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| Unverified | 28 Apr 2025 | KIrvs |
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We aren't sure if it's a brown rat or bush rat, but would really like to know. It's only a baby, about the length of a human thumb and has been attacked by something. Grey/brown fur with a black tail
10 comments
DonFletcher
wrote:
28 Apr 2025
Hi @KIrvs, I cant identify such a young rodent. But in several decades, the only rodents recorded in Canberra suburbs have been introduced Black (Roof) Rats, (Rattus rattus) and the introduced House Mouse (Mus musculus), with also a few claims for the introduced Norway (Sewer or Brown) Rat (Rattus norvegicus). I am excluding the native Rakali from consideration because it does not occur in houses or gardens. Native Bush Rats (Rattus fuscipes) are hard to find now, even in Namadgi and I have never heard of one in or near Canberra and none have ever been trapped in surveys in the Canberra Reserves from 1976 to the present. Therefore I would bet my hat this would turn out to be a juvenile Black Rat.
KIrvs
wrote:
28 Apr 2025
@DonFletcher would it be unwise for us to keep it ,if it survives,after rehabilitating it? At the moment it's leg is broken and it has a good cut on its belly.
DonFletcher
wrote:
28 Apr 2025
Not necessarily unwise. Rats can make nice pets. But this will be a hard way to get one, if it survived. Just don't release it.
So the choice is either making a pet of it, or euthanasia.
So the choice is either making a pet of it, or euthanasia.
KIrvs
wrote:
29 Apr 2025
@DonFletcher we definitely want to keep him if he survives. Thank you so much!
DonFletcher
wrote:
29 Apr 2025
@Klrvs Could you please add a photo with its leg in a cast? BTW, who set the leg for you?
Pet rats are very active animals and crave environmental stimulation (called 'behavioural enrichment' in zoo literature) so google some advice on how to prepare the main place where you will keep it when it is not in your pocket or crawling around on your shoulders etc. It will want daily contact and exercise and preferably it should be neutered when it is nearing adult size. Bear in mind that 99% of the available information is about lab rats, which are strains of Rattus norvegicus, whereas yours is almost certainly Rattus rattus. So take the advice, but be prepared for it to not apply in every aspect.
Also, I should have thought to say earlier that if the cut on its belly entered the abdominal cavity, euthanasia is called for. Also, you can DM me if you need me to tell you how to euthanase.
Pet rats are very active animals and crave environmental stimulation (called 'behavioural enrichment' in zoo literature) so google some advice on how to prepare the main place where you will keep it when it is not in your pocket or crawling around on your shoulders etc. It will want daily contact and exercise and preferably it should be neutered when it is nearing adult size. Bear in mind that 99% of the available information is about lab rats, which are strains of Rattus norvegicus, whereas yours is almost certainly Rattus rattus. So take the advice, but be prepared for it to not apply in every aspect.
Also, I should have thought to say earlier that if the cut on its belly entered the abdominal cavity, euthanasia is called for. Also, you can DM me if you need me to tell you how to euthanase.
KIrvs
wrote:
29 Apr 2025
@DonFletcher ni cast yet, we found him in the evening and couldn't take him anywhere. Looking into that today. He's made it through the night. Let me give him some pats and sniffed me a little. Hasn't eaten or drank anything though. We will move him to a proper cage today as well, right now he's got a Tupperware with shredded paper. His belly seems surface level. A tiny bit of blood over night on the paper, but mostly clear fluid. Still moving around really well. Not sure now if the leg is broken or just hurt, now he's moving. I'll update when I have more info!
I have also owned domestic rats in the past so I'm prepared for the care needed :)
I have also owned domestic rats in the past so I'm prepared for the care needed :)
DonFletcher
wrote:
29 Apr 2025
This person seems to know her stuff about keeping rats https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOLp4M3cses
KIrvs
wrote:
29 Apr 2025
@DonFletcher we took him to the vet. He was a Bush rat. The injuries he sustained were indicative of a cat attack and were too severe for him to survive. I left him in their care to have him euthanized.
DonFletcher
wrote:
29 Apr 2025
Hi @Klrvs, I'm VERY sceptical about the ID by a vet. It would be the first member of the species ever recorded in or around Canberra. And R. fuscipes is not known to occur in suburbs. So can you please provide more information: Who identified it? Can I have the carcass? On what technical basis was it identified as R. fuscipes? (For example it is well known that tails of Black Rats are longer than head-body length, and tails of Bush Rats are shorter, but it is not well known that this relationship does not apply with juveniles).
DonFletcher
wrote:
29 Apr 2025
Call me on 0428 48 9990 if you prefer, or email don.fletcher999@gmail.com
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KIrvs NatureMapr Canberra & Southern Tablelands Rodents Mammals
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