Hi All :hello2
It's been a while since I've posted, so I thought I'd start with an introduction (reintro for some members!) of my 8 ratties. I'll start from the oldest and work my way down the line :wink2:
First, is my sweet old boy, Nigel, who is 33 months old. He has about 80% back leg paralysis, but is somehow still able to climb on top of cubes and honeycomb hammocks without any help! We've been battling a pretty nasty and persistent URI with him, but with the help of Zithro and Amoxi, he has improved a lot! Although he's lost some weight in his old age, he still loves to eat. All the girls love Nigel since he's a great pillow to sleep on
Next, are the two sisters Fergie & Emma, who are 2 years old today :balloons2: They came from someone in Danville, Illinois who started off with only 3 rats who she thought were all boys - of course, they weren't and soon she had 40 rats in terribly cramped dirty tanks, hamster cages, and plastic bins. Not only that, but one rat (who I named Italy) had given birth only a few days prior to Kaia and I going to get them, and one was about to pop any day. I decided to foster Italy and her litter. It was one of the best experience raising them from nearly-pinkies! You can see lots of litter and baby pics in the original thread for them here. I named them all after different countries, and decided to keep Norway (siamese - renamed Emma) and Ireland (black variegated - renamed Fergie). I can't believe it's only a few days away from marking their 2 year anniversary of being with me. They're both such sweet, silly girls who warm my heart everyday with their kisses and goofy antics. I hope they're with me for a long time yet! :heart:
Next up, is Polka who will be 2 years old in a week. Polka is my only rat that wasn't a rescue. I got him and his brother, Squee, from FarStar Rattery here in Michigan. Squee was pts a couple months ago for chronic breathing issues that finally got the better of him :sad3: Polka is a big squishy boy that is obsessed with food and loves to play. He has the most insane amount of extra skin, like he was supposed to be this real hugely fat rat but because I don't free-feed he's not allowed to get that way :lol: For some reason, he likes to sleep by himself and I wonder if it's because he misses his brother. They were inseparable :hugs:
Maddie is the next on the list, at 20 months old. She is absolutely insane. She's one of those girls that just quivers with adrenaline and energy like she's about to explode. She loves to popcorn around, handwrestle like crazy, and drive me insane by being the only one who chews up (and thusly tunnels under) the liners and towels - which she does simply because she knows I'll come stomping over to re-fix everything Usually by the time she hears me groan and get up, she's out of the liners and by the door like, "Yay, it worked!!" Still, even with her annoying and sometimes very irritating habits, she is the most hilarious girl to have around and is so sweet with her nearly-constant kisses :heart:
Just going in the tube like normal is never good enough for Maddie - she has to make another entrance, so she can get between the fleece layers :wink:
Faroe is also 20 months old now, and is a very particular little girl. She believes in manners, and gets very offended if you try to poke at her or pet her through the wires of the FN, and will go and hide until you open the doors and properly interact with her She's extremely playful and is very sweet. She's also just about the softest rattie around, and is super shiny. She likes to follow Maddie around and do whatever she does - which just means two liner-tunneling, annoying rats :cheeky: During playtime, she lives to be as high as possible. That is, until the stack of hammocks she's on falls over, and to catch herself she claws all the way down the back of my arm :giggle:
Now, on to my separate duo, Fyn and Encephalon.
Fyn is my teensy-tiny 18 month old boy. He is goofy as all hell, and is the best lap rattie ever. He loves to visit with all new people that come over and is a great rat ambassador. He's not as large as normal rats (even girls!), he's super clean, tucks his legs when you pick him up, and is really friendly. He loves to handwrestle and also likes to de-stuff his octopus and fish play toys. He's also one of those rats that loves to build nests. Anytime I wash rat stuff, there's always bits and pieces of things at the bottom of the washer (and in the lint trap of the dryer) that didn't quite get shook out - paper towel shreds, paper crinkles, stuffing from inside fish/octopus toys, food... :lol:
Here he is, keeping Kaia company while she braids fleece ropes
Lastly, is Fyn's lady friend, Encephalon, who is 17 months old. Per her original owners, she had a seizure when she was a baby and has since been a little... off. She is blind (or nearly blind) in one eye, and probably has a brain lesion. Some of her quirks include spinning in circles when excited, flapping her right paw when nervous or can't get her balance, taking a piece of food and then running backwards until hitting a wall or other solid surface to lean against while eating, and standing up like a prairie dog when she sees or hears something funny. Although she's never really understood or liked being touched, she's come around a lot lately and also seems to be happier. She does her own version of popcorning, even!
Thank you for looking and reading, I hope you've enjoyed meeting my crew!
