# I'm an accidental rat mommy!



## SnowyShiloh (Oct 27, 2009)

OOPS. Paul said it was okay with him if I went to Petco this afternoon, just to see if the pregnant rat (see my other thread) was still there, and to buy bunny food. The pregnant rattie was gone. The workers there don't know what happened to her. I can only hope someone nice bought her. I wish her all the best.

I decided to go look at the tiny baby girl rats. Petco keeps the tiny girl rats in the same cage that my 3 girl rats came from almost 3 years ago. As I was looking at them, I saw one little girl sitting on the wheel, chasing her tail. It was so cute! She ran around in a circle trying to catch her tail with her tiny paws. Then she caught it and washed it. As I was watching them, 2 guys came over to the cage because they wanted baby rats to feed their snakes. The Petco employee fished out 2 baby girls- it was heartbreaking seeing them be caught because I knew what was going to happen to them  I had a momentary lapse of judgment and asked for the employee to keep the cage open because I wanted two. He nabbed the little girl who chased her tail for me, and I picked out another. I held them. They're sweet, but scared.

They're SOOOO tiny! Like the size of a really big mouse! So sweet and innocent. I was worried what Paul would say, but I told him right away and he's okay with having them! I didn't mean to buy two rats when I went into Petco, but I did and I have to say I'm really excited about having ratties again :inlove:

I have to go set up their new home, they're still sitting in their cardboard box. I'll try to get photos. They're both PEWs (white with red eyes) and so cute!


----------



## slavetoabunny (Oct 27, 2009)

Oh yeah....right....accident, huh? LOL, congrats on your new additions!


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Oct 27, 2009)

Little ones are installed in the cage! I've marked the smaller one with purple Sharpie on her tail. I can tell she's an adventurer, she's running around everywhere and let me cuddle her a bit, and came to my hand in the cage. Her sis is a little more shy but that's okay! 

Oh and I've been re-christened into rattie parenthood... Purple girl tinkled on me and pooped on me during our 1 minute long holding session. Hooray! 

When I bought my 3 girls a couple years ago, they had some sort of infection and had diarrhea for almost 2 months. We had to go to the vet 3 times just for that. Thankfully, these girls have healthy poop and look great! And did I say TINY yet?!


----------



## hartleybun (Oct 27, 2009)

oh i am sooo jealous id love to be a rattie mommy again. sadly hubby has put his foot down = no more rats in the house.:X

congrats tho' look forward to pics


----------



## Luvmyzoocrew (Oct 27, 2009)

i had to just open this up and read it cause i didnt believe the Accidental part,lol. congrats


----------



## irishbunny (Oct 27, 2009)

Sadly, as cute as the little rats look, snakes have to eat too.

Congrats on the new additions! I would like to have pet rats sometime. I asked my Dad a couple months ago and he said no and if I got them he would throw them out into the field lol.


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Oct 27, 2009)

Grace, it's true that they have to eat, but what I'm opposed to is feeding live rodents to reptiles. The poor things are terrified. A lot of reptile owners actually consider it to be irresponsible to feed live rodents because the rodents can injure the snake since they're in an enclosed space. It's recommended to feed them frozen (and then thawed of course) rats and mice. To me, freezing them (or gassing them or whatever they do) is much more humane than just tossing them in a tank with a snake. You can buy frozen rodents, I don't think many people buy them live at the pet store and then do it themselves. Maybe if they have a lot of snakes to feed they do, I don't know.

But back to the happy topic at hand, the babies are racing around the cage, digging, eating, drinking and being cute as heck!


----------



## irishbunny (Oct 27, 2009)

Some snakes actually refuse frozen rodents if they weren't fed them from the beginning. I think alot of people breed their own in rack systems, because they are too expensive to buy frozen/live in the pet shops. But yeah off this depressing topic. Have you any names for them yet?


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Oct 27, 2009)

Grace, I've thought of:

Lavender and Sage (both edible plants and both colors, also they're my wedding colors for next summer! Lavender would of course by the girl with the purple marked tail)

Meringue and Marshmallow or one of them and Marzipan

Lacey and Ruby or Lacey and Emma (from the TV show Corner Gas)

Charlotte and Olivia (from Charlotte aka Chuck and Olive, TV show Pushing Daisies- Ned was named after the main character)

Cucumber and _____

Any other ideas? I like the idea of food names. My previous rats were Peppermint Rattie (like Peppermint Pattie), Cranberry Hootycreek (a kind of cookie), Colby Jack (cheese) and Stevie McQueen (Paul named her, not food related!). We almost named Colby Jack Pancakes instead. For some reason I think Pancakes is a boyish name though, even though it's just breakfast food!


----------



## bunnybunbunb (Oct 27, 2009)

Mom said no rats but I do have a mousey  I would love to have a pair of rats but I now have no room in my room for a cage big enough, haha.

"Grace, it's true that they have to eat, but what I'm opposed to is feeding live rodents to reptiles." Sad thing is they do not just use mice and rats, anything small enough people seem to think is free give to feed to their snakes. Many people just get snakes so they CAN feed animals to them, because "it is cool". *gag*

PICTURES.


----------



## irishbunny (Oct 27, 2009)

I really like Lavendar and Sage!


----------



## Happi Bun (Oct 27, 2009)

*irishbunny wrote: *


> Sadly, as cute as the little rats look, snakes have to eat too.


Yes, but not live.  

I don't buy that some refuse and would rather starve to death. That goes against every part of their being and natural instinct. Every Zoo and Wildlife Rehab Clinic I know of doesn't feed live, and many of those snakes are from the _Wild_.

Anyway, *congrats* on your new babies! Must see pictures! 
I like the names Lacey and Ruby or Charlotte and Olivia.


----------



## NorthernAutumn (Oct 27, 2009)

I need pics in order to give an educated opinion on names 
(Darn you Shiloh... now I want wittle rats! never wanted one until you started gushing  )


----------



## SunnyCait (Oct 28, 2009)

Erika, I was going to say the same thing you did. If WILD snakes at a zoo or refuge can be taught to eat f/t, so can a captive bred. 

Anyway! I can't wait to see pictures. I have a PEW girl too. Her name is Isobel. I love PEWs!

