Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Blaze

Remi

Rex

Meet Remi, Rex, and Blaze

Recently, we decided to adopt three new boys from a local rescue: Remi, Rex, and Blaze. They are all bonded boys, possibly brothers, about 7-8 months old. Their original family loved them very much but had no choice but to give them up when one of the family developed severe allergies. It was a difficult decision for their family, but I want to assure them that these boys have found a loving home and we will do everything in our power to ensure they lead happy lives.

Currently, the boys are housed in our quarantine cage (a Martins R695). Once they can join the existing mischief, we will try to integrate them into the quad Critter Nation, currently housing Hammie, Jeremy, Lilly, Max, Sam, and Gandalf. If need be, the quad can be separated into two DCNs (or the top and bottom levels can be closed off).

Remi

Remi is a gray-colored rex rat - my guess is he is a dark slate blue, but I am very bad with colors. He is darker than Gabe was (our only other blue rat), but I do not believe he is a Russian blue as he has one ruby eye (my understanding is that Russian blue only comes with black eyes). I believe he is a Berkshire, and like his two "brothers," appears to have high white markings (in Remi's case, a lightening blaze and odd eye) - although he is past the highest risk for megacolon at this age.

Remi has a head tilt. It was treated by the rescue but did not resolve after two courses of antibiotics. It is possible that there had been an ear infection and that the damage has not healed or may never heal. It is also possible that a tumor may be in play, although he is a bit young for a pituitary tumor (PT) in my experience. We will be watching him carefully for any other signs of PT and will have our vet check him out to make sure there isn't something else that should be done.

Aside from the head tilt, he acts and behaves fine and appears to be healthy.

Rex

Rex is a black Berkshire dumbo with a lightening blaze and straight (normal) coat. He loves to pose for pictures!

Blaze

Blaze is a black Berkshire with a wedge blaze, normal coat, top ears. Blaze is the more timid of the three, but he is warming up to us nicely. He is a little camera shy.

Happy July 4th!

 

 

Burt was our model for the 4th of July photo shoot this year. He is doing really well despite his lymphoma (and also an injury he sustained to his right rear leg opposite the tumor). His breathing is visible, a sign that the cancer is progressing, but his appetite is good and his spirits are bright and he just can't resist hamming it up for the camera. I love to photograph Burt - he always seems to have a smile on his face. Some of the other shots:

 

You can really see the tumor on his thigh in this pic.

Lilly was also up for some 4th of July pictures. She did marvelously well - a lot more outgoing than our first photo shoot attempt at Valentine's Day.

Ratropolis Rats Update: Lilly, Gandolf, and a Second DCN in the Rat Room

Lilly discovers the joy of the hammock in her new top half of a DCN.



Lilly

Lilly is officially and definitively Not Pregnant! It has been 23 days since I took her in. Given the normal gestational period is 21 - 23 days, we should be in the clear. Thus, I have scheduled her for a pre-spay appointment on Thursday, and hopefully a spay the following week if she checks out okay and there are any openings on the vet's surgical calendar.

Gandolf

Gandolf had what I thought was an abscess on his side/thigh area. When I got him to the vet, the lump had become less prominent, being only visible when he stretched. Turned out, the lump was a hernia and not an abscess at all. The good news is that the vet said that it is correcting itself, and that seems to be the case. I can no longer see the lump at all. But introductions between the new rats and the existing rats won't be taking place until I am sure he is completely healed, as I do not wish for him to reinjure himself during a scuffle. Should the lump get worse, he may have needed surgical intervention, but it looks like that is not going to be necessary.

New DCN

The new cage on the left (Lilly on top and her boys on the bottom);
The old cage on the right, with Burt, Ruby, Hammie, and Jeremy.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I wanted a second DCN for Lilly and her boys. Unfortunately, I missed out on the good deal currently at Petsmart, but hopefully others were able to take advantage of it. I really prefer this cage to any other and I am happy to have all the rats in DCNs in the rat room. Lilly is on the top half, with the ramp zip-tied in the up position and the full tray moved from the lower level to the upper level so there is no window/access to the cage below with the boys.

