Bamboo's Beastie Boys (RIP Loki 24/10/2013)

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Bamboo

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2009
Messages
1,158
Location
Ottawa, ON
Bamboo said:
A major cause behind my radio silence (and many other people seem to have this problem, I see) is that I am currently rat-less and, unfortunately, that won't likely change in the near future.
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Posted: Sun Mar 24, 2013 2:40 am

I jinxed it lol. It's been almost 2 years but less then a month after coming back to the Rat Shack, where the first thing I do is lament my rat-less status, 2 wayward drifters end up in my lap. I certainly not complaining, of course...it's just funny how things work out lol

Hedwig and Calloway used to belong to one of my best friends. Recently, she decided to move back home to Newfoundland so I offered to take her rats and her betta.

She'd had them since they were just babies, so they always got lots of love and attention. Naturally, they're quite nervous at the moment, since they're in a new place for the first time in their lives but I think they'll settle in just fine. They're about 6 months old. Hedwig is the hooded one and I can already tell he's the alpha. He's almost constantly checking on Calloway and grooming him but he's still very sweet about it. Calloway is the solid blue (irrelevant side note: I've never had a blue before so I'm kind of excited about that lol) He's a little nervous but very, very curious, so I think the nervousness will wear off as he settles in.

They both have lots of new home sniffles and sneezes but I'm not too worried about that. Calloway sounds a bit more sniffley, so I'll definitely be keeping an eye on him but, like I said, I'm not worried.

I tried to take some decent pictures but failed abysmally. I finally gave up and just took a video lol.
 
So, I suck at keeping things up to date lol. Here's a quick video from tonight. We're all hanging out on the couch, watching the game.



Yeah, that's about it lol
 
They actually seem to prefer sleeping during their out time. They were only awake here because I was getting them some treats lol. Here's another video from last night. They got raspberries, banana chips and spinach.



and another one


Sorry about just having videos but I have a different camera then I used to, and I guess it's just not fast enough to take pictures of rats lol
 
They are doing really well and I've never had such perfect shoulder rats. They could literally hang out there all day and be totally happy.

The only thing that I wonder about it that they never sleep together or cuddle or anything. Like, ever. They play together and wrestle like boys do but when they sleep, Calloway sleeps in the hide and Hedwig sleeps in the hammock. I find that a little bit odd. I feel like they don't really 'like' each other. I don't think they have a problem with each other but I don't feel like they're 'bonded' so much as simply appreciate having another rat around.

I've been thinking that they might need other friends -some that they can actually bond with. Maybe the change in group dynamics will make them like each other more lol. Anyways, my ideal situation would be to get them both neutered and add 2 girls to them. Or boys, I don't really care but I feel like girls would be easier to intro. I don't know if that's going to happen, and if it does, when it would happen but I feel like that would help.

Or maybe I'm just over thinking the whole thing lol. That's always a possibility.
 
I think introducing a couple of girls into the mix is a great idea. If you have the choice though, the girls will benefit much more from a spay than the boys will from a neuter (helps prevent tumors in the girls). My rats will sleep on their own when they're sick, but usually they like a buddy to snuggle up with.
 
Yeah, that was my first concern. I was worried that they were sick but I took them to the vet about 2 weeks after I got them for a check-up and they got a clean bill of health.

It just seems like Hedwig just prefers the hammock and Calloway prefers the hide and they would rather sleep where they want then with each other (as weird as that sounds lol) It just strikes me as odd that they literally never cuddle. I don't think I've ever had that problem before lol.

And yeah, I'd love to add girls because, IMO, mixed groups are 'da bomb, way more dynamic then single sex groups (not that there's anything wrong with single sex groups! I guess I just find mixed groups more interesting and, dare I say, natural.) My only reservation about that is I don't really know if I would be comfortable paying for a couple of spays right now. Long story short, I got thrown-under-the-bus laid off in January so, inevitably, I racked up a decent amount of debt and I'm only just starting to get that under control now. I'm super paranoid about money at the moment and I'd be tempted to do neuters just because I could get both boys neutered for about the same price as one spay, then I feel like crap for thinking of it like that...that's not how and why decisions like this should be made but I don't feel like I can simply disregard my financial situation either.

I'm basically just going around in circles like that right now lol. I'll figure something out eventually lol
 
Well, I'm sure a few months aren't going to make much of a difference. Maybe you could adopt some girls that were already spayed?
Better to beat down the debt than dig yourself into a deeper one!
 
Yay! I suck at updating consistently!

So, both of the boys are hanging out with each other a lot more these days! I was probably just over-paranoid and creating a problem in the first place, but they do seem to be doing more together. That being said, I'd still like to add one or two more to the group. I may have found 2 boys that need homes. They seem very sweet and I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up taking them. My only worry is that I hate hate hate doing male intros.

Anyways, I'll definitely update that front as it progresses. In the meantime, I must vent a little. The ONE time EVER that I didn't freeze my carefresh and the boys get mites. I went away for a week so my mom was taking care of them and I just picked up a new bag of carefresh and changed the bedding before I went away so they wouldn't smell for her (A year or two ago, she never would have even considered looking after my rats for me but she's really warmed up to these guys. I think she actually likes them! The point is that I was trying to make it as easy on her as possible)

So I texted her a bunch of times and asked her how everyone was doing and she told me a few time that they were all fine but she thought the rats were fighting because they were all scabby. Sure enough, I got home and their poor backs were all scratched up and they were so itchy :(

I immediately revolutioned them but they're still covered in scabs. They're coats were so nice before too! Show's you how long I've been out of the rat game -It's been ages since I've had mites lol

So yeah, that's what's been up. Pretty exciting, eh? I even got some crappy pictures to share lol

My little buddy Hedwig giving my arm a bath, as usual
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Blurry Calloway
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Until next update, hugs from Hedwig :hugs:
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and kisses from Calloway :heart:
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So the person with the 2 boys fell off the face of the earth (fricken kijiji lol) but regardless, it looks like I've got some neuters and male intros in my future.

I found out someone at work was looking for a new home for a lone male hairless rat. He's around 8 or 9 months old. He used to live with his brother but I was told that he killed him. I'm not sure about that but you never know I guess.

He could do with some manners (nothing hardcore, he's just a little grabby) but he's a supper sweet little boy. And I mean little...at first glance, I though it was a case of mistaken gender and that 'he' was actually a 'she'. But nope, definitely a he. More importantly, his eyes look good and clear and his skin is really nice -No excess buck grease or dryness.

I named him Walrus because his curly little whiskers reminded me of the Walrus from Alice and Wonderland lol.

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