# Pet store problems



## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

Hello!

So when I went to the pet store two days ago I decided I wanted to go see the rats. I was playing with the babies, washed my hands, then played with the adults and was having a good time. Well they're all feeder rats so although they're friendly and curious they also don't get socialized too much. There is one adult dumbo male that a worker was telling me was a pet BUT the manager decided to put him in with the feeders. And they were saying if they run out of large rats he'll be next. And so I bought him along with another female that has a sore on her shoulder. My roommate is leaving next Monday so it'll be a week before I'm able to bring them to my room. 

I'll be taking them both to the vet as soon as I can. But there's also another little baby...he has an eye infection. Now I feel horrible because the only reason why I bought the two I did was because one was hurt and the other was an ex pet. I feel bad because I think they all deserve loving homes but I know I cannot take them all. And I don't want just leave him but I have to be careful because if I don't have enough to cover vet bills my parents will help but I'd prefer to be able to pay for it all. I don't want to take on too much because my mom is already not happy with the two I just got (I'm buying them to get them better and find them a forever home, I would love to keep them so if I can't I guess they'll be mine). And with that baby, there's another little one that kept wanting to jump on my sweater and get out. Of course I can imagine they wanted to get away from the smell but we had a nice little time together. Of course over half of the babies are albino so I can't say I could pick her out again. 

So long story short, I know I'm supporting the petstore (I use to work there and everyone knows me and i know that they'll never stop selling feeder rats, not saying that gives me the opportunity to take every rat I want) but at least the few times I've been back there I don't see hurt rats. Of course just recently have I started playing with them but they sell fast enough they don't have time to be hurt either. Should I take on the little one (and maybe get him a companion) or should i just focus on the female I've just bought? I don't think life has a price on it so I'll do what I can for everyone but i also know that the lady who helped me when she's off for 4 days the other lady (who doesn't like rats) will be working and I'm afraid she'll just throw that little baby back into the masses. And with his eye he probably won't be sold but will suffer  

Here's some pictures:

So this is the female. Her sore looks like maybe she was scratching a lot? 








This is the little baby that kept wanting to come out









Here's how all the little babies (maybe teenagers?) live and so that's why the nice lady removed him. 








Here's the females sore







This is the male, I don't know if the ears have to be a certain way for him to be considered a dumbo or if it's just the fact that they are on the side 








Here's the girl again 










This is the baby with the hurt eye. I couldn't see the pupil and it was all brown.


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## thenightgoddess (Apr 2, 2014)

I cant help you with the other stuff but the black and white one looks like a dumbo to me and he is really cute. I feel horrible for the baby with the eye


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## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

thenightgoddess said:


> I cant help you with the other stuff but the black and white one looks like a dumbo to me and he is really cute. I feel horrible for the baby with the eye


Thank you for the comment! And he is sweet and I was told he's been there for a while (well long enough he fathered some young and they're at least 4-6 weeks old). I'll go again tomorrow and she how the little one is doing.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

That female was attacked. That's a gash from a very serious bite wound. 

The eye...almost looks like a severe enough infection that he's blind. It could be poor lighting. 


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## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> That female was attacked. That's a gash from a very serious bite wound.
> 
> The eye...almost looks like a severe enough infection that he's blind. It could be poor lighting.
> 
> ...



Something i do remember now is that a few weeks ago I saw a white female that was separated from the others. She wasn't looking good at all and I was told that she had given birth sometime that week and they took her babies to feed them as food and after that she started looking really bad. So I don't know if she was bitten before that or after that but when sitting with them for about an hour or more none of them messed with her and she's been in there for a while now. It just doesn't look like its exactly getting better.

And with the baby I would say he's completely blind in the one eye. I couldn't get a great picture but when I got tomorrow I'll try for another one.


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## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

Another thing to add when looking around on here is that the girl I got with the bad sore, she has red around her eyes. And from reading about the URI it said that it can be a sign. 

I won't be able to take them to the vet until next monday and I can only do so much since they're at the petstore


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## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

Here's some pictures from today 

So I decided to take them into a puppy room to give them the chance to walk around. I turned the container sideway so they could have the chance to go into the comfort of their container. I did clean it after this









Her bite mark/scratch/wound doesn't look infected. And if she has a URI hopefully she'll be ok to get checked out on Wednesday or Thursday next week. If she looks worse I'll get her treated before then.








The little guy walking around  I have a friend whose helping me look for a home for him! So hopefully I'll get him to a nice place soon.









Sniffing my chacos 











While cleaning their cage I put them in a smaller container. I was trying to get a picture of her eye while she was cleaning.


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## smknowitall101 (Dec 14, 2013)

If it were me, I would take the baby and get a friend for him. I had a similar situation, and that's how I ended up with 2 more male rats a few months ago.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Do you have honey? Put some on the wound. Raw is best.


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## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

smknowitall101 said:


> If it were me, I would take the baby and get a friend for him. I had a similar situation, and that's how I ended up with 2 more male rats a few months ago.