The existing rats aren't too pleased about their new neighbors. All four have been known to pace the adjacent wall all puffed up and indignant looking. They are not quite ready for introductions yet, but that is okay, as Gandolf needs to heal completely and I want to have Lilly spayed and moved back in with her boys before getting to that. In the mean time, they can adjust to being neighbors and watching the new rats play in the rat room during their turn at out time.

If/when the two groups are introduced, I would like to convert the two DCNs to a quad. It might be a little more complicated because the latest DCN design has added a bolt to the side leg of the stand and that bolt may prevent the two cages from standing completely flush against each other. However, any gap should not be large enough for rats to escape through. So I believe it will still be possible. Not looking forward to taking the cages apart and putting them back together, though! That is always an ordeal.

Lilly May Have Gone Into Heat

Lilly

As you may recall, we adopted Lilly (and her three boys) almost a week ago. When a volunteer went to pull her from the shelter, she discovered that the shelter staff had put Lilly back in the cage with her sons - a situation that was likely going to lead to pregnancy. We chose to adopt her anyway and put her on pregnancy watch.

I have been checking Lilly every evening for signs of going into heat - as an indication that she may not be pregnant. Good news! Yesterday, I believe I witnessed signs of Lilly being in heat. I was massaging her hips and every time I did that, she would friskily hop away. I even think I saw her ears vibrate at least once. When I looked at her lady parts, her vaginal opening appeared very "open."

I am no expert (never having had an intact female before), but I believe these are all signs of heat. And the signs were quite obvious to me, so I am fairly certain Lilly is not pregnant.

That is a huge relief. As interesting as raising a litter may be and as cute as the babies may be, it would have been quite a challenge to raise all of those rats (we already doubled the number of rats in our house when we took Lilly and her boys) and to find them all good homes. I would always worry about the rats that found new homes: Were they taken care of? Were they getting necessary vet care? Did they get attention? Did they have rattie friends throughout their life and a good cage and diet? Add to that the potential megacolon risks from high white markings, and it is a welcome relief to be reasonably certain there will be no more babies in Lilly's future.

So now I plan to move her to another cage - one with more space and fun things to do. I will check again in 4 to 5 days to see if the signs of heat recur, just to make sure I have this right. I can't wait to get her spayed and put her back with her boys.

I am thinking about ordering another Dual Critter Nation for Lilly and her boys. If they can be successfully introduced to the other rats, we could make it a Quad. If not, they can live separately in their own DCNs.

Jeremy Is Recovering Post Neuter

Jeremy Chillin' in his Igloo the Day after his Neuter

Jeremy's neuter went off yesterday without a hitch. He is safe and comfy at home, with the top half of the Critter Nation all to himself as his hospital cage. He has one low-hanging hammock, an igloo stuffed with fleece, a litter box, and a food dish. His liner/fleece/hammock gets changed daily, as does the litter box.

He is eating fine and having normal bowel movements, and while he seems to want to hide in the igloo for a while, he was pretty spry and active when he came out for his breakfast. His neuter incision looks good.

In the mean time, Burt, Hammie, and Ruby have been confined to the lower level, where they are enjoying a little peace and quiet.

Jeremy Has a Pre-Neuter Appointment Scheduled

The way I have it figured, Jeremy should be turning 6 months right about now. And just like clockwork, those hormones have kicked into high gear. Since Burt and Hammie were neutered, Jeremy has stepped up as alpha rat (despite the fact that he is the smallest rat of the pack and slightly lame in his rear right leg [sometimes, when nobody is listening, I like to refer to him as Kaiser Söze]). However, until now, there has been no blood drawn. Yesterday, that changed.

At the end of out time yesterday, Jeremy and Hammie got into a really bad scuffle that left both rats bleeding, Hammie with two bite marks - one on each shoulder. Jeremy was the clear instigator. After I got the boys separated and cleaned up, I noticed that Burt also had a scab on his thigh. It didn't take too much imagination to figure out what had happened there.

So I have committed to the neuter, and Jeremy has his pre-neuter appointment scheduled for Monday. To be honest, I had been considering it even before now. Jeremy has served as instigator in a few too many scuffles. These scuffles were not introduction scuffles where the rats were establishing a pecking order. These were becoming a pattern of behavior for Jeremy. Even though these scuffles did not result in blood (no blood, no foul), everyone (including Jeremy) would be happier if Jeremy's hormones could be brought under control. I was just hoping to wait until spring, when I didn't have to worry about traveling to the exotics vet that does neuters during bad winter weather. That ship has now sailed.

