by Yesterday we went to the pet store to buy some Yogies, and came home
with two new rats (and the Yogies).
Rat #1 is a cute little black and white hooded girl, probably three
months old. Rat #2 is a bit older, maybe five or six months, and
beige. I was just going to get Rat #1, but my fiance decided that he
really, really liked #2 ("But look how interested in us she is! She's
so cute! Um... um... the other one will get *lonely* in quarantine!")
so we took her home too, although I'm kind of worried about her since
there seems to be some redness around one of her eyes. She looks
otherwise healthy, but that one eye looks like she's been out drinking
heavily for a few days. I hope it's just a scratch or something.
Pesky fiance.
They're both very sleek, slim, and shiny. They've definitely decided
the aquarium here (for quarantine) is their spot, but if removed
they'll take an interest in exploring. The little one does not at all
like being picked up, and she's amazingly fast and agile. The bigger
one seems calmer about hands, but more nervous about the rest of the
world. They've both shown a great interest in burrowing underneath
the litter (which my girls don't do) in addition to digging it out of
all the corners of the cage (which they do).
They haven't got names quite yet, but we'll probably work that out
tonight. I'm a bit torn on the little one -- there are a couple ideas
I had that I think *sound* better, but I'm tempted by Celaeno (one of
the harpies) because she thinks she can fly.
These guys are quite a bit older than my previous and existing rats
were when I got them, and they're not really familiar with the concept
of "treats". How do you get a rat to realize it wants that yummy
thing you're holding?
-- Theresa
tiger_spot(at)hotmail.com