Meet My Pet Rats

Sorry for not posting for so long! Things have been pretty busy around here, but I had to share this story.

I had the boys out for play time tonight in the kitchen. Well, I thought I had the place rat-proofed pretty good. Apparently I didn’t. Pixel found a small hole under the cabinet next to the dish washer and crawled in! He wandered around the under side of the dish washer for a while until I managed to lure him out with a Cheerio. He’s such a little trouble maker! He was also wriggling his way in between the cabinet and the fridge. I duct taped off both of those areas, but I think I need a better solution. As long as I keep an eye on him while he’s playing it should work for now. I wouldn’t mind him going in between the fridge and cabinet except that there’s cords back there and I don’t want him chewing on them. Pica, on the other hand, is a little ratty angel.

Anyways, more pictures and info on play time to come soon!

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This is Tyler, Pixel and Pica’s new feline friend. You can check out his blog here: Tyler’s Blog. Thanks for being friends with my ratties Tyler!

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Some updated pictures of Pixel and Pica from play time a couple days ago. They are really growing fast! The picture quality isn’t very good because I had to use my cell phone, but I touched them up as best I could.

Pixel:

Peek-a-boo! I love ths picture!

He only stopped playing long enough to get himself cleaned up.

Pica:

Pica’s the cuddly rat boy.

“What do you think? Can I jump all the way over to the table?”

Sometime this week I’ll try to make one or two of them into LolRats. The one I made before seemed to go over really well.

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Last night I was able to upgrade the ratties into their “Big Boy” cage! It took a lot less time than I thought it would. I can’t believe how fast they grow! After only 2 weeks they’ve grown about 1.5 times their size. I’m sure it won’t be long before they’re big squishy lazy rats.

It seems like they’re really enjoying the new cage. They’ve been spending most of their time in the bottom of the cage where the litter is, but that’s okay. They’re used to mostly being on the litter. I was worried that they wouldn’t be able to climb to the top levels of the cage, but it wasn’t long before they were chasing each other from top to bottom. Hopefully they’ll get the hang of their hammock soon. It doesn’t seem like they understand what it is yet. Maybe I’ll get some pictures up soon!

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Last weekend I went on vacation to Michigan to visit my grandparents. I felt so bad for leaving my rats so soon after I got them, but fortunately my sister was a wonderful ratsitter and I was only gone for 3 days. There were a few things I had to think about before I left, and these are things any rat owner should think about before leaving their rats with someone else.

1. Food - Make sure to leave enough food to last the duration of your trip. Also give detailed instructions on how much to feed, when to feed, and what not to feed.

2. Water - Let the rat sitter know how often to check the water bottle/bowl and how full to fill it. Since my ratties are in a temporary cage and I can’t use a real water bottle with it, I had to make sure Ronnie checked the water bowl twice a day because the ratties kick litter into it.

3. Litter - If you are going to be gone long enough that the litter needs to be changed, leave instructions on how to do it. You may need to write them out.

4. Play time - If your ratsitter is comfortable with your ratties and vice-versa, let her know what is acceptable play and what toys the rats like to play with. Also make sure she knows what items might not make good play toys.

5. Other Animals - Find out if there are other animals in the house that your rats will be staying at. Ronnie has 3 cats, so we had to pick a cat-free room to put the cage in. Animals like dogs and cats that aren’t used to rats should be kept away from them.

Hopefully this list gets you thinking about what to do if you have to leave your babies with a sitter. Don’t forget to call and check-in!

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You’ve heard of lolcats… what about lolRats!!

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I had the ratties out for play time tonight. I took them out for a while yesterday too, but they seemed a lot more comfortable and happy tonight. It seems like they’re getting used to their new home.

I noticed yesterday that they were trying to nibble on my fingers a little bit. I kept pulling my hand away because I was afraid they would bite harder if I let them keep going. Tonight I decided to see what would happen if I let them keep nibbling since it wasn’t an aggressive nibble. So I put my hand in they started nibbling my finger nails and finger tips and then started licking me! It was crazy! It was like when a puppy kiss-licks you. After that they didn’t seem as nervous around my hand, and Pixel came over and climbed into my hand on his own a few times.

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Ronnie and I went and picked up Pixel and Pica today. They’re soo cute! And so small! I have to keep them in a big plastic bin for now, until they’re big enough to live in their normal cage. Right now they can fit through the bars - I think the bars are 3/4″ to 1″ apart.

Here are the pictures:

All of these were taken in their little travel carrier before I came home. Unfortunately, I can’t take pictures here at home because I can’t find the charger to my camera battery. But anyways, Pica is the Blue one, and Pixel is the brown/white one. Not sure on the “technical” name for his markings. His hood looks like a really light tan color, much lighter than these pictures make it look.

Well, there they are. More updates tomorrow after they get all settled in.

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Only one day to go now. My sister’s going with me to get Pixel and Pica tomorrow morning. I just called the breeder and they said they’d reserve 2 little guys for me. I hope I have everything ready for them… I’m sure I’ll be making a quick trick to Petsmart when I realize I’ve forgotten something.

In the meantime, check out how cute my gerbils, Ares and Apollo are:

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