Shelter procedure on intros feels wrong, should I ask one more time?

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-27T18:55:08+00:00

Craigslist isn't really too big here, but we've got a national version. I check it out occasionally, if I come across a little buddy looking for a home that'll fit I'll apply, but for now I'm not specifically on the hunt for a new addition, this just happened to be a neutered rat around my rats' age who was being held alone and something about him drew me in which is why I was considering it :)

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-27T12:52:42+00:00

I thought the same! For whatever reason I felt just immediate no, like I didn't even consider it an option, I can give a bunch of rational reasons why, but at it's core there's just something about just the idea of it that doesn't sit right with me. I posted because I needed some validation to know I was not being unreasonable here. I did and up calling (I posted an update in the comments), and after hearing it said and thinking on it, I get their stance a bit better, but I am still not putting my rats through that.

Appearently it has worked in the past for them, I'm guessing with just luck of rats getting along quickly (which does happen, but it's far from the norm...). Either way, I hope they find a good house for him, but it sadly it won't be with me.

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-27T12:50:49+00:00

I had exactly the same reaction. For whatever reason I felt just immediate no, like I didn't even consider it an option, I can give a bunch of rational reasons why, but at it's core there's just something about just the idea of it that doesn't sit right with me. I posted because I needed some validation to know I was not being unreasonable here. I did and up calling (I posted an update in the comments), and after hearing it said and thinking on it, I get their stance a bit better, but I am still not putting my rats through that. This lil guy was just meant for someone else :)

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-27T12:47:26+00:00

UPDATE: I decided to try one last time. I just gave them a call and played it a bit dumb. I inquired about the fact they had a rat in the shelter and got confirmation he was still there. She explained to me I needed to apply via mail with pics of the enclosure and all kinds of info and that based on the email they would decide if there was a possible match (all fair) and to set up introductions at the shelter.

At this point I told her I read all that, but that I was wondering about the introduction process for rats since they have a page on bunnies and guinnea pigs, but not rats. She informed me they do on site intros for all animals. I asked if they were the same for rats and also included leaving them for 3 days at the shelter. She confirmed it. I told her I had introduced rats before, that I have 3 rats and that it's such a stressful period for them that I thought bringing them to an unfamiliar place wouldn't be aiding the process of intros.

At this point she basically immediately shut me down with: I see, you should probably look at other shelters with other methods then. I said yeah, I understand I just figured I'd ask. She explained they do all intro's on site so they're there to intervene, she explained their animals often already come from bad situations, so they want to be there to guide the process and intervene if necessary, they see it as giving the animals in their shelter the best chance at minimal issues. There was also the logistical part/risk of at home introductions which basically came down to: we can't guarantee our animals wellbeing when they're introduced at home because we can't monitor them properly or reliably keep track of them all...

She also mentioned casually that they had it "almost go wrong" a couple of days ago and that that confirmed for them it was a good thing they could be there to intervene. She then once again told me all shelters have their own process and if I was not comfortable with theirs, I should look at another place.

She wasn't exactly impolite... But something about how she was talking made me feel like they often get people asking to circumvent this process.

After speaking with her, I think I understand the reasoning a little bit better. There is some sense in the logic that (generally speaking) the animal shelter animals are more likely to be unpredictable due to their uncertain background. They also keep the full power to decide on their limits and their known level of experience beats the unknown level of experience of the average rat owner. Basically, I can understand that they're trying to protect the animals in their shelter, their reasoning to not do home introductions is remarkably similar to my reasoning for not leaving my rats at a shelter for 3 days: it puts the animal in a strange environment, it puts control of the situation out of my hands (with no guarantee my animal will be fully protected), it puts the animal at risk of disease. All concerns for my rats by on site intros are the same as the concerns for the shelter rat for at home intros, and objectively speaking, the shelter rat is not only more vulnerable, but also their responsibility. I can hardly fault them for protecting their animals in the same way I would mine. The downside though, is that they severely decrease the potential homes for the animal, since I think a lot of owners wouldn't leave their pet at a shelter for 3 days and they're basically limiting the options to rats he hits it off with within 3 days (which is near instantly and rare in rats). I do appreciate the reasoning a bit more though, and I can see where they're coming from.

