# Too mad for words



## Zabora

So I'm just surfing the web right? Looking on craigslist just bored. I see an add for a free feeder rat. It says the snake wasn't hungry. The rat is perched on top of the snake. My friend comes over and I call the guy about the rat. He says come get him. So my friend and I rush out get him. On the way over my friend said she just had a feeling that she should be at my place. I told her it was because we are ment tosave this rat. We get to the house and they had the rat in a plastic garbage can with plastic wrap all on the top taped down. The guy asks me if he wanted me to grab him. I said no. When I looked down he had knocked over his water dish and was sitting in about an 8th of an inch of water. At this point I'm already mad. So I reach in and take him oit. Place him in my carrier and take him to the car. He turns around and sticks his tail out. About 2 inches had been de-gloved. We rushed to the 24 hour vet who told us they don't do exotic animals. But she did tell us how to bandage him and I have given him some ibprofan. I will take him to my vet on monday. I bandaged him up and he is now eating. My husband wrapped up his tail while I held him. He didn't move or bite or struggle. I just held him for a few hours to my chest. My friend named him Shakespeare. Here he is. Dean has already been loving on him but I'm isolating him till he heals.


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## PawsandClaws

Holy crap! This makes me so angry. The audacity of this guy to post that picture. I am so, so, so glad you were able to get him out of that horrible situation and give him a home. Shakespeare is a beautiful name. Now that you have broken quarantine with your other rat, be on the lookout for any respiratory illnesses that could indicate something viral. When you take him into a vet on Monday, have the vet issue you some revolution for all your rats at home (including Shakespeare) in case he has mites or anything else. Chances are, if the rats have been in contact, your boy Dean has whatever Shakespeare has so let the vet know so you can take the right precautions. In terms of his de-gloved tail - sounds like it could be an injury, stress related or an incident with the snake. Managing the pain with infant ibuprofen is a good idea as is keeping the area clean. Try not to use loose bedding that will irritate the area - fleece or paper towels for now is best. Again, thanks for getting that poor little man out of there. I hope he heals well and has a long and prosperous life with you and Dean.


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## lovemyfurries

That just made my blood boil!!! So glad you were able to rescue him. Hope his tail heals and that he doesn't remember any of his ordeal. He's so beautiful.


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## Phantom

What that guy was doing endangers both his snake as well as his rat. You never ever leave a live food in a cage with any reptile for more than 15 minutes. I've seen crickets and mealworms eat leopard geckos and I've heard stories about rats and mice eating snakes. I'm glad you were able to take him out of that situation.


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## Little Bit

That horrible! I'm so glad te little guy is safe and sound with you!


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## Mrs.Brisby

You are such a good person for rescuing that poor rat! That guy does not deserve to own animals.


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## Zabora

Shakespeare is doing well. He is eating and no mites! We got him in to another vet this moning. Vet is going to leave the tail on. He said saline solutions 3 times a day for the tail and gave me a perscription for antibacterial topical ointment. He did xrays, listened to his lungs, checked for tumors, and it only cost $45. He heard my story, marched out to his secretary and told her to only charge me for an office exam. I got over half my money back. We spent 4 hours at the vet while he checked every inch of Shakespeare. I guess I also found a new vet.


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## Zabora

Oh and Shakespeare is so far just terrerfied of me but he isn't biting so there is hope yet I guess!


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## Hey-Fay

Don't wrap the tail. Clean it with homemade saline solution. Get some silver solution, made by curad, and apply a thin layer two to three times a day. Give the ibuprofen every twelve hours. Eventually the degloved part will dry up and either fall off or be groomed of. And he should only be on the pain meds for about three days.

EDIT: i really need to start reading everything before i post :/


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## DustyRat

Awesome you rescued this poor ratty. Good on you.


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## isabelleharris

Had the same situation in pittsburgh. I wanted to rescue the poor baby, it was a male pew. Unfortunately i was unable to and i dont know what happened to him :c


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## Jessiferatu

Oh, poor baby! I'm so glad you were able to rescue him.


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## Zabora

Lol its ok Fay I'm just as bad. Yea vet raid saline solutin 3 times a day to clean the cage every day and all I use is fleece. He is happily hiding in my hair on my shoulder right now.


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## lovemyfurries

What an amazing vet! Someone should actually lay a charge of animal abuse against the guy with the snake knowing the snake itself could also have been in danger. I'm sure Shakespeare will warm up to you, just give him time.


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## alf23

OMG! Feel so naive right now as I have never came across something like that before! There are some cruel people out there! The poor thing, good job you chanced upon him to come to his rescue Zabora  I'm sure he will come round to you, he'll be in shock after what he's been through


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## Zabora

Shakespeare is doing so good! No sign of infection and he sits on my shoulder for hours just bruxing and boggling. He is such a sweet little fellow. He is just scared of loud noises like my husband opening a bag of chips. He is exploring a bit on the bed and running around the rat room. Aparently my friend that helped me rescue him has claimed him so he won't be joining my mischif but he will be a first time rat for her after he is all healed. We are going to my breeder friend to pick out a friend for him. He just had a litter and we will name him Marlowe after christopher marlowe.


