Derrick
Hello again,
We hope everyone is keeping safe in this cold, snowy weather! We have been using extra heating and heat pads to make sure our small furries are kept safe and warm.
Anyway, on to today's topic.
We took in two rats, Derrick and Dennis a while ago now. We would like to discuss Dennis in a separate blog post (you'll understand why), so we will focus on Derrick for now.
When we took Derrick on, he was only around 5-6 months old. He was unbelievably shy, as his cage mate Dennis had been bullying him, and they had never been separated. Derrick had a few cuts on his body, and a small tear on one of his ears. We aren't sure how long the bullying had been going on for, but it was clear the constant bullying had severe consequences. Derrick was left completely petrified of other rats, and people for a long time.
Sadly, since being in our care, Derrick has lived alone. It has been a massive undertaking to try and find him a friend. We tried every single introduction method in the book, with a variety of rats. Unfortunately, with very little luck.
Sometimes we had a glimmer of hope on a few introductions, but Derrick seemed to have a lot of anxiety, and would self-sabotage the introduction. This also left the other rats nervous around him too.
Things went from bad to worse, and eventually Derrick drew blood from another rat. We decided enough was enough, Derrick needed to be neutered.
Even when Derrick was alone, he was very territorial. He would flip out at people over the smell of another rat, even if the rats were nowhere in sight. Something clearly needed to be done to help this poor rat.
When Derrick was booked in with the vet, they were very understanding and agreed it could be the right thing for Derrick. After a quick health check, all seemed fine, and Derrick was booked in for surgery.
The surgery itself was a great success with no complications. Derrick handled the whole experience very well, he was great at taking his medication. After a few days had passed, Derrick had a follow up appointment, just to see how things were healing. Thankfully, Derrick healed up really well and has been a lot calmer after being neutered. He is nowhere near as territorial, and does seem to be a whole lot happier.
At present, Derrick still hasn't found a friend. He still has a lot of anxiety around other rats, and it can make him very unpredictable. All hope is not lost, However. We do still have a few options left for Derrick.
We believe patience is key, and there is definitely no "one size fits all" for introducing other rats, especially when dealing with previous neglect.
None the less, despite everything that has been thrown at Derrick, he is still a happy rat and has become incredibly trusting around us humans. We truly hope he can learn to trust another rat.
Fingers crossed for Derrick!
We hope everyone is keeping safe in this cold, snowy weather! We have been using extra heating and heat pads to make sure our small furries are kept safe and warm.
Anyway, on to today's topic.
We took in two rats, Derrick and Dennis a while ago now. We would like to discuss Dennis in a separate blog post (you'll understand why), so we will focus on Derrick for now.
When we took Derrick on, he was only around 5-6 months old. He was unbelievably shy, as his cage mate Dennis had been bullying him, and they had never been separated. Derrick had a few cuts on his body, and a small tear on one of his ears. We aren't sure how long the bullying had been going on for, but it was clear the constant bullying had severe consequences. Derrick was left completely petrified of other rats, and people for a long time.
Sadly, since being in our care, Derrick has lived alone. It has been a massive undertaking to try and find him a friend. We tried every single introduction method in the book, with a variety of rats. Unfortunately, with very little luck.
Sometimes we had a glimmer of hope on a few introductions, but Derrick seemed to have a lot of anxiety, and would self-sabotage the introduction. This also left the other rats nervous around him too.
Things went from bad to worse, and eventually Derrick drew blood from another rat. We decided enough was enough, Derrick needed to be neutered.
Even when Derrick was alone, he was very territorial. He would flip out at people over the smell of another rat, even if the rats were nowhere in sight. Something clearly needed to be done to help this poor rat.
When Derrick was booked in with the vet, they were very understanding and agreed it could be the right thing for Derrick. After a quick health check, all seemed fine, and Derrick was booked in for surgery.
The surgery itself was a great success with no complications. Derrick handled the whole experience very well, he was great at taking his medication. After a few days had passed, Derrick had a follow up appointment, just to see how things were healing. Thankfully, Derrick healed up really well and has been a lot calmer after being neutered. He is nowhere near as territorial, and does seem to be a whole lot happier.
At present, Derrick still hasn't found a friend. He still has a lot of anxiety around other rats, and it can make him very unpredictable. All hope is not lost, However. We do still have a few options left for Derrick.
We believe patience is key, and there is definitely no "one size fits all" for introducing other rats, especially when dealing with previous neglect.
None the less, despite everything that has been thrown at Derrick, he is still a happy rat and has become incredibly trusting around us humans. We truly hope he can learn to trust another rat.
Fingers crossed for Derrick!
You can keep up with Derrick on our Instagram
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