I must say, I'm pretty intrigued by the KIND of animal you were nursing back to health.. what state do you live in, and is it around marshes or swamps that are a few miles within your neighborhood?
The reason I ask this is because in the south, the muskrat's main habitat is in the marshes and swamp banks, where there's plenty of long grass for them to gnaw on and make their nests from.
See, back when I was a kid, my grandmother on dad's side owned a boat renting warehouse for fishermen that wasright on the edge of the marshlines-since we were family ,she let use use her boats for free, and when we went through the shallow mash-paths, we'd always see muskrats observing use from the muddy grass banks.
LOL, dad told me at one point the ones in her area used to be so bold they'd chase your boat if they thought you were too far into their territory and growl at you. When he was a kid, he said he found that out the hard way.
xd