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## lovemyfurries

So good to hear Shakespeare is doing so well


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## alf23

It's lovely he has a second chance when so many don't - got to keep doing what we can


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## Zabora

So Shakespeare has chewed half of his dried out tail off. There is now a little under an inch left. We saw my breeder friend and Angie (the one who helped rescue Shakespeare) picked a beige hooded rat. He is only 15 days old so we still have time till he can be seperated and Shakespeare can heal. I did get a friend for little Pisces today though. A beautiful American blue capped (?) dumbo eared girl who is 4 months old. She does have a blue spot on her belly about the size of a nickle though. She's such a sweety! A little timid but that's ok because Pisces is always up for an aventure.


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## Zabora

Angie chilling with Shakespeare and his tail before he chewed it off.


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## Bronte18

I cried the other night when I seen this. G-d bless you and that poor rat. It's so shocking to me because it's illegal over here so it's not as common although I know it still happens. You just never see it like that :\.


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## Zabora

Bronte18 said:


> I cried the other night when I seen this. G-d bless you and that poor rat. It's so shocking to me because it's illegal over here so it's not as common although I know it still happens. You just never see it like that :\.


 I know its not ok but he is healing vary well. No sign of infection and he is being vary cuddley. He is still terrerfied of any sudden noises or movements but mostly he sits with me curled up under my chin and hair or by my thigh. He runs to me when exploring if he gets scared. I like to think he knows I'm the safe one lol but I might be just buttering myself up on that one XD.


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## ratsaremylife

Oh my gosh! God bless you for saving that poor baby! Keep me updated, PM me if you want to chat about him.  I'd love to.


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## Zabora

He is sooo snuggley! Here are a few pictures!


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## lovemyfurries

It's awesome that he runs to you when he gets scared. I think it's a compliment. Glad to hear he's so snugly and no infection. Was a bit freaked out to hear he'd chewed off the end of his tail, but maybe that's something they do? The last few pics are really cute.


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## SCinKC

Good for you - and your little guy. It's always heartwarming to see a happy ending rescue story, regardless of the species. I'd never given much thought to feeders before we got ours other than it was kind of sad. Now after just a few months of having our two, when I see them in the store I can hardly stand it. I see them for what they really are - little bundles of personality that deserve a loving home.


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## abratforarat

So great you rescued him...he's an adorable ratlet!


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## Zabora

SCinKC said:


> Good for you - and your little guy. It's always heartwarming to see a happy ending rescue story, regardless of the species. I'd never given much thought to feeders before we got ours other than it was kind of sad. Now after just a few months of having our two, when I see them in the store I can hardly stand it. I see them for what they really are - little bundles of personality that deserve a loving home.


 Well all of our animals are rescues...Our dogs are, Dean is, Sam was, Kaboose, Spock, Bean, and Pisces' mom was a pregnant rescue. Even little Mini who we got for Pisces was rehomed from craigslist. Now we have little Shakespeare and soon to have Marlowe. I think Marlowe would be the only animal we shall have that wasnt a rescue lol.


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## Zabora

lovemyfurries said:


> It's awesome that he runs to you when he gets scared. I think it's a compliment. Glad to hear he's so snugly and no infection. Was a bit freaked out to hear he'd chewed off the end of his tail, but maybe that's something they do? The last few pics are really cute.


 as far as I know its normal. He only chewed on the dried part. Makes it easier so we dont have to go to the vets again I guess.


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## lovemyfurries

Maybe that's where instinct takes over. Glad he's doing well otherwise.


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## Zabora

So I trimmed his nails today and i noticed the kwick had been trimmed back pretty far. It had probably been done to prevent him fighting and damaging the snake...*sigh* He did have some nail damage that I noticed too because his nails were not growing correctly.


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## lovemyfurries

Oh shame man!!


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## Zabora

Shakespeare is really coming out of his shell but I did learn that he is terrified of Smaug. Stupid Hobbit movie made him run for it. HAHA...He loves his banana chips though and I put the Sputnik in his hospital tank because he likes to hide more so then the other boys. Only Spock is truly missing the Sputnik...


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## lovemyfurries

Banana chips are cool, haven't had a rattie yet that doesn't love them. So glad Shakespeare is coming along so nicely


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## Zabora

We tried some spring mix lettuce today. He looked at me like "WTF is this?" I doubt he has had any variety in his diet before coming home with us.


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## Zabora

Well Shakespeare seems to think sunflower seeds are the bee's knees. He hasn't worked out how to crack them open himself so I do it for him. Here is the pic.


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## lovemyfurries

Ooh that is sooo cute!! Probably didn't have any variety. It'll take time then for him to trust some of the different foods. So many things to try with him then


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## Zabora

I know! He has like everything I have given him so far. We are going to try yogurt next.


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## lovemyfurries

He really trusts you, that's awesome are you still going to give him to your friend?


