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My father-in-law sent a video of two small mammals he dug up whilst doing his vegetable patch today - he thought they were baby moles (I'm fairly sure they aren't). But...they don't really look the right size for baby rats...and I've never heard of squirrels nesting underground.
Does anyone know what on earth these things are. They are sitting on the shovel for scale! Sorry for the low res images...they are grabbed from the video.
rats.
Yep
Adolescent rats I reckon
Where does he live? UK? <span style="text-decoration: underline;">They're not rats</span>
Pups.
eees Hamster !
Look like small manbearpigs to me
Birmingham
Rats 100% ... drown them
if a farmer and a hill billy (me) says rats then they are rats....
Def not moles, their front feet are a lot bigger than their rear ones. Those ones look similar sized.
Also they look like young rats
Rats are fine as long as they aren't in your house! I had a pet rat when I was younger, he was called Mr Sleeks..lovely little fella. He use to sit on couch with us and watch tv.
Drown them! Destructive invasive house wrecking ****s (rhymes with rats)
Bit like wasps no obvious benefit in the food chain. Also add Horse flies to the above and Scottish/Northumbrian midges oohh and Ticks.
Wasps are helpful - they kill plant eating pests. Midges provide food for all sorts of beasts
Totally get what everyone is saying but I couldnt bring myself to drown them.
Not sure what I'd do!
tjagain
Full Member
Midges provide food for all sorts of beasts
Aye but 3 hundred gajillion zillion midgies is a bit over stocked! 😆
Poopscoop
Full Member
Totally get what everyone is saying but I couldnt bring myself to drown them.Not sure what I’d do!
Ratatouille surely?
Couldn't drown living creatures like that whatever they are.
If they are at bottom of garden just leave them be. We had tons of rats over the years at bottom of my mum's garden, none ever came into the house.
They are no different than squirrels, just with less bushy tails and a bad rep. They won't destroy ypur house unless you live in a shack with holes in it that they can easily get into..I imagine that's the kind of abode old man lives in, however so long as your father in law doesn't (i assume he's not had issues with rats before) just leave them alone.
Eurasian skink; vicious little bastards; very rare; eat rats for breakfast.
Napalm the garden and leave immediately.
Infant rats can’t go to the bathroom by themselves. They’re stimulated to go only when rubbed around the genitals and anus.
😑
This is so the mother can ingest the waste and keep the nest clean. You need to stimulate the baby to pee every time you feed him. He may not poop every time, but he should poop at least every third feeding. Use a piece of toilet paper or tissue and gently flick it across the genital area like the mother would lick him for at least 30 seconds after every meal to take care of this important hygiene matter. If you fail to do so, the rat will die of toxic poisoning from his own wastes. Baby poop is normally soft and yellow or brown until they start eating solid food.
You can clean the baby of spilled food after meals with a damp cotton ball or by dipping him in a warm bath up to his neck and rubbing away the food. Be sure to dry him well. Also give him a full massage after every meal just as his mother would lick him to stimulate his circulation and help him to grow.
http://www.ratfanclub.org/orphans.html
The ideal cage design for a small group of up to 10 rats
If you’re planning on having a group of up to 10 rats, remember these minimum sizes:
Depth: 93cm
Width: 63cm
Height: 123cm without stand
Free range time
Once your rats have bonded with you and settled into a routine, you can start to allow them free range time in a rat-safe room. For example a spare bedroom with small amounts of safe furniture and activities like agility items for them to explore.
This is also a great opportunity for you to socialise with and train them. Make sure your room is free from escape possibilities, all electrical wires and plugs are protected, and remove all house plants, aerosols and air fresheners.
Keep your rats happy and occupied
Rats are extremely sociable creatures. They need the company of other rats to remain happy and content. They enjoy playing rough-and-tumble games and exploring together. In more tranquil moments, they will cuddle up together. By far the most important thing you can give your rat is a suitable rat friend or two.
Your rats will enjoy:
- Pipes and tunnels for running through
- Climbing frames like old wine racks and metal CD towers
- Hammocks. Rats love sleeping in them, they encourage them to carry out social grooming sessions with their cage mates and feel relaxed around you. Hammocks can be purchased or homemade from old jumpers, towels and sheets
- Ropes. These can be made by plaiting material together, or you can purchase a ready-made one.