I like the names Charlotte and Olivia. Those are two of my most favorite names.


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Oct 28, 2009)

Cait, I'm glad someone else loves PEWs too! I think they're really cute and pretty and special. I would like them even if there were other choices in rat color here  Isobel is such a pretty name! I try to avoid giving pets my favorite names in case I want to use them for a child later, but I have about 10 favorite names and am only planning on having about 3 kids. Charlotte is one of my favorites too. I like Olivia a lot but I have a cousin with that name so I probably wouldn't name a daughter that.


----------



## SunnyCait (Oct 28, 2009)

Everyone passes over the PEWs, but I don't get it. They are so cute! Pink eyes freak people out I guess. You inspired me to post pictures of my rats. 

LOL! My problem is that I totally use my favorite names... For example, Isobel. I plan on using that for a daughter one day. The bigger problem though is my dog Karly... Another name I really want to use for a daughter, haha.


----------



## undergunfire (Oct 28, 2009)

YAAAY Shiloh is a rat momma again :bunnydance:!!! I want pictures! Oh, you should go hop on GM and sign up for the Holiday Swap, if you can....you can request hammies! I love doing the gift swaps.

I love the names Lavender & Sage. They are adorable for little rattie girls. Now I love the name Sage as a possible name for my new girl bun we are adopting for Morgan (when he picks one!).


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Oct 28, 2009)

Amy, I know you'd be happy! I'm sad about the mama rat- I was totally going to get her if she was there. I think Paul is relieved that I only got 2 rats, versus the 16 I probably would have ended up with if I got the mama. 

I'm thinking about joining the holiday swap, I have 803 posts on that forum but I went several months without posting so I don't know if they'll want me to participate yet? I've been in at least 2 other swaps and always was a good gift giver. Hehe, I have lots of hammocks and tunnels and stuff leftover from my previous rats, as well as fabric to make things for them, but for some reason I really like buying them from other people. I bought probably 30 hammocks from Dearpie when the girls (and Colby) were alive! I will of course keep you in mind if I decide to buy some hammocks 

Oh, got any Halloween themed names? I kind of like the idea since it's almost Halloween. Funny thing is this morning I thought a white rat named Spook would be cute. Maybe Luna and Salem? They aren't smack you in the face Halloween, but sorta! I like Snowy and Frosty too. It finally snowed here yesterday. Fun fact: I originally planned to name my 3 girls Snowy, Frosty and Icy. That's why my username on Goosemoose is Snowy and why my username here is SnowyShiloh! Paul didn't like the names so I didn't use them, but I still like them!


----------



## SunnyCait (Oct 28, 2009)

Oooo Salem is really cute! 

I'm trying to think of names that relate back to Halloween, but loosely... Are you a fan of Scooby Doo? I loved some of the names they used for the girls in "Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School", which is a movie my son has been wearing out ever since it first aired on Cartoon Network for the Hallween season. DVRs can be a blessing and a curse! LOL


----------



## undergunfire (Oct 28, 2009)

I love the name "Spook"! That was Spice's brothers (RIP) name. I got them last October from an ex coworker, so I wanted "fall-ish" names.

I like buying hammocks from people, too, Shiloh! I also trade hammocks with other hammock makers. When you are ready to buy, I can also give you the names of hammock makers that I have worked with personally & still do !


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Oct 28, 2009)

Ha, Amy! That's probably where I got the name from. Actually, I bought a really cute little Beanie Baby bear-ghost the other day to use as a Halloween decoration. His name is Quivers, but I keep calling him Spook, and I thought it would be a good name for a white rat. The idea likely got into my head because of your rat. I won't use Spook because that was your ratty 

I think Salem's kind of funny because most Salems are black and this one will be white. Then the moon is white, so Luna's appropriate. I like naming animals, for some reason naming rats is especially fun! Cait, what are the names from that movie?


----------



## undergunfire (Oct 28, 2009)

Oh, no....by all means - please do use Spook, if you like it! Little Spook was only with us for, gosh...a week? before he passed away. It wouldn't hurt my feelings or anything if you used the name. I think Spook is suuuuper fitting for a while rat.

If you are still stuck, then...Tinsel & Glitter?? Hrmmm...here is a site with some "snow names". Some are hard to read, tough, lol: http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/names/snow.htm


----------



## SunnyCait (Oct 28, 2009)

There was a Tanis (mummy's daughter), Elsa (Frankenstein's daughter)... I have to Google the others, LOL! 

*five seconds later*

Sibella, which was Dracula's daughter, Winnie who was a werewolf, and Phantasma, who was a phantom's daughter. They called her Phanty most of the time.



Edit: Ooo but Tinsel is REALLY cute!!


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Oct 28, 2009)

Great suggestions, you two! I considered naming one of my original ratties Tinsel, but Paul didn't like it for some reason even though he loves tinsel. I've since given up on getting his approval for pet names. Well, if he hates the name I won't use it (which is why Ned is Ned and not Albion or Hamish- awesome names, even if you don't think so, Paul!), and I may ask him if he likes the names, but he doesn't get to veto unless he really hates it. I take care of the pets and they're mine so I get to name them 

I'm going to go check out that website, Amy! Oh, and I thought of another really obvious one: Autumn. I've always loved that name.


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Oct 28, 2009)

Hmm, I thought of Sophie and Maeve! Not after anything, they're just cute together. Or Franziska and Leonie, which are names used in Austria (I lived in Austria for a year). When I was in Austria, I had a hamster named Leonie. She was the sweetest thing. I don't think a ratty would mind being named after her! Autumn and Salem are pretty cute together too. So many choices!


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Oct 28, 2009)

Haha, or Lucy Fur and Hallie Wynne (Lucifer and Halloween)... We could call them Lucy and Hallie most of the time!


----------



## hartleybun (Oct 28, 2009)

inkbouce:im not seeing any pics of cute little ratties here.....


