How sad is it that one rat sighted warrents the closing of an entire school!
I mean, do the parents really feel like a rat is going to decend from the air vents and attack their children?
Read more about it:
I have a new baby who is taking up most of my time now. My poor rats must be very patient.
It looks like the baby is keeping Francis awake like he is me though. See, she didn’t even make it INTO the box before she fell asleep.
I’ve complained often how hard it is to find cute rat and mouse “stuff”. Well, I can usually find things online, but I’ve pretty much never just walked into a random store and saw a cute rat or mouse thing that I just had to have.
Halloween always gets me in a tizzy at work, going through all our halloween decorations, trying to find a rat in there somewhere.
Sadly, when I do find rats they are usually skeezy rats, not cute ones.
Well, yesterday I was flipping through some gel clings at work. Skull. Bat. Pumpkin, cat, mouse, skull, bat.
WAIT! Did I just see a mouse?
I did see a mouse. I found 2 of them actually. And they are even cute in their own way. Not adorable cute, but not skeezy at all. I just HAD to buy them.
They were only $1 a piece, and with my employee discount I got them both for $1.61.
I had no idea where I was going to stick them, since I don’t have any glass in the rat room, and was worried that if I stuck them to the wall they might damage the paint.
Well, before I had left work yesterday I had decided they are going to live in my bedroom with me. Two cute mice living on my bedroom mirror.
Remember me posting a couple of days ago about a new species of rat being discovered?
The Giant Wooly Rat, or Bosavi wooly rat, was discovered in an unexplored crater in New Guinea.
Well, now there is video of this rat, at night, in its natural habitat.
What I want to point out is around 1:27 in the film. The people are PETTING this wild rat, scratching it like a pet. Remember, this is a WILD rat, it is a GIANT rat as large as your average housecat, it has no fear of humans, and yet its letting itself be scratched.
More proof that rats are not vicious evil little demons.
“Scientists have now levitated mice using magnetic fields.
The researchers first levitated a young mouse, just three-week-old and weighing 10 grams. It appeared agitated and disoriented, seemingly trying to hold on to something.
“It actually kicked around and started to spin, and without friction, it could spin faster and faster, and we think that made it even more disoriented,” said researcher Yuanming Liu, a physicist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. They decided to mildly sedate the next mouse they levitated, which seemed content with floating. “
The Bosavi woolly rat had no fear of humans when it was discovered.
Well, it should be well known that if I had the time, space, and finances I would start my own rat rescue. I love the little critters, and want them all to have happy forever homes.
Well, I don’t have the time, space or finances for a rat rescue. I have the space for one big cage, the time to clean that one cage regularly and to spend time with the rats living in it and the finances to keep them well fed and in clean bedding.
But, I just can’t say no.
My cousin called me last night, asking if I still had my rats. I told him yes, I have three right now. He asked if I wanted another one.
Me, want another rat? Thats like asking a random stranger if they want a $100 bill, no strings attached. Of course I want another rat.
Turns out his girlfriend has 3 rats. 2 hairless boys and one “fancy” female. He said he thinks she wants to rehome the female.
Well, it just so happens that I have room for ONE more rat. Exactly ONE more rat. Their cage can hold 4 comfortably.
So, I told him I could take the female rat.
Here she is (a pic he sent me):
Her said her name is Madame Curie. And I don’t know WHEN I might actually get her, since we live in different cities,and I don’t visit there too much, and he doesn’t visit here as often since he doesn’t work here anymore.
I MIGHT get to go visit home around the 12th and 13th of September, which I could arrange to take a travel cage with me and bring her home.
That is IF his girlfriend does decide to re-home her with me.
Francis got to meet Nibbitz and One of Two, and this is the single most easy introduction EVER. Nibbitz did force groom Francis some, but there have been no fights, and no squealing from ANY of them! Its amazing!
I introduced them in the aquarium that I put the girls in when I’m cleaning their cage:
In this first one Nibbitz looks like she is smiling!
Nibbitz and Francis interacted more than One and Francis did. (one is in the back)
Francis says she wants to get out now:
And here is some video of lots of sniffing an a little gentle grooming.
It is unavoidable for any pet owner. Sooner or later you’re going to have to go somewhere, and for some reason you’re going to have to take your beloved fur-baby with you. This is true for owners of cats and dogs, and its true of small pet owners as well.
With some small pets, such as dwarf hamsters and mice are usually kept in cages small enough that if you have to travel with them you can just grab up the whole cage and go. An example of a basic cage might be:
However, when you have something like a bunny, a guinea pig, or a pair of wonderful ratties (or three) then you are going to have a much larger cage, and its not so easy to toss it in the car and go.
An example of a basic rat cage might be:
You might be wondering, why would I need to take my rats anywhere to begin with?
Well, for one thing, they have to go to the vet sometimes. And, if you are like me and your normal pet sitter is disgusted and freaked out by your ratties and refuses to feed them they’ll have to go with you if you’re gone more than a day or two. (You can give them enough food and water to last a day or two, but no longer) Or, worse yet, there could be some emergancy, like a house fire, and you need to get your little ones out okay.
A lot of places that people commonly get pet rats will give them a sturdy “live animal” box to take them home in. That might work for a couple of trips to the vet, but in the long run it will become icky with poop and pee, and is not good.
So, I do recommend buying a sturdy travel cage for your little ones. One large enough for them to move around in, and to hold a small water bottle and food bowl for them as well.
A good example would be the cage that I was given to bring Francis home in:
It is small enough to be carried easily, but big enough for her to move around. If she were to spend a few days in there I could hang a water bottle for her, there is room for a hide box for her to sleep in, and a food bowl for her.
For a SHORT period of time I could even have her and one of her sisters in here (but no more than 2 rats). The more rats you have, the more travel cages you need to have on hand!
Here are a few things from that you can use as travel cages for you rats:
Or even a small cat or dog carrier can work.
Whatever you choose to use to carry your beloved ones, keep in mind that they can chew out of cardboard easily, and even out of hard plastic cages given enough time and effort.
So, I do recommend all metal cages, like the two I now have for my own girls.
After work today we went to pick up Francis.
Here she is!
She is a beautiful dark grey rattie. If you look at the picture below, you can see she has a small notch missing out of one ear. Cute!
She is still small, and her fur is still super soft, so she’s got a little bit of growing to do still. Not a lot, but some.
I tried to get several pictures of her when I first got her here, but she was acting a little nervous.
She was probably shaken up from the ride home, plus she hasn’t been handled too much recently (since the woman I got her from is allergic)
She was very curious, and kept wanting to jump off of everything I put her on to take her picture, and was sniffing EVERYTHING.
I haven’t introduced her to Nibbitz and One of Two yet. I was going to let her get settled down and kind of used to a new place before I sprung that one on her. She’s been living alone. I hope she enjoys having sisters to play with when they meet!
 |