I'll see how he's doing today. With my roommate still there I could try to sneak babies in but she may not like that at all. But I don't want him to stay there and suffer and yesterday he wasn't looking any better. He might be cold from being on his own. I won't be able to go until around 5 and the vet is closed at 5:30 so I'll see what I can do. I really don't want him to suffer


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## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> Do you have honey? Put some on the wound. Raw is best.


On the white female I assume? And i can get some


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Actually, raw honey could help them all -- i use it to relieve minor symptoms of oncoming URIs, and for wound stuff, my vet recommended it.


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## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> Actually, raw honey could help them all -- i use it to relieve minor symptoms of oncoming URIs, and for wound stuff, my vet recommended it.



Ok when I went for a little bit yesterday the little babies' eyes were shut with crust. Would it be safe for applying right on the eye?


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I wouldnt. In that case, let the baby lick some and apply a warm wash cloth to the eyes. Are you getting the young baby?

I normally try to dissuade people from getting rats that may exceed financial means, but i think it might be alright in this case. The black boy looks healthy enough to not need a vet, the white girl should be given honey and monitored, but the young one is the on that needs seen -- he may need that eye out the more i think of it and look at it :/


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## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> I wouldnt. In that case, let the baby lick some and apply a warm wash cloth to the eyes. Are you getting the young baby?
> 
> I normally try to dissuade people from getting rats that may exceed financial means, but i think it might be alright in this case. The black boy looks healthy enough to not need a vet, the white girl should be given honey and monitored, but the young one is the on that needs seen -- he may need that eye out the more i think of it and look at it :/



Ok I think I have some in my room. I've got to work this afternoon until 5 but sometimes we get out a little earlier. So what I'll probably do is call the vet after my classes, around noon, and see if I can schedule an appointment. I am worried that he won't be alive when I get there this evening. 

I understand what you mean, it was the reason why I wasn't planning on getting the baby in the first place. But I should have realized that an eye infection on a baby that's between 4-6 weeks old wouldn't last a week. I think after so long he would need his eye removed but I don't know if surgery like that is possible on such a tiny little body. My vet back home I know I can trust to do surgery of that size but I don't know this vet so I may just get antibiotics or something to keep the pain down until I can take him home.


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## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> I wouldnt. In that case, let the baby lick some and apply a warm wash cloth to the eyes. Are you getting the young baby?
> 
> I normally try to dissuade people from getting rats that may exceed financial means, but i think it might be alright in this case. The black boy looks healthy enough to not need a vet, the white girl should be given honey and monitored, but the young one is the on that needs seen -- he may need that eye out the more i think of it and look at it :/


Also the scary part is the lady who hates rodents (and told me they're just lucky they're being fed) is working this morning until about 5 and the other lady who is more caring is working from 5-9. So hopefully she won't just ignore him


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Antibiotics certainly can't hurt, but if the vet is honestly confident enough to preform surgery i would allow it. sometimes, infections are able to dominate the system and become prevalent enough to infect the blood stream. this happened with my moms dog and a minor ear infection that went unchecked.


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## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> Antibiotics certainly can't hurt, but if the vet is honestly confident enough to preform surgery i would allow it. sometimes, infections are able to dominate the system and become prevalent enough to infect the blood stream. this happened with my moms dog and a minor ear infection that went unchecked.


Ok, if he doesn't make it at least he was given a chance rather than suffering any longer. Depending on if I have class at noon I may call the vet earlier and head over to the pet store. I have to get to work by 3 so I may need to wait. I'm worried he either won't be alive or the vet bill will be more than I can afford.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Is there a rescue in the area, preferably rat or pocket pet related?


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## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> Is there a rescue in the area, preferably rat or pocket pet related?
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


There's something about an hour away but its a group of people and they don't have an actual facility. They also have a waiting list (from reading their website) so I considered them but I'm afraid it wouldn't be something that could happen tomorrow


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## LittleSparrow (Apr 14, 2014)

The dumbo boy is really cute. Though, are you currently housing the female and male together? I would be careful with that, even during playtime or you could end up with a litter very quickly.
Hopefully you will be able to find a home for him! If you can't find a rescue you could try posting on a form or other site in the mean time.


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## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

LittleSparrow said:


> The dumbo boy is really cute. Though, are you currently housing the female and male together? I would be careful with that, even during playtime or you could end up with a litter very quickly.
> Hopefully you will be able to find a home for him! If you can't find a rescue you could try posting on a form or other site in the mean time.


Thank you  he is sweet and I wish I knew his history! And unfortunately since I cannot bring them home just yet they are housed together. I would assume she's already pregnant. It'll be a week before I can bring them and they will have to stay in the same container because they don't have any more to split them up. My worry is if she gives birth that it won't turn out well and also I really hope the petstore won't take the babies away from her. So I think I may buy another container and ask for them to be separated just in case. Since once I bring them with me I'll have them on their own then.