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Oct 28, 2009)

Donna, we just got the photos and I finished resizing them and uploading them! I took about 60 photos, and around 12 turned out. Baby rats are wiggly! There aren't any photos of them together because Paul and I didn't even want to try to keep both of them in the same spot at once. They were running everywhere- the nonpurple baby actually made it to the edge of the kitchen counter and I caught her as she went over the side, in midair :shock2: I'm not at all coordinated, but it's good to know I can pull my act together when necessary, especially considering she went over the edge opposite to the side I was standing on and I couldn't even see what was happening.

So, on to the photos. These first ones are of the baby with the purple marked tail, to be known as Baby A until she gets a name. She's the more laid back one and smaller, and the one that I picked to be a friend for Baby B.







With her friend, Quivers the Beanie Baby bear-ghost. This shows how little she is!











Another size comparison- I swear she looks bigger than she actually is next to that can!











Baby B, the tail chasing girl who endeared herself to me at the pet store:

She cuddled against my hand! I'm sure it was partly out of fear, but better than being afraid of my hand, right?











I think this is my favorite picture:











Paul and I are impressed by how not skittish they are. They're obviously a bit nervous, but they aren't afraid of hands and let me pick them up fine. They're less antsy than our 3 girls we bought from Petco back a couple years ago, probably because they're younger. 

Well I'm off to take a shower then to bed, seeing as it's almost 3:30! I hope you guys enjoyed! Oh and does anyone have name suggestions now that you can see photos? I had another idea: Havarti and Halloumi. They're both kinds of cheese. Yummy cheese, too! They had their very first taste of cheese tonight and loved it. They even tussled over it! I'm not worried about that though, my girls wrestled all the time and they loved each other


----------



## hartleybun (Oct 28, 2009)

:inlove::shock2::faint: imagine the squeaks of delight! they are sooooo cute! one of my beloved ratty boys was a pew. still miss him riding around on my shoulder or chilling out in the pocket of my apron. 

i do remember how wriggly they are as babies - and just what good escapologists they can be too


----------



## kirsterz09 (Oct 28, 2009)

they are just way too cute!


----------



## SunnyCait (Oct 29, 2009)

I'm stuck on Salem and Tinsel! LOL Although Autumn is suuuuuper cute... Man so many awesome names!!!

They are SO adorable! Little PEW sweeties, awww! They are just dolls!


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Oct 29, 2009)

Cait, I'm considering Autumn and Soraya. Autumn for the bigger girl who chased her tail and Allegra or Soraya for the littler one. Soraya means "princess". The girl who I call my sister (I lived with her family during my year in Austria in high school) suggested Soraya. It isn't really autumny though. I feel like I should get to know the ratlings a bit more before I name them. So far, I know they're sweet girls, they love to play with each other, and they love both cheese AND macaroni and cheese. And one of them likes to chase her tail on occasion


----------



## SunnyCait (Oct 29, 2009)

Awww! I think Autumn should definitely win! They sould like they are settling in rather well. 

It usually takes me a long time before I can name anything, haha.


----------



## Blaze_Amita (Oct 29, 2009)

yes snakes do have to eat, but you know what? catch soem wild mice that live in people's houses! LOL. we're having a mouse issue in the apartment we just moved into. 
I've fed a rehabbing red tailed hawk frozen mice. we just had to thaw them in hot water for five minutes first, so the whole live mouse thing i thin kcould be gotten around


----------



## BSAR (Oct 29, 2009)

Oh the baby with the bear is just too cute!! I love ratties when their babies only...their tails freak me out.


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Oct 30, 2009)

I think I have decided upon a name for one of the rats!!! I didn't sleep last night (was working on a project) and finally got to have a nap (that accidentally lasted 6 hours!) at 2:30 this afternoon. As I was falling asleep, I thought of the name Lalita. It's Hindu and means "playful". Lalita was a character in a book I read when I was about 10. I've always thought it was pretty and the meaning is perfect for the rat that was chasing her tail at Petco! Plus the ratties seem to have 3 modes- sleep, eat, play. What do you guys think?


----------



## Platypusstar (Oct 30, 2009)

i like Abel it means Breath. or Boo XD


----------



## SunnyCait (Oct 30, 2009)

OOoo I like it!!!


----------



## fuzz16 (Oct 30, 2009)

this is how i ended up with all my rats -.- so many. lol

they were all feeders from when i worked at the pet store i fell in love with, one was a momma rat who over time got tumors and they were gonna put her down but i took her. she was great. took in one baby who didnt even have his eyes open...she was such a lover. she would just sit in my lap forever and take in all the love


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Oct 30, 2009)

Brenda, it would be so bad if I worked at a pet store that had feeder rats! Or any rats. I'd end up with a lot of them. Since rats tend to enjoy lots of company, and cages nowadays are really big, it would be so tempting to keep getting another and another...

I'm totally falling for these two little girls. They're so sweet! I don't want to freak them out too much since I've only had them for a couple of days, so I'm only taking them out of their cage once a day for 10-15 minutes at a time for a cuddle. Each day so far I can tell they're getting more comfortable with me. Tonight Purple Girl ran around on my chest, then nestled against me and closed her eyes while I rubbed her ears for a good 10 minutes. I'm actually the one who ended it by putting her back in her cage! Lalita was a bit more nervous and ran from me in the cage, then ran around all over me, but she too settled down with some good ear rubs and closed eyes and stopped shaking. My previous girls were much harder to handle than these two- they never bit, but were definitely not huge fans of physical contact. Even they loved ear rubs and would get over their fear of being touched if ear rubs were involved!

I think in a week or so, these little ones will be pretty much as tame as they could be. That makes me so happy! Also, I think we're going to call Purple Girl Annabelle. I kept accidentally calling her that tonight. It means "lovable" and she certainly is. I've thought about naming every girl pet I've had Annabelle!. I know Annabelle and Lalita aren't the most matchy names ever, but oh well!


----------



## Nela (Oct 30, 2009)

Paul wouldn't need to give his okay if this were an 'accident' Ya goof! They are adorable though


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Oct 30, 2009)

The babies are such good girls- neither peed or pooped on me at all last night or the night before when I was holding them! Let's hope they choose to keep up the trend. It would be great too if they take to the litter box well...