This will be my second time doing neuters. I was very nervous and apprehensive about doing Burt and Hammie's neuters back in September. But they came through surgery so well and the neuters have made both rats so much happier, that I am actually looking forward to having Jeremy done and am relieved that some of the extra friction in the rat room may soon be a thing of the past. Of course, I will always be nervous the day of the surgery, but I feel much more calm having gone through the process before.

Introductions are Over: Sometimes Rats Just Need to Duke It Out

Hammie, Ruby, Jeremy, and Burt enjoy breakfast together.

Hammie, Ruby, Jeremy, and Burt are finally living together in the DCN. The ramp is down and they have access to all levels. We are greatly saddened that Bobo couldn't be here as part of the group. We know he would have loved the company and the space. This successful introduction is bittersweet without Bobo taking part in it. However, it wouldn't be fair to just stop working with the other rats because we are grieving Bobo's loss, so we keep trudging forward.

It was a long journey. Hammie, Jeremy, and Bobo were adopted at the beginning of August. Three months and two neuters later, everyone is finally comfortable enough with each other to be able to share the same cage. There was a lot of supervised play time and, over the last week, a lot of supervised cage intros. Last night, they spent their first night together, and this morning, they all ran to the same shelf to get their breakfast - no longer phased by the company of the other rats.

Sometimes the introduction process is tricky. Rats love the company of other rats, but sometimes, they can't help but think of a new rat as competition, as a threat, or as an intruder to their territory. Hormonal males are especially difficult. Some rats can never be introduced, but sometimes we are tempted to give up too soon.

We learned that neuters can be amazing, but it can take a few weeks for the hormones to die down. Burt and Hammie started intros again one week after their neuters, but that wasn't long enough and both got hurt. Burt's wounds became infected. The healing process took a bit of time, and the experience made Burt extra nervous around the other rats. However, neither Burt nor Hammie has bitten any other rat since their altercation shortly after the neuter. Neither rat has sought out conflict, although Burt will defend himself if provoked. Hammie has actually gone from the most rat-aggressive to the most rat-friendly. Jeremy (the remaining intact rat) has become the biggest trouble maker, loving to provoke a fight. However, he is really just looking to stir things up and he has never caused injury to anyone, so at this time, a neuter isn't necessary. I don't think introductions would have ever been possible without the neuters.

We are trained to look for signs of aggression in our rats during intros, and if we see those signs, to separate the rats, slow down, and back up a step. Signs we look for are arching of the back, shoving their rumps into each other, and getting into loud and angry fights that leave their fur standing up on end. Taking it slow and cautious is the proper way to proceed at first. You don't want to throw them unprepared into a scary situation that will scar them emotionally. You don't want their first impression of the other rats to be an extremely negative one. That is an impression that is hard to erase. But some rats won't ever progress if we are too cautious. Sometimes we have to take risks if we want to see what our rats are capable of and if we want to eventually move forward.

My advice is always to start by taking it slow and easy. No need to rush into anything. However, not every intro is going to go off with our rats being best friends at first sight. If they did go off that way, we wouldn't need intros in the first place. Instead, rats need to establish the rat hierarchy before they can live peacefully together. They need to know who is the top rat (if there even is one), and what kind of behavior to expect from the new rats. This process necessarily involves some risk.

The general rule to follow is no blood, no foul. This is my gospel. It is okay to back off intros a bit when things get a little too heated at first, but if those heated exchanges continue repeatedly, you will never move forward until you let them work through them. This means risking someone getting hurt. Just be sure to be vigilant and not leave them unsupervised. Be ready to intercede if needed. And as soon as someone does get hurt, you absolutely must back off intros or the violence could escalate. With males, this is a sign that a neuter is necessary. It is very hard to proceed with intros if blood is being drawn. It could be the injuries occurred because you rushed intros or skipped some steps. But when that is not the case, more drastic measures may be called for. If neuters are ineffective, it may be that these specific rats just can't live together. You may have a rat who just won't get along with other rats. Or, you might have better luck introducing the rat to a different rat, or a rat of the opposite sex (assuming one is neutered/spayed).