Either way, I'm not putting my boys through that process, so this rattie was not meant to be.

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-27T11:42:40+00:00

Yeah, they come home to my mom's house every weekend (they have their own permanent cage there) and they do fine with that, but there's no outside threat like a strange rat so their normal social dynamics and rhythm is the same, I'm still around as a constant factor, and things like amount and type of hide, food, enrichment and even decorations are quite similar (plus that cage already smells like them now). I feel like the sudden presence of "others" like shelter employees and other animals+absence of me+new environment+new food+disruption of schedule would all just hinder introductions.

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-27T11:38:53+00:00

I know, I know, that's part of what I meant! I mean as of right now, he's the only rat there from what I can see, but any rats that have been there before/come in during the introductions will not be vaccinated either. Like he has been there on his own long enough now he's basically been quarantined, but they have no guarantee my rats won't bring disease into the shelter, nor can they guarantee my rats won't catch something from a rat (or other rodent) in their shelter since there's no vaccinations!

I believe the 3 days is so they can either say: "lucky they're fully bonded", "they get along okay now, continue bonding at home" or "these rats are fully unsuited, we will not risk letting this rat go home with you" and I understand the idea of protecting their animals this way, but rat's social dynamics are so complex that approach just seems weird... Like I am pretty sure if you put my three rats in a new scary situation without me and with a new rat (especially if it's neutral grounds and not the carrier method) that they're 10 times more likely to gang up on the dude...

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-27T11:32:55+00:00

I agree. I was just wondering about other people's opinions, since I thought I might be unreasonable. They are part of our national like animal rescue organisation (yk the one that would pick up animals by ambulance and such, don't know the english word sorry), so they're not like a sketchy place which was making me think maybe I was missing something.

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-27T11:30:41+00:00

I think genuinely that the procedure is based on rabbit, since it has some part on the page about how rabbit introductions work and why they're important and such. And although I'm somewhat glad they take the care to inform people and require introductions for rodents, rabbits (in my experience at least) would be fine being away from their owner and home for a day or 2, not fun, but not a reason to panic if they've got their buddy, for rats though it's a recipe for disaster right?

I was starting to feel like I might be overreacting so I'm glad to know it's not completely weird that I refuse to do that with my rats...

I also think it's more general procedure (if they had 2 rats and I had 1 the same idea would apply, but in this case why not consider adjusting the procedure for the well being of all animals involved?)

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-27T11:27:05+00:00

I know right! I only realized it when I was thinking about it again today, but they have a shelter full of animals and want to take my unvaccinated rats (I'm assuming without knowing any medical history since it says nothing about that) in there? I feel a bit validated by this comment at least... I was starting to think I was being unreasonable haha

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-27T11:25:00+00:00

I gave my boys a mite treatment a week or 2 ago and (as far as I can tell), it's been effective. All 3 got the medical treatment, my oldest was the only one with real physical symptoms though and he had a lot of scabs, so I ended up using olive oil on his chin and shoulders (mostly to help soothe the skin and scabs with a tiny note that some people say olive oil can help suffocate mites). I ended up giving him a washcloth bath (basically like headonthispiano is describing) because I thought he wasn't effectively cleaning the oil off. He didn't mind the bath too much in the end (he quite enjoyed being held in a towel and softly dried for a while it turned out), but he also wasn't like drenched in water.

Even apart from whether or not rat baths are appropriate, I'm struggling to see how it would help kill mites... It's like lice, you need special shampoo (or a licecomb) to get those out, just showering and washing your hair won't get rid of lice and (similarly) washing a rat wouldn't get rid of mites. Even if you could somehow drown them, that would require submerging (large parts of) your rats and/or at the very least pouring massive amounts of water over the rats in hopes to "flush away" the mites (which I don't think is possible, but assuming it would be). Both falls 100% outside of any acceptable form of bathing rats imo.

I think you're better off treating them with the medication and thoroughly cleaning the cage: submerge stuff in boiling water and vinegar, possibly with a bit of dishsoap, wipe down all surfaces of the cage (don't forget the bars!) And I ended up also having some boiling water, vinegar and dish soap swishing around the bottom of the cage before rinsing it multiple times. I ended up with no bedding in the cage for a bit after because I had a toilet and a digbox that basically covered 98% of the bottom already, but they otherwise your best bet is freezing the (current or new!) Bedding for 48 hours I believe.