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## Zabora

Yep but I will be fostering him till she gets her own place. She's living with a friend of hers right now. On Sunday we are getting him his ferret nation cage and then when Marlow is old enough we will bring him home to live with us and we can do introductions till he is big enough to not escape the ferret nation lol


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## deedeeiam

That person doesn't deserve to have any animal. That's not a feeding tank for the snake...it appears to be it's actual habitat. People like that are actually the minority, but still what gives reptile owners a bad name.

Glad to see the rat has a happy home now and proper care.


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## Zabora

Ya know I actually have had snakes and I used to feed mine mice. I couldnt breed them myself because i woldnt be able to feed the snake. But we had a separate tank for him during feedings too. Its because we didnt want him biting us when we put the hand in his habitat. I just want to know how the heck his tail got degloved...


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## deedeeiam

Zabora said:


> I just want to know how the heck his tail got degloved...


Most likely he bought the rat that way. The snake couldn't have done it. Probably caught it in a cage or got in a scuffle in whatever breeding tank he was in.


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## lovemyfurries

Zabora said:


> Yep but I will be fostering him till she gets her own place. She's living with a friend of hers right now. On Sunday we are getting him his ferret nation cage and then when Marlow is old enough we will bring him home to live with us and we can do introductions till he is big enough to not escape the ferret nation lol


I can and do the fostering, although all my fosters have ended up staying with me. I did raise babies and was able to part with them but I just feel for Shakespeare as he's obviously already got quite attached to you. I suppose after being through what you guys have now being through it would just be too hard for me to part  although it's your friend so you'd still see him


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## Zabora

deedeeiam said:


> Most likely he bought the rat that way. The snake couldn't have done it. Probably caught it in a cage or got in a scuffle in whatever breeding tank he was in.


 Vary likey. It did look fresh though. I think he might have gotten it caught in the snake tank lid when they were taking him out to be put in the trash can.


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## Zabora

lovemyfurries said:


> I can and do the fostering, although all my fosters have ended up staying with me. I did raise babies and was able to part with them but I just feel for Shakespeare as he's obviously already got quite attached to you. I suppose after being through what you guys have now being through it would just be too hard for me to part  although it's your friend so you'd still see him


 Angie has been here every night except one to handle and cuddle him. Several pictures such as him with the sunflower seed, are taken with her right next to him. She has black hair I have brown. She is even coming to stay the night again tonight so we can take a ride over an hour away to pick up his new cage. He cuddles with her as much as he cuddles with me. She helps me do his saline soak, change his hospital cage. e, get him water and food, she even has another sputnik on order right now along with ramp covers for the cage. He will stay with me until March at the latest. She is doing vary good with him, asking questions about care and diet. I know she loves him and will treat him right. I even have to argue with her to put him back in his cage because she has to go home and sleep and he has been out for 6 hours already with us lol.


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## Zabora

He has groomed a bit more of his tail off. Its about a quarter of an inch. He has been playing with me for an hour now chasing my hand and grooming me. He is even popcorning.


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## lovemyfurries

Ah that's too cute. He's obviously not bothered by his tail. I had a cat once who had to have her whole tail amputated and after the healing she was great. She's still alive, about 8-10 years old now, never lost any balance with the loss of her tail. She lives with my ex husband. I'm in a flat so I had to leave my cat and beloved Belgium Shepard cross there! He won't let me even see them, but my daughter goes every second weekend and gives me updates on how my dog is, and I always get a kiss and a lick on my cheek from her ( from Zach ) 

Sorry got right off the topic there. I do that. Hope Shakespeare likes his new friend let me know how the intro goes. And please tell me what popcorning is. I've heard it so many times on the site but I'm stoopid. Thanks


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## Zabora

Its when they kinda hop around. Like hop hop hop hop run. But no real number of hops are needed. Sorry about the dog and cat. Its always hard to leave them. I had to give up my dads dog when he died because I moved to reno. Couldn't take him on the train.


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## Zabora

Shakespeare enjoying a video with Angie.


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## lovemyfurries

That's sad  about your dad and his dog. Thanks hey.


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## madsnake

I can't believe that! I'm glad you rescued him ;D


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## Zabora

Tomorrow we get his friend after Spocks vet appointment. I'm excited I'm scared I'm nervous about both...


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## lovemyfurries

Eeee, let us know if he likes his friend


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## theAfanc

Poor baby . I'm glad to here that he is doing well though!


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## HeatherElle

That snake pic makes me feel sick. Thank you for saving him.


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## Zabora

Ok so here are some more Shakespeare pics!


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## ratsaremylife

I love this story! Good luck with everything. He sounds like the sweetest ratty ever. Love him, and keep us posted.


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## watts300

Zabora said:


> He did xrays, listened to his lungs, checked for tumors, and it only cost $45. *He heard my story,* marched out to his secretary and told her to *only charge me for an office exam*.


That man has integrity. My hat's off to him.


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## rudecrudetattooedfatgirl

Poor baby. Is he what's considered a hooded rat? Mine kind of looks like him. I got my boy, Mort off craigslist too.


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## ratsaremylife

rudecrudetattooedfatgirl said:


> Poor baby. Is he what's considered a hooded rat? Mine kind of looks like him. I got my boy, Mort off craigslist too.


 Yes, he would be considered a hooded rat.


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