If no blood is being shed, but introductions are still a bit rocky and progress has stalled, then go ahead and put up with more aggressive behavior than you may want to. If they are not actually hurting each other, just posturing, threatening, screeching a little, and/or doing battle without causing injury, then chances are good that with perserverence, they can work their issues out themselves. If they wanted to hurt each other, they could. But they are not. That says a lot. Sometimes, just putting up with the undesirable behavior is not enough. Sometimes you need to move forward despite it. This is true only when it is clear that nothing is going to change if you continue with the status quo.

We moved ahead with cage intros even though Jeremy and Burt were still getting into some fights. Normally, I would want everyone getting along during supervised play time before trying cage intros. However, our intros had been going on for a long time with the same results and we were hitting a wall. The problem is that Burt and Jeremy would get into a fight, then Burt would run away to me or somewhere where Jeremy didn't follow or couldn't get to him. Burt would basically avoid Jeremy. They weren't working out their conflicts, Burt was avoiding them.

Cage intros seemed to be the way to go, because in the cage, there isn't anyone Burt could run to and there isn't anyplace where he could completely get away from Jeremy. He could seek safety in a cube or hut or tube, but Jeremy could always approach him and force him to deal with the situation. They needed to deal with each other head on. Again, I emphasize here that neither rat had ever bitten the other. After several days of supervised cage intros (taking place for a few hours a day), Burt seemed to tolerate Jeremy better and Jeremy stopped harassing Burt so much. We tried a day of cage integration with periodic supervision and periods of being left alone. It went extremely well, so I felt comfortable leaving them together at night. By morning, they were all acting like they had lived together forever.

Basically, we had to force Burt and Jeremy to live together with each other before they would actually try to get along. This is similar to the philosophy of using a carrier and a car ride to further introductions (again, a technique I would only recommend if you know that the rats aren't going to draw blood). The stress of the car ride and being forced close together in a carrier makes the rats forget their animosity and actually potentially take comfort with each other. We employed this method with Ruby and the new rats because we knew no one would hurt her and she was so afraid of them at first that she just wanted to hide. It helped a lot. It might have been very successful with Burt and Jeremy as well, but I didn't feel comfortable forcing them together in such a small space, so I thought the cage was the best way to go.

I am not claiming that there won't be future issues, but it looks like it will be mostly downhill from here. I have no fears about anyone hurting anyone else, and what is more, they all actually seem to like each other now, not just tolerate each other.

One thing is certain, we wouldn't have made it to this point if I didn't allow a little supervised conflict.

Bobo Had a Tragic Fall

Me and Bobo on Halloween

This is the hardest post I think I will ever have to write. I didn't want to write it. I wanted to wait a few days for the pain to deaden, so it would be easier. But somehow I feel like it has to be written now, while it is still real and immediate.

Bobo was out playing with the other rats in the rat room yesterday evening. I was sitting on the loveseat watching television while they played around me. Bobo is a very social boy and always jumps on and off the loveseat to say hello, then rushes off to do rattie things again. He's a flyby greeter, always on the go.

Or, I mean, he was.

Yesterday, he was jumping around on the love seat, when he suddenly got a little too close to the edge and he tumbled off and fell to the floor. It was a very short distance, less than the distance from my knee to my foot. One of the floor mats that I made was on the floor where he landed. I didn't think anything of it, because he jumps on and off that sofa like nothing all the time. But my baby didn't get back up.

I bent over to see what happened and found him curled on his side on the ground. He twitched a tiny bit and then just didn't move again. He was gone. Just like that. I couldn't believe it. I was in shock. I got out my stethoscope to listen for a heartbeat because I thought he couldn't be gone just like that. Maybe he was just in shock. But there was no heartbeat. I had to listen to the other rats' hearts to make sure the stethoscope was working. It was. Bobo was gone. I couldn't understand it. Things like that just don't happen. At least, they shouldn't ever happen.