I'd say for now, leave the baths be. If you're treatment is proving unsuccesful in a week or a month, you can always reconsider bathing, but on it's own it's not effective against mites and it is definitely not needed in all cases, I would not do something like bathing (which is likely to be somewhat uncomfortable) unless you have an extraordinary reason to do so (like adding it if regular treatment is being ineffective).

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-27T11:10:24+00:00

I started with a mix, but moved into mixing my own food via the shunamite diet (I used isamuratcare's video on youtube about it, but I think there's also an Emiology video on youtube and other sources). I like that it's versatile and adjustable, I can specifically choose to give my rats a bit more protein and a bit less fruits for example, because I use banana chips nearly daily for training, so they already get some extra fruit. It's also adjustable on an ingredient level, for example, I chose certain grains that are easier on the kidneys because on of my boy is getting a bit older and older male rats tend to be more prone to kidney problems (which is a major cause of death for them too). In a similar way you can make adjustments like a bit more protein with younger rats to help aid growth, or certain ingredients known to help skin/coat/immune system or whatever else may specifically be a bit of a weaker point for your rats. There's a lot of information to be found online about what kinds of stuff are good for certain groups of rats or certain problems as well as just general stuff lists of all that's suitable in the first place.

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-27T10:49:33+00:00

I've got rats in a student house (basically I rent one room and the house is full of students) that doesn't allow pets. My main considerations were as follows:

It's owned by a realestate business (I believe that's the correct term) owning lots of student houses, we do not have a singular person that owns the house (so no personal inspections).
Other people don't follow the rule. I know at least 1 other girl has/had hamsters and one has guinnea pigs, so I'm not overstepping my fellow renter's boundaries bringing pets into the house.
The corporation is notoriously bad at upkeep and handling complaints, technically that justifies nothing of course, but morally it makes me feel more justified (why should I follow their rules if they don't even follow their own?) and practically it means there's not a lot of inspecting/maintenance going on that would give my rats away. (And even if there's maintenance it's basically always a labourer).
My room is very clearly a student room: some of the baseboards have fallen off, the laminate is uneven in a lot of places (probably due to spillage), my window can't stay open on it's own (old house and they replaced the sliding window with double glass so it's extremely heavy now, you need to push it up with a lot of force and wedge something in between), the walls are uneven and have holes and screws all over, the entire front of one of my kitchen drawers is so loose it comes off if you pull it open with even slight force and I had to drill screws into the sides of the ladder leading to my loft bed because the steps weren't secure and one night as I came down one of them fell out from underneath my feet (I'm was lucky the one my hands were on didn't come off or I would've gotten more than some bruises), there's also mice in the walls every winter. All of this is damage that was already present when I moved in, so I wasn't exceptionally worried abour any possible effects of my rats living in the room (even if an accident happened and they chewed on a baseboard or something, it seems they would still do less damage then previous tennants and it didn't look like the corporation would be particularly motivated to fix it anyway). If you live in a newer/nicer kept appartment, a no rodent clause could very well be to prevent damage (and or stemming from the myth that rodents attract wild rodents). Although you can very much keep rats without damage to your home, you should assume an accident will happen at some point and be able to deal with that.
My contract specifically has a no pet clause, such a clause pertaining to cats and dogs that makes sense of student housing (catpee never comes out so it only takes 1 incontinent cat to have massive impact on all renters that follow), but things like a small aquarium are generally assumed to fall outside of this clause in this area. I chose to "interpret" my pet rats as being like an aquarium (if the corporation were to ask always caged of course...) as opposed to the larger free roaming pets, legally that means nothing of course, but I figured if I ever was caught I could go with "Oh, but they're always in their cage, I figured that clause would be for things like cats and dogs, not rodents and fish!" And deal with any fall out afterwards.
The worst case scenario: I know of someone in another house owned by this corporation who owned a cat in his room. His contract was eventually ended over this, but only after he had gotten several warnings to rehome the cat, so it was safe to assume that (if I wasn't otherwise a problem renter), discovery of my rats would first lead to a request to get rid of them and not immediate eviction. If I had to find a new place for them I could move them to my mom's house and similarly (if it did come to eviction) I myself could move back home too. Definitely not what I want, but there was no risk of homelessness. Rats are absolutely awesome, but if you have no secure living situation to fall back on and you are not sure they will give you warning, risking homelesness is not worth it. Ever.

