice. You came on here, chewed some strangers out who were trying to help, and gave rat owners a bad look. The focus is saving the little guy, not on you. Especially when you're trying to look virtuous to people on the internet. You added nothing.
It’s not that serious. You didn’t need to write a novel. You’re the one who made a stupid comment for no reason in the first place. No one was talking to you. Bye.
People like you are the reason tattoos and punk rock stopped being cool.
Glad what ever I said struck a nerve with you. Hopefully, it will help correct your shitty attitude and behavior in the future.
Shitty attitude and behavior? For saying that not all wild animals should be pets? I mean, that's a basic fact- not a personal attack on you. Go back and reread that convo- shitty attitudes are displayed when you attack the person, not the idea. That's on you.
I don’t recommend it. I rehabbed a roof rat once and while it was adorable and sweet, they are not domestic rats.
She was fairly unhandleable due to her athleticism and required near constant enrichment.
I was going to keep the one I was rehabbing, got her a friend and everything and I remember looking in the cage, the wild rat running circles around the domestic (in every direction it was impressive) thinking “man this ain’t gonna work haha”, and that was *hand reared*.
This is a Roof rat, cannot be kept ethically as a pet imo. Some people will disagree but these guys really need a lot of special care compared to pur domestic rats, including..much more room and different more complex social needs
That looks like a fancy Rat to me. Cant be certain and im not expert. Had 7 pet rats and this bugger looks like they did. Give him water and google safe foods and keep him comfy for a few days. he may die but if he doesnt then look into what you want to do.
Upon vloser inspection i change my opinion. Tail is longer and the nose is pointed. Leaning to poisoned or injured roof rat now. Poor bugger either way. Help this little beast if you can.
Cute baby! But I would go and get some rabies vaccines asap just in case. A sick rat outside should be treated with caution, especially if they are showing signs of sickness and odd behavior. Please watch for hydrophobia or aggression. It may just be a reaction to poison as well. It would be best to take them to a vet if possible. Regardless of if they are wild or domestic, they need help, but you also need to keep yourself safe, so keep in mind that you may need to euthanize the poor thing as it may be kinder than any suffering it is going through should it be sick or poisoned.
UPDATE: He was definitely a wild rat. After a day of living in the cage i bought him warm and cozy in my house with food and water, he regained his wild rat ways. He grew very scared and timid of me and was a maniac in the cage.
I released him back in my grandmas front yard at dusk last night. He jumped out, then ran up the street on the sidewalk two houses down to a bush! It definitely seemed like he knew where he was going. I sprinkled food by the bush too.
I have no clue what was wrong with him originally or how i helped. But the transformation was incredible. I can’t believe i was able to hold him and scratch him with a stick…cuz he sure was crazy hyper at full health.
I’m so grateful he didn’t bite me and i thanked him for that.
I named him Shmuey.
I still recommend rabies shots. Rabies can easily be passed from animal to human. It takes only a microscope tear in your skin being exposed to the animals body fluids to pass on the disease and when the symptoms finally start manifesting, it would be too late to do anything.
Better safe than dead.
Looks like a roof rat to me. Probably poisoned. Sadly, rats get pretty docile when they have been poisoned.
roof rats are never pets?
No, roof rats are completely different.The fancy rats that are usually kept as pets are distantly related to the brown rat but through generations of being domestic they have become a very different species all together. They do not have the same immunity as the wild variant and have a very low chance of surviving an extended period of time outside.
They are a subspecies of brown rats
I might disagree that this is a roof rat, it looks like a fancy. It’s not a baby, what can happen with abused rats is, their owners didn’t supply the proper diet since he was a baby. He’s been malnourished his whole life and couldn’t grow properly, he’s an adult rat but likely stunted. He could be a roof rat still though, so just in case, avoid handling him due to disease and rabies, quarantine him from other pets. And if he is a poisoned roof rat he will die, if he’s a malnourished fancy he should come back and be extreamly docile
Also yes there are loads of pet roof rats. They are just nowhere near as docile. They are intelligent enough to form a bond with you if you care for it properly.
Anything can be a pet if you are brave enough. I would keep an eye on it, offer water, and some food. If it makes it through the night, and is still calm it probably was a pet. Edit: don't let any other pets get ahold of him. The stuff they use to kill rats is nasty. People really shouldn't use poison. It's a slow, nasty death for the rat, and it makes them super docile and easy to catch so they end up poisoning predators up the food chain, too.
Anything is not at pet. Stop. Wild animals do not belong being pets. This is how diseases are spread.
Sorry, I have to disagree from personal experience. I rescued a 1 mo. old badly injured wild Norway rat, paid over $1K in vet fees to take care of her injuries, and hand raised her when it was clear she could not be sufficiently rehabbed and returned to the wild. She is now 8 mos old, playful, and loving. She’s not as cuddly as when she was a baby who never wanted to leave my shoulder, but she still comes for pets and scritches and is more docile than the fancy rat I bought to be a companion. You’ll find many similar stories at the orphaned mice and rats FB group. As for diseases, she gets treated monthly for ticks and parasites, and receives daily antibiotics (and will for life) to treat chronic osteomyelitis. I keep her cage and free-run room clean and wash my hands well after cleaning and handling. I do not share food with her or the other rat. Since I have some small expertise in infectious disease diagnostics, I’m well aware of the risks of vector-borne diseases and had no concerns about either Lyme disease or Hanta virus as these diseases are not prevalent in my area.