He had to have landed wrong - on his head or on his back. I don't know how that could have happened, because he was like a cat - always landing on his feet. And he didn't fall very far. It was suggested to me that maybe he had a seizure or something, because rats are very adept, and I would really like to believe that, but Bobo had no history of seizures and I really think he just was over excited and misjudged the edge of the love seat. I want to believe that there was something else wrong and that this couldn't have been prevented, but I just don't believe it. It was one awful, terrible moment in time that I just can't get back to do over.

I would like to write something about how to cope with an accident like this, but I can't, because I  don't know how to cope with it. I've never lost a rat to an accident. I am devastated. I am heart broken. I am angry at myself that I could allow this to happen. I was supposed to be giving him a better life than the one he was rescued from, and now he is gone . . . way too soon. Naturally, I can't help but feel that this is all my fault. There were a million little things I could have done differently, that wouldn't have ended up with Bobo in that exact position at that exact time. Of course, I couldn't have known before it happened that it would end like this. But the one thing that became clear is the fact that the floor mats weren't enough to protect him and keep him safe. His environment was unsafe, and that was my responsibility and my fault.

I had spent a lot of time thinking about the floor of the rat room in the past. It is concrete, so it is hard. I had thought about putting comforters down, but that carries the risk that the rats will burrow underneath them and then we might step on them by mistake. Also, comforters can be easily chewed and the batting or fiberfill inside can be stringy and dangerous. Cushions get chewed and pushed around and the spongy foam can be dangerous and messy and can absorb urine and be hard to clean (I had tried this and it didn't work out). I thought about the puzzle foam mats that can be interlocked together to cover a floor, but they would be quickly chewed and there are articles on parenting websites about these mats containing dangerous chemicals. So ultimately, I decided to make the floor pads similar to the way I make the cage liners - a layer of fleece and a layer of furniture pad. They are soft and pretty thick but easily washable, and if the rats burrow underneath, they are pretty obvious and easy to avoid stepping on. However, this apparently was not good enough.

To fix this, I am going to try a gymnastics mat to cover the area where the loveseat is. I don't know how well this will work, but it is the best idea I have been able to come up with. If they fall off the loveseat onto the mat, it should provide enough cushion to prevent serious injury (if it can protect a gymnast, it should be able to protect a rat). The cover is vinyl, so it should be easy to wipe clean without rat urine soaking into the padding. There is the risk that it may be chewed, but I am hoping the vinyl will protect it and that supervision will be enough to keep it intact. If it does get damaged, duct tape should patch it up. I did try to find information about the safety of the foam inside the mat. It is a different type of foam than the supposedly dangerous foam used in the puzzle mats, and I couldn't find any websites reporting associated dangers with the gym mats. These gym mats are also used as toddler mats (for children learning to walk), so I am hoping that means they are at least child safe. But just because there is no information out there, doesn't mean it is safe. So I will have to be vigilant and make sure the rats don't chew through the cover and get at the foam.

Anyway, I want to say that, Bobo, I am so sorry. I failed you. I wanted to give you a good life and tragedy took you from me too soon. I feel completely responsible for what happened - for not making your rat room as safe as it should have been; for not moving you off the loveseat before you fell. I always tell people that we learn from our mistakes, but it hurts so bad to learn this way and I am so sorry it was you who had to suffer for it. You were loved and you will be missed. This is a nightmare that I really wish I could wake up from and get a do-over.

I hardly ever post pictures of me (I hardly ever take pictures of me), but I just had to share this one last picture Bobo and I took together on Halloween (above). I can't believe we won't ever take any more. I thought dealing with prolonged illness was hard, but it is no where near as hard as losing a rat to an accident that just shouldn't have happened at all.

Goodbye, Bobo. Play hard over the bridge.

How You Know It's their Favorite Hammock . . . .

Post-Neuter Care

The Critter Nation with the shelves and ramps and most accessories removed.
Each level is closed off to make two hospital cages.
Hammie (top) and Burt (bottom), giving me the stink eye.

Hammie and Burt were neutered yesterday, and the surgeries were performed without incident. Both ratties came home last night. Hammie had already perked back up to close to his normal self (surgery? what surgery? why am I locked up alone in this boring cell?). Burt was a little out of it and I think in a little pain or discomfort, because he started chewing on the plastic pan of the Critter Nation, filling it with little black plastic shavings. However, this morning, he is much more himself.