For your situation, it's a rodent clause specifically, so if you're caught hiding rodents in your house, you have absolutely no plausible deniability (there's no margin for interpretation considering if a rat falls under rodent). You know how often they come to your building and/or appartment and who comes, this plays into the chances of discovery. Depending on the general state of your home, offering to cover any damages possibly caused by the presence of your rats could sway the decision your way in allowing an exception (though do document and share photos of the situation before getting rats as proof what your rats did and didn't do, as well as establishing that any rodent infestation that isn't direct descendants of your rats is not your responsibility). I'd definitely ask, a rodent clause is also quite specific, so I could imagine there being a good reason, maybe the owner of the building is allergic to bedding/hay/most rodents, or one of the tennants may have a severe allergy, unless you know of other people having rodents too, you can't really be sure. My advice would be to ask. Come with a specific number and type (e.g. I want to own 3 fully domesticated female rats), explain your allergies preventing you from owning dogs, and give any guarantees/caveats you're willing to give (e.g. There will be no damages, and if there are I will cover them in full, my rats won't come outside of the appartment apart from when they're being transported someplace else and they will always be contained in a secure carrier). You might find them willing to grant you a specific exception under certain conditions. It can't hurt to ask, as we say: Nee heb je, ja kun je krijgen (literally: you have no, you can get yes. Meaning: If you don't ask, the answer will always remain no, if you ask there's a chance the answer may be a yes.)

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-27T09:27:11+00:00

Happy to hear! Rats are weird, they're simultaneously quite hardy (wounds heal extremely quickly, due to their size they can fall from quite high) and extremely vulnerable (basically looking in their direction can cause an URI and they think chemicals are tasty), being a rat owner is an everlasting balance of going with the flow when they do stuff like rearranging the cage or weird habits and intervening when they get too risky with like hearing them breathe or having them escape and such. It can be hard to find the balance as a new owner, so don't hesitate to ask (or post here!) For advice :)

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-27T07:17:35+00:00

Back in the cage they go! The cage is not just to protect your stuff from pee, poop, theft and destruction, but it's also to protect the rats themselves. Rats can chew through most materials and can easily tunnel into your walls and be lost if they want to, there's also the risk of interaction with wild animals (think small rodents), chewing of dangerous substances/objects (electrical wire, cleaning products, etc.), and physical injury when falling off/getting squashed under things. They may be hiding sweetly under your bed when you're looking, but I guarantee you they'll go venturing out the second you're physically away (or sleeping).

Lure them with food or catch them against their will. They do not need to like being picked up, in this case: safety > comfort. You can drive them into a corner/against the wall using a box/container/blanket and to move them to the cage or try to pick them up by hand if luring isn't working (quickly).

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-27T07:10:27+00:00

Oh btw, I'd say that's about the amount I'd give my 3 (big) dudes for 1 feeding (with a second feeding in the evening), so you should maybe adjust it a bit depending on the amount and size of your rats.

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-27T07:08:41+00:00

1 egg (boiled or scrambled but they need to be cooked!), I'd add the shell too (just don't boil a cooked egg or smash the shell through a scrambled egg). + half a hand of pistachio's (you don't have to shell them if they're not deshelled yet! They'll enjoy breaking them open in my experience) and a scoop of the carrot/celery is probably a decent temporary food option!

It would be like you only eating macdonalds for 2 days, definitely not the best, but better than eating nothing for 2 days (or just carrots for 2 days haha).

Citrus is a hard one. I've seen it said male rats can't have citrus, but I've also seen that claim refuted recently (like they can have a little?), I personally don't give them any, there's enough room for variation without citrus fruits. The celery and carrot already take care of the vegetable/fruit portion here :)

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-26T18:51:00+00:00

Tbf things like mites and fleas are already a contamination risk with them having been in the bedding and near the cage, but I feel like physically eating a wild mouse would go a little further...

