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I found a baby...something [rat?]. Help! (Update: Despite best efforts, now passed away)
- Thread starter Buttzerker
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Like some of the others, while I did not actively participate in the topic, I felt invested in the well-being of little Powerhouse, and it's truly heartbreaking to see that the little guy wasn't able to make it. Life can a fragile thing.
OP, I'm very proud of you, not only for being such a compassionate person to be able to dedicate the time into raising a small life that wouldn't have had the chance to live beyond where you picked him up from, but making the choice to save and raise others that would have met a similar fate.
I wish you nothing but the best, OP.
OP, I'm very proud of you, not only for being such a compassionate person to be able to dedicate the time into raising a small life that wouldn't have had the chance to live beyond where you picked him up from, but making the choice to save and raise others that would have met a similar fate.
I wish you nothing but the best, OP.
That's so cute!
I know with feeder mice/rats they can have medical issues from how horribly they're usually treated so they might need some extra TLC. I hope you find some good little friends soon. :)
I presume that they need milk? I know it's cruel, but while watching this thread I've always thought that the survival of this animal was slim. At it's early stage I just didn't think the OP had the means to nurture it to the juvenile stage. Though had it been found larger and able to move around/be aware of its surroundings I think it might've had a bigger chance of being raised healthily.
No. Buttzerker was doing everything right.
It's likely it had a genetic condition.
OP
OP
They can live on formula it just isn't easy. I may have fucked up the dosage once, or he could have accidentally gotten a bit into his lungs, etc.
Judging by what experts are telling me though, it is most likely that he had a blockage from the time I got him. His poop frequency was never ideal, and the theory now is his 'womb block' that stopped him from defecating in his mother never entirely came out and hurt his digestion.
Sadly if this is the case he never had a chance, but I guess its more comforting than knowing I fucked something up too badly
I just want to say I'm really sorry to hear Powerhouse didn't make it through despite all our hopes and all the care and energy you devoted to saving him. It has been inspiring to see someone so generous with their care, time and even going to the newborn baby feeding schedule to take such good care of him. The odds were against him, and you both fought hard. It was not your fault that he couldn't make it. He was so fragile to begin with, and watching the stream I was 100% convinced you were the best baby mystery rodent dad he could ever have hoped for.
Whatever little critters you end up taking in will be lucky.
Whatever little critters you end up taking in will be lucky.
OP
OP
It's just a sad reality that not all of them make it. I mentioned in a previous post that my girlfriend does wildlife rehabilitation, which involves a lot of baby opossums, squirrels, rats, mice, etc and there's always a few that just... die. It's always heartbreaking because they seem like they're doing so well then they're just gone the next time you check on them.
OP
OP
Yeah, sadly rodents just aren't all that durable. Reason they have such large litters.
Really breaks my heart but life can be merciless
Oh man :( rip Powerhouse. I'm sorry to hear the sad news.
Don't blame yourself OP, you did your best. Without you Powerhouse wouldn't survive as long.
Don't blame yourself OP, you did your best. Without you Powerhouse wouldn't survive as long.
This is Cyclone's wife taking over since I don't actually have an account. My friend and I are so sorry PH died. I'm not going to lie, I cried at work when I saw your update. We had the Twitch stream up on our screens everyday in our offices. My friend and I work in the political field and we can see some of the worst in people. That unfortunately makes us all a little jaded and cynical when it comes to people. Seeing how you helped this little baby, though, took some of that cynicism away. You're a good person. We need more Buttzerkers in the world, maybe if we did, our jobs wouldn't be so draining. Thank you for what you did and what you will continue to do. Can't wait to see more rodent babies on our screens.
OP
OP
Hey, sorry for the late reply to this, but wanted to say thank you to your friend, means a lot she'd pass the message along without even having an account.
I hope you guys can make it at work, that sounds stressful. I'm glad the stream helped, and I sincerely hope that when the Tribute Band is assembled, seeing them together will help you guys too. <3
Even with this outcome, this thread exists as a testament for the goodness left in this really, really absurd world we live in. Just look at this thread and think about how fucking weird and amazing it was that an entirely unconnected group of strangers with no reason to care about anyone else, under circumstances that normally result in people being shitty to each other due to anonymity, came together to root for and care for a completely helpless animal that had been abandoned by everything else. And the care and investment was genuine, well-intentioned, and nearly unanimous.
That's fuckin cray.
Thanks, Buttzerker. Thanks, everyone else who cared. Thanks, Powerhouse.
That's fuckin cray.
Thanks, Buttzerker. Thanks, everyone else who cared. Thanks, Powerhouse.
Yeah, when it comes to this sort of thing a lot of factors can come into play that you don't necessarily expect.
Around late May to early June we had a Robin nest on our porch where the parents would often be seen tending to the young inside. Then, we began to notice that there was less activity at the nest than usual and we got pretty suspicious when the parents weren't showing up anymore at the nest, and it would have been too soon for the baby robin(s) to grow up that quickly. When we checked inside of the nest, it turned out that there was a sole baby robin inside that had died from an unknown cause. It's eyes weren't open yet and the fuzz of the bird down was just barely growing on the infant, similar to this case. Whether it was mites or some other health issue we'll never know.