Braelynn, I felt guilty about getting them without Paul's permission. I don't have a cell phone, otherwise I would have called him there in the store. Also if Lalita had run back over to the other rats, I never would have known which one she was! Thankfully, Paul isn't mad about the new additions and said it didn't seem like something worth getting upset about. He pet both little rats last night as I held them and helped me take photos of them.

The Ferret Nation cage is on sale for $170 today with free shipping to Alaska on Amazon.com. I would have to modify it so the babies couldn't escape, but depending on how big they get, I could remove the modifications when they grow up. I've always wanted that cage and it looks so easy to clean! The cage is this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F4OX0E/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

They make a Critter Nation that has much smaller bar spacing, but it's $140 more expensive! 

I find it amusing that 4 days ago, we weren't going to get the mama rat because Paul didn't think we had space for another cage, but we've now figured out how we can move cages around so that our two tiny rats have a cage that would fit about 10 rats.


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Oct 30, 2009)

Woohoo I just ordered the Ferret Nation! The plan is to put the rats in the bottom half, and Phoebe Mae in the top half! Each half is 36 inches wide and 25 inches deep, then however many inches tall. It actually has about 1/4 more floor space than a 2 grid by 2 grid NIC cage, plus I'm planning to add another nearly full floor to her half. It should be marvelous! And of course the 2 ratty girls will have plennnnty of space in their half. They're going to look so ridiculously tiny in that enormous cage. 

Aside from being really big and cool and versatile, one of the main reasons I want the Ferret Nation is it will be soooo much easier to clean than my old rats' cage. That cage was hideous to clean, absolutely hideous. The idea of just opening the double doors on the cage is divine.


----------



## undergunfire (Oct 30, 2009)

Shiloh....I really would not put a rabbit in a FN. It just isn't made for bunnies. Whenever people say that they are going to do it...I always have to chime in. Having had the FN, I just don't think it is enough space. I also think it is dangerous because of the bar spacing. I can see a rabbit getting its foot caught in the bars & between the pan/bar walls & bars beneath the base pan. 

I am happy that you got it for your little girls....they will LOVE it!


----------



## fuzz16 (Oct 30, 2009)

it is really hard...ended up with 6 at one time, few had to be put down once tumors and cancer got to bad or URI wasnt gettin better and killin them slowly  

it was super hard...took home a couple buns and other little ones that came in sick and nursed them back up.they were my babies.  sadly couldnt keep them though, had enough pets as was


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Oct 30, 2009)

Amy, thanks for letting me know your concerns! I'll wait until I see it in person to decide. If I decide to put Phoebe Mae in it, I'll figure out a way to modify it so it will be safe for her. If I do use it for her, I'm planning on putting a full sized second floor in it with a little ledge she can use to hop up and down from it. Ned lives in a similar cage- I modified my old rats' cage for him. He seems to like it quite well.

For the bar spacing, did you mean it may be more dangerous because the bars go vertically instead of horizontally? The bar spacing on Ned's cage is 1 inch and the bars go horizontally. I've never worried about him getting a foot stuck. The squares on NIC panels are even bigger than 1 inch and Rory hasn't had any issues.

The cage won't be big enough for Phoebs to race around in, but she'd need to have her own bedroom for that. She gets time out of her cage every day and expends her energy running around the living room and kitchen 


And Brenda, sorry to hear about your ratties. It's always hard when pets die.


----------



## SunnyCait (Oct 31, 2009)

Yay a FN!!!  

I have one, but I hate it. I'm getting pan made for it. Then maybe I will love it like everyone else does haha!

I like the names you decided on! Very pretty!

..... I vote for more pictures? LOL


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Oct 31, 2009)

Cait, the girls are so sweet, you would love them. I can tell they've grown already and their fur is changing. We had them out on the futon for an hour tonight and they're way less nervous than they were before. Annabell didn't shiver at all tonight and cuddled with me for a long time. She even fell asleep in my hand! Lalita spent a lot of time in Paul's shirt sleeve


----------



## SunnyCait (Nov 1, 2009)

Aww! As young as they are it shouldn't take too long for them to become fully acclimated. And they'll probably be really friendly and lovey when they are bigger.


----------



## Yurusumaji (Nov 1, 2009)

Very cute babies. I hope to have rats again someday.


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Nov 2, 2009)

Cait, I think they will be sweet girls when they're adults too. I can't believe how caught up I've become with them in less than a week, but I'm happy. I love having my wonderful bunnies and ratties too. I just wish it was safe to have rats out of their cage at the same time as a bunny. So far the rats have stayed on the futon, but the buns like to come up on the futon to visit is too and I wouldn't want the bunnies to bite the rats. When the rat girls are older I may worry more about them biting the bunnies, but I don't think they're much of a risk yet.

Yesterday Paul and I went and visited a girl from the rat forum who lives here in Fairbanks. Paul lived in the same dorm as her freshman year of college (4-5 years ago) so they're acquaintances. She's very nice and has I think 18 or so rats- only 6 are hers, the rest are all rescues that she's trying to rehome. I didn't know about her before I bought my babies. She has rescues from towns 8 and 9 hours away. Anyway, she introduced us to all the rats. It was so much fun, there were rats crawling all over us and they were all really nice and friendly. She also gave me some old Ferret Nation cage liners she made, and sold me some rat food as well as a pretty nice cage that 3 of her rescues came in. I'm going to use it as a backup cage, it was only $10. She showed me how to sew hanging cubes too.

Today was a big spending day. We bought 48 shower curtain hooks to hang hammocks from, 4 rolls of hardware cloth to make our Ferret Nation safe for our baby rats (so they can't escape), a big covered bucket to keep dirty rat bedding in, a litter box for them, and enough fabric to outfit the Ferret Nation with cage liners and hammocks 6 times. I bought only the least expensive prints from WalMart (and of course fleece which is at least twice as expensive), but still managed to get some pretty cute fabrics.

Oh and we may be adopting one more rat, either from the girl with the rat rescue (who prefers to adopt them out in sets of 3- we don't want 5 rats at this point though), or if that's a no go, it turns out there's a shelter about 20 minutes from here with a sole female rat.