And I thought if I couldn't find a place for them I could post here and other places to find them a home. I don't want them to just go to anyone but it would be nice for them to go to someone who knows what they're doing and has other ratties


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## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> Is there a rescue in the area, preferably rat or pocket pet related?
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


So regarding the baby. I called the petstore a few minutes ago and one of the nice workers said he wasn't eating or drinking. When calling the vet the cost of caring for him is over 130 and I asked if I could have him put down. They said yes but when talking to the lady at the pet store i'm not sure if they would be so thrilled for me to take him. I mentioned I could have him put down but she didn't say 'Ok come get him' it was more like 'We'll I'm trying to do the best I can'. So i had to make the regretful choice of not taking him and just worrying about my two. 
I honest feel like a horrible person because I don't think he deserves to suffer and I wish there was a humane way that I could help ease his pain. But at least one of the workers is trying to help him out some. Ugh I know I can't save the whole world but I wish I could. In less than 2 weeks I'll be able to get my two out of there and get them home and hopefully improve their lives for the better! I'll keep my eye out for others that may not be looking so good but thankfully she was the only one that seemed to have an infection. I'll be going this evening to double check on my two and go from there.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Contact the rescue with all you can provide them for info and explain what you can do and ask for help. 


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## luvmy4rats (Nov 29, 2013)

I would personally clean out that bite wound with saline solution and apply a topical antibiotics. It looks pink around it which isn't good.

In the photo where the baby rat is the cage looks terrible. It is rusted and all the paint is chipping away. Gross. It's nice lf you to save these rats. It's too bad we can't save them all.


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## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

nanashi7 said:


> Contact the rescue with all you can provide them for info and explain what you can do and ask for help.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Unfortunately they cannot help me. Not only do they have a waiting list but they also can't give hand outs and don't have the space or facility to take in sick rats. I'm going this evening to check on my two and I was planning on at least cleaning the baby up and checking on him. I was going to bring some saline solution for my girl's shoulder so I thought I could at least use that to help clean up the babies eye. I was also going to bring by some fruits and maybe some veggies for everyone so if you have any suggestion on foods that might help I'll see if I can find them. 
And it's not that i'm trying to not spend money on this girl, if I had it I would but in paying for her care I'd have to hold off care for the two new ones. But also I have some bills for my horses that are coming up this weekend that will really put a dent in everything and although I'll be working a lot of extra hours this week and next I only get paid every 3 weeks so by the time I have money I'll be home. And if the baby some how makes it past this weekend I'll be able to take her home with me. Even if its just for her to die in peace. And I might be able to sooner than that if someone else would be able to look after her.


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## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

luvmy4rats said:


> I would personally clean out that bite wound with saline solution and apply a topical antibiotics. It looks pink around it which isn't good.
> 
> In the photo where the baby rat is the cage looks terrible. It is rusted and all the paint is chipping away. Gross. It's nice lf you to save these rats. It's too bad we can't save them all.


Would I have saline solution but the lady whose trying to save the baby was saying she's putting something on her body. I forgot what it was but she said that the sore use to be a lot bigger. So I can use the saline to at least clue it up but I don't know if the topical antibiotic would interfere with whatever the other lady is using. She got off at 5 so I was going to ask someone if they knew what it was. 

Yeah it's completely peeling off and at first I wanted to put my two in there but when I realized all the rust and took a second look I'm glad they're not in there. Although I think the baby would be warmer in their container rather than that one. There was a tiny little plastic container they had that I must suggest them to move him to. That way maybe he'll be warmer and not have a draft. 
I do wish I could save every one of them.


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## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

So when I went to the pet store this afternoon the little baby wasn't there. On top of that I was told that the manager was mad that I hadn't taken my two rats home...so now they are sitting in a tiny container in a friends room. My roommate was a complete jerk when I asked to keep them for just ONE night in my closet with the door shut. And for what ever reason the female sore opened back up (before i got there). And now i need to monitor her and make sure she'll be ok. 
So hopefully my next door neighbor will be able to take them both in tomorrow. I'm also looking to find a good inexpensive carrier or container so that I can separate them. 
So it's been stressful for me and the two new babies, hopefully tomorrow i can find a fairly nice place to let them stretch their legs if they'd like. The only place i've found so far is the bathroom. And that doesn't seem to be the cleanest so I'll have to keep looking.


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## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

So for the past day I've been juggling the couple around. Finally a girl from petland offered to take them from tomorrow until Friday. I'll have another Friend keep them Friday and Saturday another friend from home is coming to help me move a few things out and will take them home. That way I don't have to worry about them being stuck in such a tiny container. 

Here's some pictures I've taken of them  Also any offer for names would be wonderful! I am afraid she may have a URI but the vet appoint won't be until next Thursday. One question if someone has ferrets would they be at risk of catching it? The girl who is taking them has ferrets and also has snakes. I don't think she has anything else but I just realized that maybe I should be worried for her animals?


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## ohmyhi (Jun 18, 2013)

So update on these two, they are doing wonderfully and are officially ours  


Once I brought them home mom could not resist falling in love! Dad is still nervous around them and my sister loves them too <3 thank you all again for your help!


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