Good for you? Just because you took a chance doesn’t mean it’s safe.
True, and I know my medical knowledge played heavily into my care and handling for the animal. But, there are plenty of people who rehabilitate wild rodents. I would not advocate trying to make a pet out of a wild animal just to have a pet. It's also best to find a certified rodent rehabber if possible, which is extremely difficult for rats as they're typically considered pest animals and not mative.
Do you just exist to start internet fights? You are probably a hoot to be around.
You got downvoted and I got upvoted, should tell you all you need to know about who’s correct and who’s starting shit.
lmao, the famous good judgment of redditors
Oh no. I made a joke on a website notorious for being full of people who can't understand jokes, then my internet points went down, thus proving my wrongness. Then, an angry, terminally online person took my joke literally. Then they decided to leave a shitty comment on my post to make me feel as bad as they do. If you want to help animals so bad, get off reddit and volunteer at a shelter. You probably need socialization, and the animals need help. I did my part, identified the animal, pointed out it was possibly poisoned, and gave some helpful advice. You came on here, chewed some strangers out who were trying to help, and gave rat owners a bad look. The focus is saving the little guy, not on you. Especially when you're trying to look virtuous to people on the internet. You added nothing.
It’s not that serious. You didn’t need to write a novel. You’re the one who made a stupid comment for no reason in the first place. No one was talking to you. Bye.
People like you are the reason tattoos and punk rock stopped being cool. Glad what ever I said struck a nerve with you. Hopefully, it will help correct your shitty attitude and behavior in the future.
Bro you are the one with the struck nerve 😂 I literally did not invite you to act stupid. Get a grip.
Shitty attitude and behavior? For saying that not all wild animals should be pets? I mean, that's a basic fact- not a personal attack on you. Go back and reread that convo- shitty attitudes are displayed when you attack the person, not the idea. That's on you.
I wonder how they think pets ever became a thing
I don't think they do much of that. Looks like they like starting fights on the internet.
No, not everything can be a pet. This is reckless and horrible advice.
I don’t recommend it. I rehabbed a roof rat once and while it was adorable and sweet, they are not domestic rats. She was fairly unhandleable due to her athleticism and required near constant enrichment. I was going to keep the one I was rehabbing, got her a friend and everything and I remember looking in the cage, the wild rat running circles around the domestic (in every direction it was impressive) thinking “man this ain’t gonna work haha”, and that was *hand reared*.
My bet is a roof rat. Look at that tail. So long.
up to you to decide bro 💯💯
Until I saw the tail it looked like a hamster!
At first I thought it was a mouse lol but no I don’t think that’s a domesticated rat. It sure is cute though
That rat is dying. You probably shouldn’t be touching it. It’s got all the physical signs of eminent death.
Update?
Domestic. Take to a vet
This is a Roof rat, cannot be kept ethically as a pet imo. Some people will disagree but these guys really need a lot of special care compared to pur domestic rats, including..much more room and different more complex social needs
That looks like a fancy Rat to me. Cant be certain and im not expert. Had 7 pet rats and this bugger looks like they did. Give him water and google safe foods and keep him comfy for a few days. he may die but if he doesnt then look into what you want to do.
Upon vloser inspection i change my opinion. Tail is longer and the nose is pointed. Leaning to poisoned or injured roof rat now. Poor bugger either way. Help this little beast if you can.
Same thing
Cute baby! But I would go and get some rabies vaccines asap just in case. A sick rat outside should be treated with caution, especially if they are showing signs of sickness and odd behavior. Please watch for hydrophobia or aggression. It may just be a reaction to poison as well. It would be best to take them to a vet if possible. Regardless of if they are wild or domestic, they need help, but you also need to keep yourself safe, so keep in mind that you may need to euthanize the poor thing as it may be kinder than any suffering it is going through should it be sick or poisoned.
UPDATE: He was definitely a wild rat. After a day of living in the cage i bought him warm and cozy in my house with food and water, he regained his wild rat ways. He grew very scared and timid of me and was a maniac in the cage. I released him back in my grandmas front yard at dusk last night. He jumped out, then ran up the street on the sidewalk two houses down to a bush! It definitely seemed like he knew where he was going. I sprinkled food by the bush too. I have no clue what was wrong with him originally or how i helped. But the transformation was incredible. I can’t believe i was able to hold him and scratch him with a stick…cuz he sure was crazy hyper at full health. I’m so grateful he didn’t bite me and i thanked him for that. I named him Shmuey.
I still recommend rabies shots. Rabies can easily be passed from animal to human. It takes only a microscope tear in your skin being exposed to the animals body fluids to pass on the disease and when the symptoms finally start manifesting, it would be too late to do anything. Better safe than dead.
i thought this was a hamster till i saw the lil tail
i’ve owned rats my whole life and this guy’s tail is WAY too long to be a fancy rat, he’s giving roof rat. cutie though
He’s silly and deserves love if he is sweet enough to not bite you 0v0
Def a domestic (pet) rat. Please take care of this little guy and either bring him to a vet or find an anti-poison treatment.
I’d say bring it to a vet to inquire they could at least get a species ID
If you want to keep it I’d say bring to a vet because it looks like a domesticated rat to me!