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Nov 2, 2009)

Cait, here are some more pictures for you. Annabell still has her purple tail marking so it's easy to tell them apart, and she's still smaller and her fur is still thinner, but it can be hard to tell their faces apart in photos. But! I noticed that Annabell has a little brown mark on her left ear, so if I can see the ear I can tell who the photo is of! I hope the spot stays.

The girls in their pouch (it's in the cage now):






Lalita:





Lalita in the handmade awesome octopus play thing (I'll post more photos of it later):





Annabell:





A handful of adorable. Annabell is the one on top:


----------



## Nela (Nov 2, 2009)

So you finally got an Annabelle? ^_^


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Nov 5, 2009)

Ooh my Ferret Nation arrived today! I hope to get it all set up tomorrow after class inkbouce: Let's hope none of the parts are broken.


----------



## JadeIcing (Nov 5, 2009)

Can't wait to see.


----------



## TinysMom (Nov 7, 2009)

I've never ever liked rats or desired them...but seeing your rats and Amy's rats and other rats that folks have...I've got to say that it is something I *might* consider at some point in time...

But it will probably have to be after Art passes away (I don't think he'd allow me to have a rat..) - and I've already told him that after he's gone I'm getting a pet skunk...which is no reflection on what living with him is like.

Anyway - if I ever do get a rat - I'm blaming it on you & Amy and all the other rattie parents on this forum who share pictures....


----------



## SunnyCait (Nov 7, 2009)

Awww they are adorable!!! You can tell they are a lot more comfortable with everything. 

I want to see pics of the cage and how you decorated it. People get really creative with those things!

Was the person you met Pink/Iris? She's on the rat forum I go on too.


----------



## irishbunny (Nov 7, 2009)

I'm in love! They are adorable!


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Nov 7, 2009)

My babies sure are cute! Cait, yes the person is Iris. She's awesome. I've actually vaguely known who she is for years, Paul lived in the same dorm as her freshman year. Her brother is friends with some of our friends. Iris came over yesterday too to meet the girls and the bunnies. Lalita unfortunately leaped from her hands and fell like 4 feet to the floor :shock: It took about 5 minutes to catch her, but we got her back! I think she's okay after her fall but I worry anyway. It was interesting because you could tell the girls are more comfortable with me than other people, even though they're still skittish, they've not tried to get away from me like that. She said the girls are less than 5 weeks old even now, so younger than I thought. Poor babies. Also, sweet Annabell is getting a URI  Iris has a great rat vet and she called her and said to give her Doxy until we can get her to the vet next week. Thankfully the URI is very mild so far. Iris has lots of rat experience and said she thinks Annabell will be fine, and that both my girls will be very nice when they grow up  She thought they were super cute (of course) and liked Annabell in particular because she's cuddly yet very adventurous. I'm glad Iris lives around here! Aside from being good with rats, she's very nice and fun. She loved the bunnies and Nedders happily sat on her lap getting pets for like half an hour.

Unfortunately, we don't have the cage up yet. I'm going to try to do it today though! I still need wire clippers or to find my Dremel to cut the hardware cloth. We've been having even more issues with wedding stuff- I never would have thought things would be so complicated! No matter what we end up doing for the wedding (meaning where it is and how big it is), someone is going to be upset. Ugh. Just wish we could magically go one year into the future and be married already.


----------



## NZminilops (Nov 7, 2009)

Oh my gosh! GORGEOUS! They look so plump and happy too compared to when my rats were babies.

So adorable, I hope you keep posting more pictures


----------



## undergunfire (Nov 8, 2009)

Just posting Shiloh's order from me here, so you can all see how adorable it is :biggrin2:. I freakin' love the strawberry fabrics.







Shiloh....if you haven't seen your GM PM's, then check it .


----------



## JadeIcing (Nov 8, 2009)

Too cute!!!


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Nov 8, 2009)

Aww, they are cute, Amy! I'm sure my girlies will like them! So far they aren't crazy about hammocks yet, but love houses and things they can hide in, so the star dome homes should go over great. I've been giving them toilet paper tubes with a little TP left on them and some tissues and they love shredding them and putting them in the houses, so I think they'll like the snuggly fleece. We can't wait to get the new items!


----------



## undergunfire (Nov 8, 2009)

My rats are the same, Shiloh....they like beds that they can burrow in. I always have double deckers, pocket hammocks, and cubes in the cage. I don't make SD's for them because I make so many of them for others, that I get burnt out .

Did you see my GM PM? I made the cube 7" all around because the 6" was going to be pretty tiny...so the 7" is a wonderful size . I'm making you up some fleecey toys, too. It will ship out tomorrow.


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Nov 9, 2009)

Amy, great! It's fine that the cube is a bit bigger. It looks like we'll be adopting either 1 or 2 more girls when Annabell is better from her URI, and the potential new ratties are all full grown so the 7 inch cube will be good for them. I love how the fabrics turned out, I can't resist strawberries and cupcakes. I actually think the small SDH with the flowers and trees is the cutest, I really like the colors. The fabrics I bought to make my hammocks and bedding from is all kind of different. One of them is white with these big red fish on them and pink waves, it looks rather '60s. 

I'm sure the babies will like their new things and the little fleece toys too! Sweet of you to send them. I will post photos of the girls with their new things when they get here.


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Nov 9, 2009)

I'm taking a break from zip tying the hardware cloth to the cage now. Last night I cut out all the hardware cloth. I've only done the doors so far and my fingers are sore already! You know, I never even owned zip ties before I got the bunnies. Now I've probably used thousands of them!


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Nov 9, 2009)

I finally finished the cage! Oh my gosh, it took about 5 hours to get the hardware cloth on the cage, assemble it, move it to the right part of the room (took a bit of maneuvering), and get everything into the cage. I can't believe it took so long! Glad I didn't know it was going to take that long when I started.

The baby girls are in the new cage. They look even tinier than before! I'll get some photos tomorrow, I'm too tired now and still have a couple things to do before I go to bed. Also I have 2 midterms tomorrow and don't get out of class until 8:30. I picked a good night to build the cage, huh? :disgust: I wanted the girls to move in though...