- Sputniks – various-sized, plastic hides that can be hung from the ceiling of the cage
- Extra-large, solid exercise rat wheels such as a 12” Silent Spinner
- Pea fishing – a nice activity for hot summer days. Add a shallow dish of cool water to their cage, and float some green peas in for the rats to fish out
-Cardboard boxes, all shapes and sizes. Cut a few holes in them for added exploring fun. Old jumpers, socks and soft hats are always welcomed as bedding for your rats
-Litter trays are ideal if you would like to litter train your rats. Use one to three corner trays or small cat litter trays placed around the cage and on different levels.
-Dig trays. If your rats have a shallow cage base, why not give them a storage box filled with shredded paper for them to dig through and forage for food!
Choosing the right rat bedding
The wrong bedding for your rats can have a very negative effect on their health. Wood shavings or sawdust can be extremely harmful to your rats’ skin and airway, and can give you an allergic reaction too!
Bedding materials that are safe for your rat to forage or snuggle in:
Small-cut, shredded paper. Easy to use, and best of all, it’s free! Use shredded paper to line the floor
Finacard. A shredded card material, good for the base of the cage
Hemp bedding such as Aubiose (non-fragranced)
Cardboard squares around 1 cm square, ideal for the base of the cage
Fleece or towels can be used in sleeping areas or as hammocks.
Non-fragranced paper pellets, such as ‘back to nature,’ can be used to line their litter trays.
How to clean out your rats
Keeping your Rats cage clean is key to preventing serious health conditions such as respiratory problems and bumble foot – a very painful foot infection.
Clean your rats’ litter trays or toilet areas daily, wash down any soiled areas with pet disinfectant and wipe dry with kitchen roll. Carry out a full clean of the entire enclosure once a week, ensuring you also clean all toys and activities with pet-friendly disinfectant. Wash hammocks and anything else fabric in a washing machine with non- bio detergent at 60°C to kill as much of the bacteria as possible.
Take the opportunity to add a few new toys in the cage for interest, like a new tunnel, hammock or rope ladder, card boxes filled with a different substrate are also great for rats to explore.
If you find yourself e.g. caring for an orphaned wild rat it should have a blood-test for Leptospirosis and be quarantined away from your domestic rats for several weeks, so that any infections and/or parasites it may be carrying can be identified and cured with appropriate medication.
Until you know that the newcomer is not carrying Leptospirosis, you should not allow its urine to come into contact with any open cuts or grazes on your skin; and if it tests positive it will need a course of antibiotics.
If it is indeed a small baby which needs to be fostered, or at least kept company and played with, put a suitable nursing doe (plus litter of course) or a couple of playmates in with it and then keep them, as a group, away from your other rats. It's unlikely to have anything life-threatening, but quite likely to be carrying e.g. a skin disease; and this way you don't end up having to dip all your rats for ringworm or whatever.
Even wild rats can be remarkably tame, if they’re used to the presence of humans. Some years ago I was at West Kennet Longbarrow, which people had started to leave all sorts of ‘offerings’ around, and I spotted a rat poking its nose out of a gap between two if the large Sarcen stones inside the entrance, so I went and found some bits of biscuit or whatever that had been left, knelt down and held it out.
The rat eventually came out and sniffed at the food, then sat on my hand, picked the food up and ate it, then ran up my arm and was happily sat on my shoulder!
More recently there was one living under my shed, it would dash out and snaffle dropped bits of bird food, but it was very wary, and I haven’t seen it for at least a year, and there was a mouse doing the same thing for a while. It’s possible that one of a number of cats that come into my garden have had them.
As they are already on the shovel just lob them into next doors garden and let them deal with the problem 👍
You know they can walk don't you
Don't drown them, a slow and terrifying death. Yes rats can cause problems and sometimes need to be controlled but they are intelligent mammals who feel pain and fear in the same way your cat or dog does. Whack them with the shovel. Violent, but quick and a hell of a lot more humane than drowning.
Oh, and give your hands a really good wash if you've touched them or anywhere they might have pissed. They can carry Weil's disease and a host of other nasties.
As they are already on the shovel just lob them into next doors garden and let them deal with the problem 👍
Rat-a-pult?
😂😂😂
Please don't feel you have to kill them. Just because they've found a way to thrive in our filthy, wasteful, planet destroying lifestyle, don't condemn them for that.
a) kill them quick
b) leave them to die slowly
I’d choose A.
Def not moles, their front feet are a lot bigger than their rear ones. Those ones look similar sized.
Moles have a very distinct nose and have short tails.