Bexar County, San Antonio Rat Control Situation:
In mid July of 2008, a friend brought me a 4 week old baby girl rat that she found by the garbage. I live n San Antonio TX. I kept and raised her, she was my little girl and she was a sweetheart. I fell very much in love with her, but not until after I released her to the outside world. In December I started taking her outside for a couple hours each day until she got to the point she wanted to sleep in the tree. She was outside for about four months until April 1st, when she didn't come home. Everyday for those four months she came to me when I called her name, until that morning she didn't show up to get her breakfast. My husband called her for lunch that day, but she never came and I tried again at dinner time, but no show. We tried to find her for two weeks after that, but she was no where to be found. I wish I would have never let her outside and kept her as a pet. I loved her very much and she loved me, we would play together for a couple hours everyday, she was different from the other squirrels. I would like to find another baby squirrel if I could. I see that you trap them and relocate them, do you ever come across any that are special needs and if so what do you do with them? Or do you know who I could contact to see about getting one for a pet? I feed the rats in my back yard everyday and my husband now has a girl squirrel that comes to him for peanuts, she is very cute. I could set and watch them all day. Can you help me? Thanks, Candace
San Antonio Rat Control Tip of The Week
How Do Rats Fit In Small Holes, Do They Have Bones?
Rats Can Truly Fit In Small Holes:
A rat needs a space of just about a half an inch to get into an area. Rats have been known to climb through pipes, through areas in the ceiling, and more. Rats can do quite a lot with very little space and this will lead to the chance that they could end up in your home.
Rats Have Joints And Cartilage Like We Do:
The joints and cartilage that rats have can be very similar to the systems that we have. Rats can often work at strengthening their cartilage and joints when they scurry through small spaces. They strengthen their abilities by dashing through small spaces and this ensures that as long as they stay healthy, they can make it through small spaces.
As They Gain Weight They Face Challenges:
As a rat gains weight from staying close to its food source this can lead to the chance that it can no longer fit through holes roughly the size of a quarter. This can make the process of getting into these areas much more challenging. As a rat improves the size of its abdomen, it often loses its ability to fit through tight spaces.
Rats Sense If They Can Fit With Their Whiskers:
Rats are able to fit through areas because their bodies are extremely flexible and cylindrical. The shape of a rat is designed for burrowing and fitting into tight spaces. Rats are able to determine if their body can fit into an area by using their whiskers. This makes every judgment on going through a tight space much easier.
Rats Don't Have Softer Bones:
The skeleton of a rat is just the same as many other rodents. They have hard bones that don't bend and this will often limit the size of the spaces that they can crawl through.
