Rat
Rescue :: The
Story of Pearl
The Story of Pearl
A young lady desperately seeking
a loving home for a female rat named Pearl recently contacted
Maureen Price, founder of the South African Rat Fan Club.
Pearl is a juvenile rat of that was sold as live prey (snake
food) from a notoriously bad South African pet shop specializing
in ‘exotic’ pets.
This
particular pet shop is notoriously bad for their treatment of
“feeder” animals (like rats and mice). The rats are diseased
and neglected (Upper respiratory tract disease, mites, sexes
missed and baby rats put by the hundreds in the back of the
shop without their mothers to be sold as “exotic” pet “treats”..)
Being unable to publish the details of the parties involved
has made it quite awkward to accurately ‘retell’ Pearl’s story,
so I thought it best to quote directly from the correspondence
received whenever possible.
The young lady said: “It’s hard because we see all the rats
that get brought (home) to become snake food, we get so attached
to them. We’ll come home from work one day and the little thing
won’t be there anymore… It can cause some friction when you
have rat and snake lovers on the same property.”
“….he bought a ratty for food for his snake (absolutely horrible)
… the snake luckily did not want to eat her. I think it is because
she has mites and is quite a big girl, so his mom has been taking
care of her (feeding her and giving her a nice decent cage to
stay in) …… I told her about you and the Club and she asked
if I could email you and see if it would be possible to find
her a good home”
“This ratty has a few cons against her. She only has three
legs ….. She has mites also, she isn’t very tame ….. I think
because of the lack of human contact, not because she is an
aggressive ratty”
“I wanted to give her some of the cream you gave me (to cure
the mites), but her having mites is keeping her from being eaten…”
“I think he could no longer take the nagging and sobbing, and
finally agreed that if we could find her a new home he won’t
feed her to the snake”.
“…seeing as she has survived with only three legs and from being
eaten by a snake, she deserves a fighting chance at happiness”
It also became very clear when we took Pearl (whose fur was
dull and shabby and who had a terrible mite infestation) to
a local vet the magnitude of the battle that we face.
Firstly, the vet picked her up by the scruff of her neck (without
consoling her when she squealed) and then he proclaimed that
she had a “wart” on her nose. We knew though that what he called
a “wart” was actually a part of the severe mite infestation.
This fact was proven when after a few days, the wart disappeared
with the sores on her ears!
Pearl came to Maureen’s house as a shabby, parasite infested,
emotionally traumatized 3 legged black rat and burst into our
hearts. Today she is a loving, happy, healthy and charismatic
little madam who manages surprisingly well with her 3 legs.
She has bonded well with Rebecca and Ivy and is now living the
high life with Maureen and the F(L)ABRATS ;o)
I will never forget this little rat, and the profound effect
she has on all who share the privilege of knowing her.
by Paula Spagnoletti of the South African Rat Fan Club