In any case, as others have said, don't beat yourself up over it. I think you actually did a pretty commendable job keeping Powerhouse alive as long as it did considering the state that you found him in.
I went and adopted these two 5-week old rat boys after work tonight:
Mandrake
Console
The big furball under Console is Sisyphus. He's just over 2 and a half years old. His remaining brother (Tantalus) died in his sleep a few weeks ago, leaving him alone -- and I've been putting off getting him some new friends.
Watching Powerhouse, I realized I had not been doing the best I could for Sisyphus -- and hearing the news today, I decided it was time for some new pets.
I'm watching them carefully to make sure they are getting along -- so far so good.
For completeness, here's my favorite photo of Sisyphus (left) and his two brothers, Tantalus (right) and Hudson (bottom):
Mandrake
Console
The big furball under Console is Sisyphus. He's just over 2 and a half years old. His remaining brother (Tantalus) died in his sleep a few weeks ago, leaving him alone -- and I've been putting off getting him some new friends.
Watching Powerhouse, I realized I had not been doing the best I could for Sisyphus -- and hearing the news today, I decided it was time for some new pets.
I'm watching them carefully to make sure they are getting along -- so far so good.
For completeness, here's my favorite photo of Sisyphus (left) and his two brothers, Tantalus (right) and Hudson (bottom):
Fuck, man. You gave Powerhouse lots of love and put in a lot of work, and I admire that. I really appreciated the stream and enjoyed popping in to see Powerhouse grow as much as he did in his short time on this Earth.
Thank you for giving Powerhouse a chance.
Thank you for giving Powerhouse a chance.
Sudden baby death surely is a thing among animals as well as humans. Sometimes 6 month old babies die for unknown reason, same can happen to animals. That's why there are so many strange rules.
OP
OP
I went and adopted these two 5-week old rat boys after work tonight:
Mandrake
Console
The big furball under Console is Sisyphus. He's just over 2 and a half years old. His remaining brother (Tantalus) died in his sleep a few weeks ago, leaving him alone -- and I've been putting off getting him some new friends.
Watching Powerhouse, I realized I had not been doing the best I could for Sisyphus -- and hearing the news today, I decided it was time for some new pets.
I'm watching them carefully to make sure they are getting along -- so far so good.
For completeness, here's my favorite photo of Sisyphus (left) and his two brothers, Tantalus (right) and Hudson (bottom):
Gooosh what babies! I love them <3
Such a great thing you're doing, Jurg! Hope they don't mind being honorary members of the Powerhouse Tour. :P
Well, I just spent about 40 minutes watching them interact, and trying to stop them from starting shit with each other. Sisyphus seems OK to basically ignore them, but Console keeps coming up to him and rearing-up at him and trying to start something.
So, it's one of the better rat introductions I've dealt with.
Powerhouse Roadies, reporting for duty!
Sorry for your loss.
I volunteer at an animal wildlife park and as much as it sucks to loose an animal I always think that at least they had the best chance life they could have. I feel the same way about Powerhouse, here was a rodent that would have been dead in hours if he wasn't taken home an cared for, without warmth, food or love.
You provided him with all of that, and even though it was a short life it was a good one.
Rip little Powerhouse.
I volunteer at an animal wildlife park and as much as it sucks to loose an animal I always think that at least they had the best chance life they could have. I feel the same way about Powerhouse, here was a rodent that would have been dead in hours if he wasn't taken home an cared for, without warmth, food or love.
You provided him with all of that, and even though it was a short life it was a good one.
Rip little Powerhouse.
I see a bright future for the New-Era Rat Bois under your management.I went and adopted these two 5-week old rat boys after work tonight:
Mandrake
Console
The big furball under Console is Sisyphus. He's just over 2 and a half years old. His remaining brother (Tantalus) died in his sleep a few weeks ago, leaving him alone -- and I've been putting off getting him some new friends.
Watching Powerhouse, I realized I had not been doing the best I could for Sisyphus -- and hearing the news today, I decided it was time for some new pets.
I'm watching them carefully to make sure they are getting along -- so far so good.
For completeness, here's my favorite photo of Sisyphus (left) and his two brothers, Tantalus (right) and Hudson (bottom):
RIP Powerhouse
You did a good job, I think you did all the right things given the circumstances but the odds were pretty stacked against you from the start. I was impressed they lasted more than 48h to be honest. You probably gave him a whole week longer of life in comfort than he would have had!! I think that's important to remember. <3
You did a good job, I think you did all the right things given the circumstances but the odds were pretty stacked against you from the start. I was impressed they lasted more than 48h to be honest. You probably gave him a whole week longer of life in comfort than he would have had!! I think that's important to remember. <3
You are an awesome and amazing person for taking up this task. We all had in investment in this with you after all the streams and getting to know lil powerhouse. All I can say is I've had plenty of loss as well as plenty of great memories with all my animal friends and you my friend, are one of the best humans around <3
Didn't post at all in here but definitely lurked and checked in frequently, really sad go hear that he didn't make it despite all your hard work and care. RIP Powerhouse.
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