Of course, after the surgery, there is a period of special post-neuter care. Our instructions are to continue this care until their follow-up appointment a week from today.

First, they need special living arrangements. They need to stay in a one level cage with only a low-hanging hammock, to limit climbing and stretching and anything that might cause the incision site to open or become infected. They need to be kept alone, separate from the other rats. I do have one smaller one level cage that I use for travel (longer trips) and as a hospital cage. However, since both boys were neutered at the same time, I would need two such cages. Since I didn't really want the expense of a second hospital cage which would not be used often, I decided to go a different route. I closed up the middle ramp of the Critter Nation and zip-tied it in the up position, then put the full sized bottom tray on the top level to cover up the ramp opening. I put the notched upper level tray on the bottom, but covered the exposed grate with a small liner, then a small flat circular weight from my husband's old weight set, then covered the entire pan and opening with a full-sized liner. I now had two separate cages. I took out the shelves and the metal frames that held the shelves, all of the hammocks, the lava ledges, the huts and space pods and baskets, and the wheel (which got moved to the Martin's R695 to Bobo's delight). I left the litter boxes and a single low-lying hammock. I also kept a cuddle cup in each cage, figuring it wouldn't hurt their sutures any.

It is important that the incision site not become infected. To try to prevent that, the cage must be kept extra clean. This means changing the bedding every day. Using fleece as bedding is ideal as it will promote less waste (just change-out and wash the liner each day) and it has less chance of dirt or debris finding its way into the incision site. I was told that a litter box with paper pelleted litter was okay. Again, it should be changed daily.

Both rats were prescribed meloxicam (aka, Metacam) for pain. They were given an injection at the vet's office and we were given some oral meds to take home with us. They will receive those meds once a day for 3-5 days, as needed. Hammie is already acting so good, 3 days will probably be plenty for him. Burt may need an extra day or two. They both have had their morning dose, which they took willingly and without any struggle.

The incision site must be checked every day. I am to report any swelling, discharge, or redness - or anything that just looks off. I checked both boys today and was surprised by how good the incision site looks already. Below is a picture of Hammie post surgery (not a great view as I took this myself with the camera on a timer):

In the mean time, in order to free up the Critter Nation for the boys, I had to advance the introduction process between Ruby (spayed female) and our other two new boys (Bobo and Jeremy). We had been doing introductions for quite some time, but the progress had stalled. Ruby is terrified of the two other boys, even though they have never hurt her or made any attempts to hurt her. She starts whining (a mew type sound) and sometimes outright crying (a more screechy sound that sounds like someone is getting murdered) whenever they get close to her or try to smell her private parts. However, I have no concerns about anyone's safety. We have been doing these introductions long enough that if someone were to get aggressive, it would have happened by now. But Ruby is not going to get over her fear unless she is forced to. So yesterday, we moved Ruby into the Martin's R695 with Bobo and Jeremy. She is still not crazy about this new living situation, but I think that after a few days she will realize that no one is going to hurt her and things will improve.

Neuters Are on for Next Week

But Mom! I don't need a neuter! See! I can get along!

Hammie and Burt had their pre-neuter visits yesterday and passed their physicals with flying colors. They now have appointments scheduled for next week.

Since this is my first time doing neuters and this is not my regular vet (my vet refers to this clinic for neuters and certain other procedures), I had a bunch of questions. I have to admit to being quite nervous about the surgeries. I am always hesitant about taking risks on elective surgeries, because I would be devastated if something went wrong. However, despite Hammie's occasional good social graces (seen above), I know he will truly be happier without those raging hormones to distract him from rat life, and I am certain his cage mates will be safer and happier if it helps even just a little. Burt is a little trickier, as I am less certain a neuter will help with his issues. His issues may be more territorial than hormonal - I am really not sure. He is also older - over a year - so health concerns are more likely with him. But he is still young enough that he should be fine with the surgery. I think introductions will have the best chance of success if both Hammie and Burt are neutered, so I am moving forward with both.

