MuffinsMum
Well-Known Member
I needed to talk rats and there isn't anyone around here who will happy dance with me, so I'm going to park this in a spot on the forum :giggle:
Muffin is our pet store rat. Poor Muffie was probably never held until we brought her home in April. She has always been shy, timid and nervous. We thought we were doing quite well because she started warming up to us after we'd had her home for about a month (she would spend 4-8 hours out of the cage with us every day!).
But then we read that ratties need company, we felt guilty and got two more girls from a respectable breeder.
Coca and Waffles arrived oozing with confidence - they swagger around and own the world - Miss Personality +++ !!! And while Coca and Waffles swaggered, Muffie withdrew completely.
Muffie had her first (and I hope last for a long time) bout with a Myco secondary in early July. I held her, medicated her, gave her water by dropper and fed her fruit and mush by hand for DAYS. We didn't think she was going to make it. We were away from home but had the girls with us. It was awful. Muffie was obviously grateful for the help, but when she finally started getting her strength back she started hanging back in the cage again, shy of being touched, the last to come out when the other girls were climbing all over us ... sigh.
A couple of weeks ago we went back to the same place (had the girls with us again) that Muffie had been ill. The memories for me weren't pleasant but something weird happened to Muffie. She SUDDENLY became "Happy, Well Socialised, So Glad to See You, Let Me Have a Turn" Muffie. It happened literally overnight.
Now when I open the cage, Muffie is one of the first to say hello, one of the first to see if I have treats, one of the first to climb into my sleeve. She still doesn't love affection the way the others do, but somehow she seems to stand for it almost with a kind of determination - as though she feels that accepting love is a GOOD thing to do. She is climbing the ropes of the cage, sleeping in the hanging hammocks and Space Pod (she was always just a ground level girl) and just seems to be enjoying herself.
WHAT happened???
Did something trigger a memory? Did Muffie put information together that finally convinced her that she is safe and loved and that we're always here for her? Why was it so sudden?
I don't know. But it has been lasting (now almost a month) and I'd like to toast our Brave New Muffie!
Muffie, forever and ever you were the FIRST rattie in our hearts. Your new happy makes us happy. We love you.
:heart: :heart: :heart:
And if anyone made it through this, thanks for 'listening'
Muffin is our pet store rat. Poor Muffie was probably never held until we brought her home in April. She has always been shy, timid and nervous. We thought we were doing quite well because she started warming up to us after we'd had her home for about a month (she would spend 4-8 hours out of the cage with us every day!).
But then we read that ratties need company, we felt guilty and got two more girls from a respectable breeder.
Coca and Waffles arrived oozing with confidence - they swagger around and own the world - Miss Personality +++ !!! And while Coca and Waffles swaggered, Muffie withdrew completely.
Muffie had her first (and I hope last for a long time) bout with a Myco secondary in early July. I held her, medicated her, gave her water by dropper and fed her fruit and mush by hand for DAYS. We didn't think she was going to make it. We were away from home but had the girls with us. It was awful. Muffie was obviously grateful for the help, but when she finally started getting her strength back she started hanging back in the cage again, shy of being touched, the last to come out when the other girls were climbing all over us ... sigh.
A couple of weeks ago we went back to the same place (had the girls with us again) that Muffie had been ill. The memories for me weren't pleasant but something weird happened to Muffie. She SUDDENLY became "Happy, Well Socialised, So Glad to See You, Let Me Have a Turn" Muffie. It happened literally overnight.
Now when I open the cage, Muffie is one of the first to say hello, one of the first to see if I have treats, one of the first to climb into my sleeve. She still doesn't love affection the way the others do, but somehow she seems to stand for it almost with a kind of determination - as though she feels that accepting love is a GOOD thing to do. She is climbing the ropes of the cage, sleeping in the hanging hammocks and Space Pod (she was always just a ground level girl) and just seems to be enjoying herself.
WHAT happened???
Did something trigger a memory? Did Muffie put information together that finally convinced her that she is safe and loved and that we're always here for her? Why was it so sudden?
I don't know. But it has been lasting (now almost a month) and I'd like to toast our Brave New Muffie!
Muffie, forever and ever you were the FIRST rattie in our hearts. Your new happy makes us happy. We love you.
:heart: :heart: :heart:
And if anyone made it through this, thanks for 'listening'