It's been a while since I've posted, so I thought I'd start with an introduction (reintro for some members!) of my 8 ratties. I'll start from the oldest and work my way down the line :wink2:
First, is my sweet old boy, Nigel, who is 33 months old. He has about 80% back leg paralysis, but is somehow still able to climb on top of cubes and honeycomb hammocks without any help! We've been battling a pretty nasty and persistent URI with him, but with the help of Zithro and Amoxi, he has improved a lot! Although he's lost some weight in his old age, he still loves to eat. All the girls love Nigel since he's a great pillow to sleep on
Next, are the two sisters Fergie & Emma, who are 2 years old today :balloons2: They came from someone in Danville, Illinois who started off with only 3 rats who she thought were all boys - of course, they weren't and soon she had 40 rats in terribly cramped dirty tanks, hamster cages, and plastic bins. Not only that, but one rat (who I named Italy) had given birth only a few days prior to Kaia and I going to get them, and one was about to pop any day. I decided to foster Italy and her litter. It was one of the best experience raising them from nearly-pinkies! You can see lots of litter and baby pics in the original thread for them here. I named them all after different countries, and decided to keep Norway (siamese - renamed Emma) and Ireland (black variegated - renamed Fergie). I can't believe it's only a few days away from marking their 2 year anniversary of being with me. They're both such sweet, silly girls who warm my heart everyday with their kisses and goofy antics. I hope they're with me for a long time yet! :heart:
Next up, is Polka who will be 2 years old in a week. Polka is my only rat that wasn't a rescue. I got him and his brother, Squee, from FarStar Rattery here in Michigan. Squee was pts a couple months ago for chronic breathing issues that finally got the better of him :sad3: Polka is a big squishy boy that is obsessed with food and loves to play. He has the most insane amount of extra skin, like he was supposed to be this real hugely fat rat but because I don't free-feed he's not allowed to get that way :lol: For some reason, he likes to sleep by himself and I wonder if it's because he misses his brother. They were inseparable :hugs:
Maddie is the next on the list, at 20 months old. She is absolutely insane. She's one of those girls that just quivers with adrenaline and energy like she's about to explode. She loves to popcorn around, handwrestle like crazy, and drive me insane by being the only one who chews up (and thusly tunnels under) the liners and towels - which she does simply because she knows I'll come stomping over to re-fix everything
Usually by the time she hears me groan and get up, she's out of the liners and by the door like, "Yay, it worked!!" Still, even with her annoying and sometimes very irritating habits, she is the most hilarious girl to have around and is so sweet with her nearly-constant kisses :heart:
Just going in the tube like normal is never good enough for Maddie - she has to make another entrance, so she can get between the fleece layers :wink:
Faroe is also 20 months old now, and is a very particular little girl. She believes in manners, and gets very offended if you try to poke at her or pet her through the wires of the FN, and will go and hide until you open the doors and properly interact with her
She's extremely playful and is very sweet. She's also just about the softest rattie around, and is super shiny. She likes to follow Maddie around and do whatever she does - which just means two liner-tunneling, annoying rats :cheeky: During playtime, she lives to be as high as possible. That is, until the stack of hammocks she's on falls over, and to catch herself she claws all the way down the back of my arm :giggle:
Now, on to my separate duo, Fyn and Encephalon.
Fyn is my teensy-tiny 18 month old boy. He is goofy as all hell, and is the best lap rattie ever. He loves to visit with all new people that come over and is a great rat ambassador. He's not as large as normal rats (even girls!), he's super clean, tucks his legs when you pick him up, and is really friendly. He loves to handwrestle and also likes to de-stuff his octopus and fish play toys. He's also one of those rats that loves to build nests. Anytime I wash rat stuff, there's always bits and pieces of things at the bottom of the washer (and in the lint trap of the dryer) that didn't quite get shook out - paper towel shreds, paper crinkles, stuffing from inside fish/octopus toys, food... :lol:
Here he is, keeping Kaia company while she braids fleece ropes
Lastly, is Fyn's lady friend, Encephalon, who is 17 months old. Per her original owners, she had a seizure when she was a baby and has since been a little... off. She is blind (or nearly blind) in one eye, and probably has a brain lesion. Some of her quirks include spinning in circles when excited, flapping her right paw when nervous or can't get her balance, taking a piece of food and then running backwards until hitting a wall or other solid surface to lean against while eating, and standing up like a prairie dog when she sees or hears something funny. Although she's never really understood or liked being touched, she's come around a lot lately and also seems to be happier. She does her own version of popcorning, even!
Thank you for looking and reading, I hope you've enjoyed meeting my crew!
