Rattitude

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!

So, a couple of days ago I was checking my e-mail for this blog (mail4rats@gmail.com if you ever want to share something rattie with me) and saw that I had gotten an e-mail from a girl here in Savannah trying to help A friend re-home a rat.  She said the friend coudln’t give the rattie the attention it needed, and she (the girl e-mailing me) has the rat now but has turned out to be allergic to it!

The e-mail was simply asking if I knew of any rat rescues in Savannah, which I sadly dont BUT…..

I offered to bring her home with me.  The girl took me up on the offer, and tomorrow when I get off work we will be going to her house to pick up my new baby.

It is a grey female rat named Francis.

So, of course there will be rat pictures galore in the future.

But for now, here is some video of Nibbitz and One of Two playing in the tub.

For lack of anything of any real interest to report on my fuzz butts, and having done no cute rat crafts lately, I share with you two very short videos.  One of each rat.

First, here is Nibbitz:

And here is One of Two:

I love the look on her face when I’m swinging her around to the desk.

The future of robots is rat-shaped

Psikharpax — named after a cunning king of the rats, according to a tale attributed to Homer — is the brainchild of European researchers who believe it may push back a frontier in artificial intelligence.

Read the whole article HERE.

See and share your own Wordless Wednesday here.

Sorry I’ve not updated in so very long.

I’ve actually had a very very VERY hard time adjusting to the passing of Ezri.  I’m still not used to her not being in their cage, running up to me and making happy rat noises when I walk in the room.

Nibbitz and One are both lovely girls, and sweet, but they don’t make happy rat noises when they see me.  Or when I play with them.  Only once or twice have I heard one of the brux, and that when when I had One of Two out on the book shelf taking pictures of her.

I miss my super loving happy rat.

Nibbitz

One of Two

FUN RATTIE EVENT

Rat Chick Rat Rescue and Advocacy Group are pleased to host the Seventh Annual Fab Rat & Animal Friends Festival.

This family-friendly event will take place from 12 pm to 4 pm on Saturday June 6, 2009 at The South Philadelphia Older Adult Center located at 1430 East Passyunk Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19147.

The theme for the Fab Rat festival this year is “The Rat Pack Is Back!”

The event will showcase domestic companion rats including rat information and displays, funny rat videos, a rat art show, rat adoptions, rat raffle, a light hearted rat beauty pageant and the A-Rat-Emmy Awards.

There will also be booths for other great animal welfare, rescue and adoption groups. You can learn about other animals in need and what you can do to help them or find that special animal friend you have been looking for. We will have adoptions of cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and birds, all of which are rescues.

There will be live entertainment, food, and crafts for sale.

Our goal is to dispels the false beliefs and educate the public about these misunderstood creatures. Come meet a companion rat and watch our happy rat videos and find out how lovable rats really are.

The event is indoors in the main hall at the center. There is parking on site and ample parking nearby.

The event is open to the general public and admission is free.

Contact the Rat Chick at 215-467-5206 to be part of this event.

http://www.ratchickratrescue.com/Fab_Rat_2009.htm

So, when I ran a tub full of bubbles today my dogs thought they were going to get a bath.

Nope.

Neither was I going to get a relaxing soak in a tub of bubble.

Nope.

It was my bi-weekly rat cage scrub down:

And, I downloaded the videos from from hubbys camera last night, and goign through them found one of Ezri on the sofa with me.  It was a few weeks before she went donhill and we lost her.

Its a little dark, but here is my Much Missed fat rat Ezri Belle