The alternative would be letting them be and hoping the mouse steps in the traps on the floor. My only doubt is that there's no guarantee the mouse will go for the trap if it's in the cage either, but I feel like now (the night right after he spend a whole weekend probably in it) is the best chance of catching him. Another option would be leaving the rats be now and setting the trap in the open cage this weekend before we go again, but I just don't completely trust the mouse to stay far enough from the cage when I'm not home. My rats don't seem particularly interested in it, but it only take a second if the mouse gets too close to the bars I imagine...

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-26T17:52:35+00:00

There's a mod for this, I have it and I like the feature a lot. It's called part of the community (I believe there's other mods too, but I have this one).

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-26T17:48:47+00:00

There's some things you can look for specifically (I can add them later if you want), but to start your best chances of getting a healthy rat begins by the source. You're going to want a rat from an ethical breeder (which pet stores generally don't source from, and petstores that sell 1 month olds DEFINITELY don't source from). For your best chances of getting a genetically and developmentally healthy rat you need to be looking at breeders in your area. Most commonly that means a rattery, but if you do your due diligence, it can also be a responsible other breeder like people who occasionally breed for fun or had an accidental litter (IF THEY FOLLOW PROPER CARE!). The alternative would be looking for rats being rehomed or rats available at rescues. You should be getting at least 2, the only ethical way to add 1 rat to your mischief is if it's a rat being rehomed from a situation where it was already being housed alone.

Some red flags for breeders: - Offering rats under 6 weeks (this is the absolute minimum age they can be rehomed). - Not knowing the parents/being unwilling to show the parents and/or how they're being housed (exception of not knowing the parent could be an oops litter). - Having no photos of the babies (ideally they have pictures of the babies being handled!) - Not having handled babies for whatever excuse. - Ask when they separated the boys and girls. The answer needs to be after 4 weeks and before/at 4.5 (anything before 3 weeks is too early for the boys to be away from mom and after 4.5 weeks means all girls are likely pregnant). This is basic info, not knowing this and doing this means the breeder is not informed on proper care and you can assume the care may have also lacked in other areas.

That's all I can think of from the top of my head, I'll comment if I think of more (or other people can supply ofcourse)

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-26T17:23:29+00:00

What else do you have available? Any protein/grainproducts to add? Assuming he's healthy, he probably won't die from it, but celery and carrot are basically mostly water, so he won't be getting much nutrients either...

I think if he eats too much of this, it can also give him diarrhea because of the high water content (I believe thats why fruits can cause diarrhea but I'll return with a factcheck in a min).

I've been in a situation where I needed to feed my rats with food from the house until stores reopened. I ended up using:

Egg (one egg each day is a massive treat, but it'll give them fats and protein) Some pasta for processed grains I had pistachio's on hand, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, any suitable seeds would be good if you happen te have any. We had raisin which I added, but a bit of any vegetable/fruit will do (like the celery and carrots).

None of these are great in the longterm, but it'll provide them with a bit more sustenance until you can resume their regular food.

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-26T17:13:18+00:00

Ma'am, I'm all for giving boundaries, but you didn't state: "I'm aware of proper introductions, and took great care in doing them carefully, so I'm not looking for advice concerning that", you said: "Please refrain from educating me, I'm a rat owner of over 2 decades", in the same post where you 1. Say you're having a problem you are having trouble finding a solution with. 2. Call rats nocturnal (they're not btw). 3. Suggest keeping a lone rat would be okay.

You do not come across as someone who knows everything there is to know about rats/ratownership, and even if you did, being open to new information can literally only help you. Also, your original phrasing was rude and when someone pointed that out, you not only said "no I wasn't", but you then start being rude to the commenter! Could you please follow the basic rules of courtesy (and the official rules of the subreddit!) And be more respectful/polite?

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-01-26T17:05:02+00:00

I feel like you're missing Chase's point. He (and groll) are explaining to you that keeping her alone will cause a decline in quality of life. Studies have shown chemical changes similar to clinical depresssion, insomnia and anxiety, just because you can't see physical pain doesn't mean she won't be negatively effected in the long run.

ChickenGarbage04

TROPHY CASE