Retired mommas?

I've had my albino girl for about a year now, she was about a year when I got her. She has given me two successful litters (although her first only consisted of two pups) and I want to retire her. She seems to be displaying some type of neurological issue by keeping her head cocked to one side... She has always been kind of mean, I've had many bites from her. Now that I'm ready to raise up a new breeder, what should I do with her? She is way too big to feed off, but I don't really want to keep her as a pet because she isn't very nice. My boyfriend suggested we release her as it's summer now, and she's nearing the end. I know it's illegal to release pets, but I'm not sure if a rat counts since they're native? I may set up a euthanasia chamber solely for her, as my BPs eat live. I was thinking maybe it would be nice for her to be in the wild for a bit before she goes, but I can't find any info on whether or not it's illegal.


Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Post her as being a retired breeder pet or feed her off. I usually keep one retired female as pet till she dies and i move onto the next girl.


The cocked neck sounds like ear infection.

Its a rat that is a bright white color. She's either going to terrify some old lady or get picked off by a hawk/dog. And I think your neighbors will have an issue with her eating their cats :P

She's not been exposed to much disease in her life, as she's been in your care, so when she goes out her body is going to be assaulted by everything and her immune system probably cant handle it, so there is that to think of.

The easiest thing to do would be to throw her in a box with a piece of dry ice in water.

Oh, better find someone with a boa who can feed her off. You probably don't want to release her, because she might breed again before she gets eaten by that hawk--we had white rats running around in the sewers in Tucson a few years back, and it made the newspapers.

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Originally Posted by Oxylepy

Its a rat that is a bright white color. She's either going to terrify some old lady or get picked off by a hawk/dog. And I think your neighbors will have an issue with her eating their cats :P

She's not been exposed to much disease in her life, as she's been in your care, so when she goes out her body is going to be assaulted by everything and her immune system probably cant handle it, so there is that to think of.

The easiest thing to do would be to throw her in a box with a piece of dry ice in water.

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Thank you so much! I didn't think about that at all... I will probably just keep her until she's ready to be euthanized. Are there common places to purchase dry ice? I was going to try the vinegar and baking soda trick, but I don't really have a place to store the chamber once I'm done...


As far as the head cocking goes, I checked her ear out... It doesn't appear to be infected but that doesn't mean she couldn't have an inner ear infection. It doesn't bother her to have it touched. Is there a way to tell other than having a culture done? Or any way I could treat it to soothe it?

in my honest opinion i'd keep her until she's old enough to be humanely euthanized. & i'd use something disposeable for the chamber like a styrofoam ice chest of some kind or even a cardboard box sealed up properly to prevent escapage of the gases...
um i guess thats all i can say here.

Don't release her. There are lots of reasons to not release her, and despite the fact they've been in the US since Europeans came over, they ARE NOT native species. In addition, the captive rats have been selectively bred for long enough that they are a completely different line of rat than the wild ones you may see around.

Give her away on craigslist.

I agree, don't release her - see if there are some Falconer clubs near you - they'll take her as a donation and use her for training their falcons to hunt. Dry ice can be purchased at most any grocery store if you decide to go the euthanasia route.

And the cocked head is an inner ear infection. It won't heal on its own and she needs antibiotics for it, but even then, it may not heal if there's already scar tissue.

Thanks for all your replies. I had no idea that they were not a native species. Thank goodness I came and asked before I made an actual decision. We have decided to keep her until she is ready to be put down. I value her life, even though she is just a (mean) rat, just as much as any of my other pets. I wouldn't do anything that would harm her, and get me in trouble in the process. She served her duty and I believe she deserves the best.



Does anyone know of a way I can treat that ear infection?

In addition if you can't find a pet home for her, I know you mentioned she is too big to feed off but you might be able to find someone local via craigslist who would happily welcome a free feeder for a larger snake.

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Originally Posted by sarahlovesmiike

Thanks for all your replies. I had no idea that they were not a native species. Thank goodness I came and asked before I made an actual decision. We have decided to keep her until she is ready to be put down. I value her life, even though she is just a (mean) rat, just as much as any of my other pets. I wouldn't do anything that would harm her, and get me in trouble in the process. She served her duty and I believe she deserves the best.



Does anyone know of a way I can treat that ear infection?

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A vet can prescribe her some Baytril for the ear infection.

i agree with rabernet...take her to a vet.

Take her to a vet? I wouldn't waste the money on a rat that wasn't that nice to begin with. I would feed her to something myself. That is a rule that I have. Nobody eats for free. If you ain't producing you find your spot on the food chain.

aside from the ear infection, it coudl have been a stroke. baytril wont clear that up. id just give her away/sell her on CL or even to a local pet store, the ones here always are buying any size rats

What do yall mean by old enough to Co2?

Rats are not native therefor are illegal to release.

Also think about he fact that snake keeper already suffer from a bad rep releasing a rat in the wild would only add to that.

Euthanize her and dispose of her or find someone locally (reptile store or snake owner) that can use he as a feeder.

Obviously this rat is/was a poor breeder (2 litters at age 2) is too old now anyway and is not pet material either since she bite so the best is to put her down a way or another.

I know this is an old thread, but it's only $10 to have the vet put her to sleep. Hopefully they are well trained in it, but ours only took one stick. They inject the same stuff they use for dogs and cats in the heart because the veins are really hard to hit. I would consider that if you don't want to set up the dry ice or CO2 chamber.

Don't let her go, and IMO don't fix her ear infection, put her to sleep.

Keyboard cleaner and a ziploc freezer bag. The single-rat CO2 chamber.

If I was in that position I'd just let her live out her life with the rest of the rats.

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Originally Posted by BAMReptiles

aside from the ear infection, it could have been a stroke.

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Yep, strokes can cause them to tilt their head and and walk funny, sad but true they can and do have strokes like humans do.