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Nov 10, 2009)

Lalita and Annabell went to the vet today for Annabell's URI. The good news is that Annabell has only been on Doxy for 2 days and her gurgly breathing is already going away. She only made the sound once at the vet office even though she was probably pretty stressed out. I'm going to keep her on antibiotics for 2 weeks though. I'm glad we started treating the URI really early so it never had a chance to turn into something serious. She did well at the vet office. The vet loved her and gave her lots of kisses, it was cute.

The bad news is that poor Lalita, who came along for moral support, was utterly terrified and when we set her down on the scale to be weighed, she rocketed off the exam table and fell to the floor (she landed on a pad, thankfully) and hid behind a something in the corner. The vet got her out, but then she leaped out of her hands! Both times when she jumped, she SCREAMED. I had never heard a rat scream. It was so sad and she was so scared! She does fine at home when it's just Paul and I, but other people and obviously being in weird places freaks her out. Then when we got her home and they were back in the cage, I noticed the pan in the Ferret Nation has a little space on each side between it and the sides of the cage. I pushed it to one side, and unbeknownst to me poor Lalita was standing on the edge of the pan and I accidentally pinched her tail or foot and she squeaked :cry2 I didn't push very hard, stopped right when she squeaked, and Paul didn't even hear the squeak, but I feel sooo bad. I looked her over and can't find any damage. But that poor girl has had a bad day!


----------



## undergunfire (Nov 10, 2009)

Oh now! Poor girls....I hope everything turns out okay!

That is one bad thing about the FN, is that it is so large & meant for Ferrets, that little rats can get hurt. Even with the CN, too.


----------



## irishbunny (Nov 10, 2009)

Wow Amy I love those cage accesories you made! I really like the cube hidey house thing! Are they washable?


----------



## undergunfire (Nov 10, 2009)

*irishbunny wrote: *


> Wow Amy I love those cage accesories you made! I really like the cube hidey house thing! Are they washable?


Thank you :biggrin2:! Yep, everything is machine washable & dryer safe.


----------



## Nela (Nov 11, 2009)

Amy, those are awesome :biggrin2:

Shiloh, I can't wait to see the setup. I'm sure it will have been worth the time it took :rose:


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Nov 11, 2009)

Sorry for flaking on the cage photos! I've been too lazy to take photos so far. I need to get on it because the girls are growing so fast! They're so much bigger than when I got them. Still babies, but they've been growing well.

The girls are more skittish than normal today, I think because of their adventure yesterday. Lalita has a little bit of porphyrin around her nose right now. I suspect it's because she was so stressed out yesterday. Hopefully she isn't actually sick!


----------



## irishbunny (Nov 14, 2009)

How are they now?
Got any more pictures? :inlove:


----------



## peppa and georgie (Nov 14, 2009)

I love rats too they are gorgeous and those handmade cubes and beds are just amazing and sooo cute.
I love the ratty pics with the teddy best, they are so pretty and such girly rats.
I found a site that shows you how to make your own rat cage called a ratty heaven.
I cant find the link anymore though, it was like a tall wooden furniture cabinet, but with mesh doors and lots of shelves for levels etc.
Can we see some more pics they are great.

karen


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Nov 15, 2009)

I promise to take photos of the girls later today! I can't believe I haven't taken any in like a week and a half. Normally that wouldn't seem like a lot of time, but they're growing so fast. Good news is I haven't heard Bella sneeze/cough (it sounds like a chicken clucking) at all in the past 24 hours, she's been on meds for 1 week now so that's good.

Oh and Amy, I found the strawberry fabric at Joann's today! It's so cute that I bought some of it and a coordinating dark pink-purple fleece so I can make matching hammocks and stuff to go with your cube  The fleece was purply enough to not activate my Hate Pink response. I have no issue with bright pink being on the inside of hammocks and stuff, but I'm planning to use the fleece to line the shelves and pan and needed a shade I could live with. I also bought 2 other flannels and several kinds of fleece. One is hilarious, it's bright green with apples and little birds and owls and other weird 60s stuff, and the other is baby pink and gray with elephants. Elephants always win me over. I've decided I have to go back to Joann's tomorrow and am seriously considering buying some Volkswagen Beetle flannel too. 

Tonight I made 4 fleecy things- 2 pouches, a pocket hammock and a long tube. I may post photos, they certainly aren't works of art. I used the no sew method with knotting: http://www.suzsugargliders.com/nosewaccessories.htm Let me tell you, it would have been way faster to just use the sewing machine. The little fringe is cute though and 3 of the items are a gift so of course they all have to be done in the same style.

That's probably enough blabbering about fabric for now. Let me say that I'm really enjoying having ratties again, even though I've already spent over $500 on things for them in the past 2 weeks :shock2: You know, giant new cage, things to put in cage, fabric, vet bills, medicine, food, temporary cage, litter, all that kind of stuff. Hopefully I'll be able to escape spending too much money on them for a while! All I can say is it was meant to be, because my tax refund arrived about 3 days before I got the girls so that's covered all their expenses so far.


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Nov 15, 2009)

No baby rat pictures yet, I decided to take some photos of the hammocks I made for a gift and the battery in my camera died. If you can believe it, I've had the camera for nearly a year and have taken over 2000 photos, and the battery JUST NOW died for the first time! The reason I haven't been taking pictures of the ratties is I knew my battery was about to die and didn't know where the charger was because I haven't had to use it. Good news is I did find the charger so I should be able to take photos in a couple hours!

Here are wonky photos of the hammocks I made. There's a tube (it's longer than it looks, I have it curved in the photo), a pocket hammock, a corner hammock, and a hanging pouch. I think they turned out pretty cute. I just hope they stay knotted when washed! I know it isn't very impressive, but I came up with the idea for the pocket hammock and tube knot-style myself, though I'm sure a lot of other people have done them too. After making the pocket hammock, I realized it could have been a lot faster if I'd used one long piece of fabric folded over on itself rather than 3 pieces. Oh well, live and learn!


















I made a little mini sleeping bag for my girlies as a practice run, I'll get photos of them in it later when the battery is charged.


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Nov 17, 2009)

As promised, here are photos of the girls! I'll have had them 3 weeks as of tomorrow. They have grown SO much since I got them, they're at least twice the size and getting bigger every day!

