Central Texas Rat Rescue

Adoption Policy

Central Texas Rat Rescue is a small, volunteer-run, in-home 501(c)3 rescue in Pflugerville, TX dedicated to the rescue of domesticated rats and quality adoption services. Please note we are unable to help with wildlife. If you have found orphaned, sick, or injured WILD rats, please contact a wildlife rehabilitator. Austin Wildlife Rescue may be able to help, also try the TPWD website that lists wildlife rehabilitators by county - https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/rehab/list/. We also do not take in any other types of animals other than domestic (pet) rats.
Please be courteous when requesting information or assistance; this is a volunteer run, self-funded organization. We do not operate a store front, office, or shelter building - the rats are sheltered in our personal homes, thus appointments to adopt or surrender are individually determined. The best way to reach CTRR is via email (CentralTexasRatRescue@gmail.com). There may occasionally be times when it can take us awhile to get back to you. Our limited volunteers work full time outside of the rescue and have other obligations and commitments/challenges. If you do not receive a reply within a week, please contact us again. Technology can and does fail sometimes! PLEASE also check your spam folders!!!

ADOPTIONS
If interested in adopting, be aware this is not typically a same-day service. The first step is to fill out the adoption application (http://goo.gl/forms/eK9PXh0n0d). Incomplete applications WILL NOT receive a response; that includes not sending a cage picture as requested. Rats are required to be adopted in pairs at minimum unless joining other rats. Baby rats typically must be adopted with a same age companion even if joining other rats (baby rats should not go through quarantine alone and need same age company for brain development and social skills).
CTRR requires a donation/adoption fee of $65/spayed or neutered rat; we try to spay/neuter most rats before adoption, but we may occasionally adopt out unaltered rats if too young/small (in which case the donation is $15 per rat). Our adoption fee may seem high compared to a pet store, but please keep in mind all rats are vet checked, provided all needed veterinary care (including deworming and parasite treatment/preventative), and most are spayed or neutered for a fraction of the typical cost. For reference, a typical exotic vet visit runs anywhere from $65-90, parasite treatment is $20-25 (usually needs to be repeated), and deworming runs $10-20. Spay/neuter is usually anywhere from $100-500. Spaying and neutering rats has huge health and behavioral benefits and makes them much healthier, happier pets. Our adoption fee does not even cover our full costs of the spay/neuter procedures, let alone our other expenses.

SURRENDERS
*If you cannot keep your rat(s) that were adopted from CTRR, you MUST return them to the rescue (we will ALWAYS take back any rats adopted from CTRR). In most cases, the adoption fee will be refunded.*
If you need to rehome/surrender your pet rats, DO NOT release them outside as they will suffer terribly and can not survive. It is considered an act of animal cruelty to abandon domesticated animals and is punishable by law. Please fill out the surrender request form here (http://goo.gl/forms/BBfTZ7npxf) to ask for assistance. We take in owner surrenders as space, funds, and other resources permit. There is no guarantee we will be able to take in your rats, but we may be able to offer alternatives and suggestions.
If possible, contact whomever you obtained the rats from to see if they will take them back and find homes for them (ASK what will happen to them!) We recommend also posting about your rats on the following Facebook groups: Texas Rat Adoptions, No Rat Left Behind, and the Rat Disaster Rehoming Network. We may be able to post a courtesy listing for you as well if you send pictures and descriptions of your rats, but you will be responsible for screening homes in most cases. We recommend asking questions of interested parties (see our Adoption Application for examples) and asking an adoption fee at least initially.

SUPPORT US!
Please consider supporting CTRR via our Amazon Wishlist! https://tinyurl.com/yyqsjgjk
We accept donations through PayPal or Venmo. Donations can also be made directly to our veterinary partners. A huge thanks to the wonderful veterinarians and staff at Whitestone Animal Hospital, White Rock Veterinary Hospital, and Westgate Pet & Bird Hospital! CTRR couldn't exist without these amazing people!