My Rattie Adventure

Okay, no ratties yet. But I'm in contact with a local rescue called, "gRATitude Rat Rescue".
Located in Harford County, MD (USA). Harford County is just East of Baltimore County/City.
I've ordered my Double Critter Nation. It's estimated delivery date is August 26th. As soon as it comes in I intend on meeting the potential adoptees and choosing a pair.
I plan on using this board as a sort of diary of my adventure.
I think I've summarized everything that's occurred up until today. So now I'll talk about what I got done today:
Found a bunch of old fleece blankets hiding around the house and with permission from my mother, have stored them in my room for sewing adventures to later take place.
I just got back from a trip to Walmart where I got shower curtain hooks, grommets, and a grommet puncher (for hammocks and the like), and "All Clean & Clear" laundry detergent. It's hypoallergenic and has no scent. Recommended by pediatricians for sensitive skin. I intend on going the fleece blanket lining route and decided that this would be best for their sensitive respiratory systems.
I've purchased multiple little cat/bird/dog/rodent toys off of eBay.
And today I spent about an hour creating this


I took strips of old t-shirts and made 3 braids. And then braided those 3 braids together and knotted the end. Since taking this photo I have pushed a shower curtain hook through one end so I can later hang it in the cage.

I also made a quick trip to Goodwill to see if I could find a sewing machine for cheap. But to no avail...
Luckily my aunt has one. That just means precutting pieces and taking them to work with me and then stopping at my aunts on the way home in the evening to use her machine. Maybe I'll get a free dinner outta it too. ;p

That's about it for now. More updates to be coming soon. And hopefully in less than 3 weeks some photos of my new babies.

On a quick note: Girlfriend has decided that if I get a PEW boy that I must name him Draco Malfoy.

And some final remarks about myself: My name is Steph. I'm 20 and currently going to college part-time and working full-time. I'm studying computer engineering and working for a cell-phone repair company as a technician. I know my schedule seems too busy to care for ratties. However for the next two semesters the majority of my classes will be online as I try to finish up some breadth requirements. This means I can do class and hang with my babies at the same time.
Next year my classes won't be online but I'll also be cutting back on hours at work to make time for school.
For now I'm living at home with mom, my little sister, and my two doggies. But in two years, when my sister graduates high school, mom is gonna sell the house and move in with her boyfriend, which means I get an apartment. So while now mom is limiting me to 2 rats. In another 2 years, I'll be able to get a few more babies.
My girlfriend lives in FL, so we're doing the stupid and awful long-distance thing, but I'm hoping she will be able to move up here in two years. Fun fact: her name is also Steph. ;p

So that's my intro and post for today. More fun to come shortly!!

We look forward to seeing pics of your little ones once you get them. Neat toy.

You are doing a lot of great prep work for when you get your ratties, nice job! And I love the homemade toy, that is terrific.

Thanks guys!
I'm soo excited to get them! Just got confirmation of my cage getting shipped!! Estimated delivery time is between the 21 and 27. So hopefully sooner rather than later!!

Went to petsmart and the dollar tree today to get stuff in prep for my ratties. Got a couple of plastic containers. Gonna use one as a litter box and the rest will probably be little houses or something. And I got a wheel for them to run on. But it's like a dinner plate one but tilted at a slight angle with ridges. And also got a glass water bottle. No luck finding lab blocks yet. Any hints to where I might find them?

Sounds like your little ones will be very spoiled and happy!

It's great to see you are so enthusiastic about your soon-to-be babies. Read through some threads too - there is so much to learn and there is lots of info here from other people's questions.

Joanne said:

It's great to see you are so enthusiastic about your soon-to-be babies. Read through some threads too - there is so much to learn and there is lots of info here from other people's questions.

Click to expand...

Agreed, Joanne, good point.

Rats have very complex needs, both emotional and physical and there is always so much to learn about them, so you can ensure you are the best caretaker and Mom you can be to them for their entire life span.

Lots of terrific info on this forum to read and a great place to ask any and all questions.

Don't worry guys. I am fully taking advantage of this forum. And spend most of my free time at work (which is a lot) reading through different stuff on here.
So glad I found this!!

Petsmart has Oxbow (or should), if there is one close...try asking at a wholesale pet food supplier if they carry Oxbow or Harlan Teklad or Mazuri rat block or Extrusion for hamsters even (only suitable hamster food to feed) I use it with the Oxbow for the younger ones to add more "oomf" to their block diet.
If you have the ability to order online its available quite cheap and in larger "bulk" quantities on many sites.
Here there is a private pet store that a friend owns/operates. She can order the large bags for me as I don't have a credit card for online ordering so check out your smaller retailers as well.

Thanks Sterling!

The wheel you described - haven't know one it use it yet. You can hang the baskets with zip ties. drsfosterandsmith.com is very reasonable and much cheaper than petco/petsmart - look in the bird section to for hanging toys.

LOOK WHAT CAME TODAY!!!


Just lugged it up a flight of stairs by myself.... Gonna have a heart attacks before I even get to open it...

Omg I don't even know how you did that...

Woohoo! Have fun putting it together and decorating it for your babies.

Woooohoooo!!! All put together! Now I just need to measure out the shelves for fabric and such. That will get done tomorrow. And sewing will happen this weekend!
It's a little bigger than I thought. Had to do a little rearranging but I love it and I can't wait to get my ratties!!!

And how much fun was it to put together?

Seriously though-you won't regret getting it.

It was a pain in the arse (even more so than my girlfriend[emoji12]).
Had to pull out a mallet to get them in. Then realized I put a shelf in upside down....
But I can already tell it's gonna be so much easier to clean than any other cage out there.... Very very happy with my purchase. Got it for $180 free shipping and brand new!! [emoji1]

VERY nice ratty condo for your babies...so much room, which will keep them happy and I know it will be set up so nice for them. Excellent job!

Cut out the fabric and pinned it all together in preparation for sewing. Have 2 sets of linings, 1 cube, 1 triple bunk bed, and 2 jean tubes planned out. Tomorrow after work I'm going over my aunts to sew everything together! [emoji1]

Got an email yesterday from the rescue lady saying that she was having 3 boys fixed Tuesday and so I could meet everyone before or after Wednesday. I chose to wait until after despite being super excited cuz I want to give everyone a chance at a new home. And I don't want to limit my options either.... I hate waiting... [emoji30]