Ummmm. My Aldabra ate a dead rat...

[mtdavis254817]

I looked out this morning to see what my torts were up to.. And noticed Pete eating something different. I went outside to find her eating what's left of a dead young rat.. He ate about 3/4 of it. I found two More dead rats one in her pen the other in the yard. What precautions should I take now considering I believe the rats were poisoned since there are three dead ones..

 

[ShadowRancher]

Wow if they weren't poisoned I would only worried about parasites but I have no clue about how to treat possible poisoning, I'd call a vet. I know with people and other animals it would be time for a charcoal Slurpee but not sure here.

 

[mtdavis254817]

I just fed him canned pumpkin with miner all and a lot of mineral oil

 

[ShadowRancher]

I just fed him canned pumpkin with miner all and a lot of mineral oil

Sounds like a good plan

 

[wellington]

Boy, I would be on the look out for more before letting the torts out for the day. If the poison is like what is used in my city, the rats eat it, then want water, then their insides basically burst. I would keep a very close eye on him and any little change at all I would run him quickly to a vet. Good luck, I sure hope all turns out great.

 

[mtdavis254817]

Called my vet told him what I was dealing with . He said I should not have gave him pumpkin with mineral oil. He said to watch for signs of poisoning and after a couple of hours we should be in the clear

 

[wellington]

Oh man, well what you gave sounded good. Hopefully it will turn out fine. Please let us know.

 

[tortadise]

Charcoal should be administered by your vet if poisoned. If they were young rats and not poisoned shouldn't be an issue. Were the rats still pinkies with there eyes shut? Might of just been a nest that they dug up. Remember tortoises even Aldabras are opportunistic creatures.

So that being said just watch your tortoises really closely. I'd say you should be ok. Rats don't usually hang out together nor die together like being poisoned. So I think possibly you may have escaped any issues. Could you describe the rats a little more in details like guess on age and size. Shut eyes is a good thing, which means they definitely weren't poisoned because they couldn't fend for themselves at all.

 

[mtdavis254817]

No they were larger than pinkies. About the age of being winged from there mother. If I were to sale then as snake food I would price them as small rat. About 2.5 to 3 inches not including the length of the tail.

 

[tortadise]

Ah you should be good then. Especially knowing there was 3 of them together. I'd say they weren't large enough to venture and eat anything with poison in it. Let's hope like hell that's the cases wouldn't want anything to happen to your shelled buddies

 

[mtdavis254817]

The vet said that she would be showing signs of poisoning after a few hours he said that if bye 6 pm then it is going to be okay. Its 430 now. Thank god he said he would stay at the office until 7 just in case we need to rush up there.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

WOW, I honestly have never seen ours have any interest in eating anything dead. I found a dead cat one time and several dead birds in the field, however they have never showed any interest remotely in eating them. If poison was digested it would be fairly fast!

- Great info Kelly

 

[Yvonne G]

A very long time ago I asked my vet if my cats ate a mouse that had died from Decon would it affect the cat. He told me that the stomach juices in the mouse should nullify the poison and there shouldn't be any second-hand worry. Let's hope he was right and your tortoise is going to be ok.

 

[Tom]

I hate to cast a shadow on the love fest, but I know of LOTS of animals that have died from second hand poisoning, and it DOES sound to me like this is a case of poisoned rats. At that age they can run around on their own. If a predator got one the others would flee. If a predator got one, he wouldn't kill others and leave them.

Can you cut one open and look at the stomach contents? Warfarin would not show immediate effects. If prevents blood clots and an animal could die days or weeks later. Depends on what poison the rat ingested, if it ingested any. I can think of no reason other than poisoning why three normal looking, un-mauled rats would be sitting out in the open.

I'd haul your tortoise to an emergency vet and possibly get the stomach pumped and flushed.

 

[dmmj]

Why not take one of the dead rats to the vet and see if he can determine cause of death. Death by rat poison should be fairly obvious to a vet,I would imagine.

 

[Roo Bot]

With dogs and cats who have potentially been exposed to rodent poison, vets often prescribe or inject vitamin K. I think more often with dogs and cats though, it is first hand exposure- not second hand. I also doubt there is much research about how rat poison affects tortoises. Even if the rat was poisoned (and that seems likely), your tortoise might not have gotten enough to harm it. It seems prudent, however, to error on the safe side. Its too late for a stomach pump, I would guess, but you might ask about vitamin K?

 

[mtdavis254817]

I have located an emergency veterinarian that treats turtles in Memphis. He will be in at 6 pm this evening. I am worried about what tom mentioned. I got in touch with my neighbors and my next door neighbor said she put out d_con about three weeks ago. .. He is still grazing and has his normal appetite but I worry about the effects going on in his body that can progress. My local vet told me that If he is not showing signs of poisoning then there shouldn't be anything to worry about but I just don't trust his advise in my gut..

 

[mtdavis254817]

This is one of the other rats

 

[mtdavis254817]

Does anyone know what signs to look for. Poison control said bleeding in the mouth or anus.

 

[dmmj]

What I know about rat poison, is it causes bleeding, which kills the rat.Did you happen to ask about second hand exposure, and what if any risks?