A week ago they spent lots of time sleeping in the pink elephant, now they're a little too big...





















Annabell:











peeping out of the bonding pouch:






Lalita (compare this photo to the one 3 weeks ago!):






Annnnnd, saving the best for last!






I will try to get some more tomorrow!


----------



## irishlops (Nov 17, 2009)

Shiloh, are you trying to kill me with cutness????
there are lovely!


----------



## peppa and georgie (Nov 17, 2009)

Sooo very cute xxx


----------



## hartleybun (Nov 17, 2009)

:faint::inlove:whisker pic overload!


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Nov 18, 2009)

Woowoo! I sewed the ratties 5 hammocks today! I will post photos of them in the cage tomorrow. I used a really cute baby print with bunnies and moons on it. Any rat living in my house must like bunnies!

Today the girls have officially been with me 3 weeks. It feels like much longer. I weighed Annabell and she has gained 50 grams in 1 week! How cool is that? Last Monday she weighed 100 grams. Way to grow, little one. She still has the persistent URI and we're entering week 2 of treatment, but it obviously isn't affecting her growth. She and Lalita are the same size now and their fur is feeling like adult fur now. 

Lalita and I had a bit of a breakthrough tonight. She's the more shy one of the two. I was sitting on the floor in front of their cage, tidying it up (they like to drag everything around), and I replenished their supply of lab blocks and Suebee's mix. Lalita decided the food all belonged in the igloo on the 2nd level, so we got a system down where she would run to the edge of the shelf, I'd hand her a piece of food, and she'd put it in the igloo. Repeat about 30 times. Then she started diving down my shirt sleeves and actually walked out on my hand several times and would jump onto my knee. Annabell got in on the action too. They would run to the edge of the cage and hang over the side until I came close enough for them to climb on. It was so cute, we played like that for about half an hour. They wanted to keep playing, but it's almost 5 am and I haven't gone to bed yet so we had to say night night. It was great though, both girls were having fun and Lalita really came out of her shell. Hopefully the same thing happens tomorrow!


----------



## peppa and georgie (Nov 18, 2009)

Arrr that is lovely, when you have two there is always a shy one isnt there, it seems to happen with all my pets, like they take the position and sometimes if the shy one is unfortunately left on there own when a new one comes they are the confident one and the new one is shy.
not sure if that made sense or not lol


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Nov 19, 2009)

I finally took a picture of the girls' cage! The towel is actually purple and I sewed all the hammocks last night  There's a pocket hammock, tube, regular hammock, pouch, and a big square hammock with the corners pulled up to make a little nest. This photo was before I added a few more toys. The litter box is in the bottom left corner behind the pocket hammock. In the photo, Lalita is on top and Annabell is on the bottom. Right now both girlies are hanging out in the pocket hammock! They have essentially ignored all the hammocks I've put in the cage until now, maybe they like my wonky hammocks better!


----------



## peppa and georgie (Nov 19, 2009)

so cute, i love them where did you get the cage it is great x


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Dec 1, 2009)

Thought I'd update this! The girls are doing so well! They're growing like weeds. They don't look like babies anymore, they look like little adults! Annabell has actually surpassed Lalita in weight and is 200 grams, Lita is 180 grams. We're still fighting Bella's URI, but it obviously isn't impacting her growth at all and she's very active and curious. Both girls are still a little skittish (sometimes more than others) but have made great strides. I'm sure they'll be pretty laid back in a few months! A girl on the rat forum got a pair of baby rats right around the time I got my girls, and my girls seem tamer than hers even though they were never handled before me.

Also, the girls are going to be babysat by a girl on the ratty forum who lives here in town. We've become friends. I'm going to be out of town for almost a whole month from the middle of December until the middle of January  The girls are going to live with 6 of her 9 foster rats during that time. I'm going to miss them, but I'm sure she'll spoil them and they'll love the company! Best of all is when we go to pick them up after the month, we're going to bring home two (or maybe even 3 since she has a trio I really like) of the foster rats  We'll take home whichever two Bella and Lita seem to like the best. How cool is that, they get to pick their friends!

Paul is going to take care of the buns and birds while I'm gone. He's going to have a lot on his hands! I'm going to miss my Paul and my animals 

Also, I've sewn two more sets of hammocks for the girls! I've done regular flat hammocks, tubes, pocket hammocks, pouches, double deckers and a nifty kind that I think is called a bunk bed. If I may say, my skills are improving a lot and they look pretty good! Tomorrow I will post updated photos of the babies and a picture of their cage with the most recent bedding.


----------



## hartleybun (Dec 1, 2009)

i shall now go away and prepare for the next lot of cute rattie pics.....:biggrin2:


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Dec 2, 2009)

Donna, here are the photos I promised! I'm not going to label each photo with who each rat is, but if you can see the tails, Annabell is the one with the purple sharpie.

New hammock set that I made for them. The double decker hammock (the one in the middle) needs to have a wider top, but I was guessing when I made it!






When I open the doors of the cage, they both come to the front and like to hang out of the cage at the corners like this:































One of the girls (sorry, I don't remember who, I think it's Annabell though) with a soda can for a size comparison. Look at them now compared to 5 weeks ago with the soda can!






Peeking out of the hammock that my buddy from the gift swap on the rat forum sent me:






Me trying to hold onto Annabell so they'd both be in the photo together... They were both pretty hyper tonight and kept taking off in opposite directions.






Kind of like this!






I hope you enjoyed the photos of my gorgeous girls :biggrin2:


----------



## hartleybun (Dec 2, 2009)

:inlove::faint::adorable:i should have waited until i get back from daughter's meet the tutor evening....mind you such rattyness will get me thru the obligatory speech that one of the faculty is bound to give

what great looking hammocks etc - those rats have really landed on their paws (hopes this sentiment isnt lost in translation!) my beloved rizzo rat used to love hanging from the bars by his tail - for some reason


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Dec 21, 2009)

I love my baby girls! They are sweeties. They were the best impulse purchase ever. They're still little girls and are about 3 months old now. Amy, the past few days they have been hanging out in your star dome home more than any of the hammocks!


----------



## mistyjr (Dec 21, 2009)

They are so adorable.. Congrats Mommy


----------



## nicolevins (Dec 25, 2009)

aww! so cute  hopefully you get a pic or two in a few days/weeks


----------



## nicolevins (Dec 25, 2009)

^ posted that b4 i noticed the 2nd, 3rd & 4th page


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Dec 27, 2009)

Today we are going to get 3 girls from my friend! She has a small rescue with 9 rescue girls. 3 of the girls came in together and don't get along with the other rats and have to be caged separately and have play time separately. My friend feels all the other rats (she has 13 total) are stressing 1 of the girls out and that they'd be happier with a much smaller group of rats. Since my girls are still young and I only have 2, we're hoping they will get along with mine. It's a good thing I got a 2 level Ferret Nation because I'm going to have to make the upper level for the rats, too. 

Of the trio, 1 is actually a hooded agouti and 1 is a Siamese. 1 is a PEW. I completely love the PEW and the Siamese, they are great girls. The hooded girl is the one who causes the problems with the other rats (she's a bully) and doesn't like people very much, but my friend thinks she will benefit from having an owner who can give her more one on one time. 

The funny thing is that these 3 girls were surrendered by the girl who we adopted Colby Jack from 2 1/2 years ago- she decided she didn't want her rats anymore  They are all 15 months old and 2 of them were actually born to the rat that belonged to another member of Goosemoose, so I have baby pictures of them  If everything works out, the 2 girls will have lived with all 4 of the Alaskan members of Goosemoose. 

The plan is to bring the trio home and let them settle in for a few days, then introduce them to my babies. I hope it goes well! If it doesn't, we can bring them back to her and adopt 2 of her other rescues. 

Wish us luck and I will post photos of the 3 lovely ladies (plus my little darlings, who are doing splendidly) tonight.


----------



## hartleybun (Dec 27, 2009)

thanks for the warning of future cute rattiness! gives me chance to prepare cant help you with the ferret question tho, sorry


----------



## TinysMom (Dec 27, 2009)

STOP THIS...you almost make me want a rattie....and I don't like rats at all. You & Amy always seem to show them looking and acting so cute - its not fair.


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Dec 27, 2009)

Peg, rats really are sweeties. I love my girls. I'm glad we're getting the 3 today. I'm heading to my friend's house in about a hour, we're going to sew and bake cookies and stuff and then take the girls home tonight.

I considered not adopting more rats since Skyler is sick, but taking the 3 girls will really help my friend out and 5 rats won't really need much more of my time than 2. They'll come out of their cage for the same amount of time each day. I'll have to clean the cage a bit more frequently and spend a bit more time on the rats individually (especially the agouti hooded), but I will be able to handle it. Also, these girls have been very healthy- my friend has 2 the uncle and brother of the PEW and Siamese and they have always been super healthy. Paul and I talked it over and we're willing to take the risk of them needing pricy vet care. If it was just me, no way, I couldn't afford vet care for all of them, but Paul thankfully can afford vet care if they need it. These girls have never even been to the vet since they were young though (they had SDA has babies!!). I hope the girls live for a while. Like I said earlier, they're all 15 months old now. 

It will be interesting having 5. I've never had this many before! We've been spoiled by our girls- they took to the litter box right away and never poop when they're out of the cage. The trio is more "free" in their pooping habits. I wonder if our girls will start pooping everywhere now too? And our girls are super gentle when it comes to food- they carefully take food from my fingers, even if it's something really tasty, but the trio GRABS (watch out for fingers!) and stick their arms out of the cage when they want food (which I think is hilarious). I'm assuming it will only be a matter of days until my girls are doing the same thing since they'll have to be more proactive if they're going to get any food with their grabby friends present! We're going to rat proof the bedroom too (so far our girls only play on the couch, but I know the trio will be off the couch in less than a minute if we try that). We decided it would be easier to make our bedroom the ratty play area since there are fewer cords, fewer hiding places, and the bunnies and birds live downstairs. I would have preferred to get the rat proofing done already, but our friend would like the girls out of the house today so she can make a double wide out of her 2 Ferret Nations! It's probably just as well for the trio to settle in for a couple days before we bring them out to play or we may never see them again :biggrin2:

Here is a photo my friend took of the girls. You can see the PEW in the center, the Siamese on the right and the hooded girl's tail!


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Dec 28, 2009)

The girlies are HOME! They don't seem scared really. The agouti hooded let me hold her for the first time. I held the PEW girl up to my girls and they sniffed each other. I think she is my favorite of the three so far. Pictures will be coming later!


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Dec 28, 2009)

I really hope these girls get along with my girls because I love them already! They're such sweeties. The agouti hooded girl is a little more reclusive than her friends, but still sweet. They don't really seem scared being in a new place and ran around exploring everything and going in all the hammocks as soon as I put them in their new cage. The plan is to let them settle in for a few days, then introduce them to my little girls on the bed upstairs.

I got a LOT of photos! Even more than these, but they're so cute that I have to share.











Moments after putting them in the cage:




















She is the sweetest of the 3:





PEW girl tries to steal the Greenie:















She is the most adventurous of the 3 (and they're all pretty adventurous)




















We forgot to buy a water bottle so they get to drink out of a mug for tonight:





With more toys added in (there's a big Capri Sun box behind the tube on the 2nd level as well):





Cute, huh? They're so curious and funny! The PEW and Siamese are much more confident than my little babies. The little girls have made lots of progress, but my friend said they probably won't mellow out a bit until they're about 6 months old.

Anyone have name suggestions? I'm planning on naming the hooded girl Saskia and am considering Clementine for the Siamese. Winter for the PEW would be nice, but there are a lot of white rats named Winter so I don't know.


----------



## irishbunny (Dec 28, 2009)

They are gorgeous! I really like the hooded girl :inlove:
I'll try think of some names


----------



## SnowyShiloh (Dec 28, 2009)

Grace, it's so weird suddenly having two non-PEW rats. All of my rats have been white with red eyes. Saskia is so much more photogenic because her eyes don't glow in photos (plus she's just a cutie!). I hope she can come around some with work. My friend thinks she just needs extra love.


----------