I am very glad to say that this practice has reassured me that they know what they are doing and that everything will most likely go well for both. They assured me that I will be sent home with Metacam for pain relief. There will be internal stitches that do not need to be removed, and the outer layer will not use stitches, but surgical glue. They were aware that rats should not be fasted before surgery (unlike most other animals). They explained proper post op care (keeping them alone in a single level cage, changing the liners every day, allowing a low hanging hammock for comfort if needed). They also will be seeing them for a post-op visit to make sure everything is healing up properly, and there is no additional charge for that visit. All in all, I am confident both Burt and Hammie will be in good hands.

OT - JoAnn's Fleece Sale Alert!

In an unrelated note, JoAnn's has fleece on sale through September 27th. Blizzard fleece (solids and prints) are 50% off. Anti-pill fleece prints are 60% off, solids are 50% off. For me, this means stopping by occasionally during the next few weeks and raiding the remnant bins, which will be 50% off the sale price (most will come in at about $2.50 a yard).

Pre-Neuter Appointments Scheduled

Quarantine officially ended and the new rats moved into the rat room several days ago. It was time to start thinking about intros, and intros with males can be tricky. This time, they will be especially tricky.

Hammie tries to find an escape route
out of the rat room.

Hammie's hormones are clearly coming in and there is no lack of testosterone there. Most of the time he lives peacefully with Bobo and Jeremy, but every now and then, he gets a little crazy and has started picking fights. It was pretty obvious he was going to need a neuter. If he is having trouble getting along with his friends, he is definitely going to have trouble with intros to Burt.

Burt is not pleased with
his new neighbors

After moving the new guy's cage into the rat room, it also became pretty clear that Burt would also need a neuter if intros were going to proceed. He became obsessed with the new boys and their cage, pacing the side of the cage nearest to them, and biting the cage bars when they would come out to play in the rat room. There is no way I want to try intros with Burt in the state he is in when the other rats come out. Somehow, I think if Burt and Hammie were ever to be put in the same place together, they would have a fight to the death. I am unsure who would win. Likely, they both would lose.

Hammie, a bully? No way. Look at that cute face.

I did begin to try introductions with Ruby and the three new boys in neutral territory. Hammie quickly had to be removed from that equation as he instantly attacked Ruby, putting a one-inch gash in her side. It was my fault. I should never have tried to introduce him to anyone until after the neuter. I thought he might be accepting of a very calm spayed female who was no challenge to his authority, but he didn't seem to care. Intros with Ruby and Bobo and Jeremy were okay. I had hoped for great, but with Hammie removed from the equation, both Bobo and Jeremy wanted to show off as top dog to Ruby and with Ruby being once bitten twice shy, she didn't want much of anything to do with them. However, despite posturing and a little chasing and some posing, there was no biting. I think these three can eventually be introduced with time and patience if we take things extremely slowly.

Bobo and Jeremy will probably be successfully introduced to Ruby with time and patience.

In the mean time, I have scheduled appointments for Burt and Hammie to be examined to ensure they are healthy enough to be neutered. I am confident they will check out okay and neuters will then be scheduled. I have never done neuters before, but it was pretty clear they were called for in this case. I'd be okay if the two groups of rats had to live separately, but Burt is not happy being in the same room with them and Hammie is sometimes too aggressive with his own cage mates. I have heard good things about neuters calming boy rats down, so I am hopeful their dispositions will improve afterward, but I also know that sometimes neuters don't fix everything, so I am also prepared for that result. If they do have positive results, it may be that Bobo and Jeremy will need neuters next.

Bobo explores the rat room. It is pretty cool.

My regular vet does not do neuters so I scheduled the appointment with the exotics practice that she refers more specialized procedures out to. I have never been to this vet. One of the avian veterinarians who works there is well known in the bird community in the Chicago area and I have heard him speak at bird club meetings in the past. So I am optimistic that they hire good people.

Jeremy favors his left side to keep weight off his right leg

One other thing that I have observed about Jeremy is that his right back leg appears to be lame. It has been that way since we adopted him. I noticed his unusual gait right from the start. He kind of holds that leg out away from his body a bit more and doesn't always put weight on it. He can move it and use it and there are no outward signs of injury. He does not show any signs of pain when I touch his leg or move it. He just doesn't seem to have a lot of strength or dexterity in that leg. I am guessing that it may have been injured sometime in his early life in the overcrowded cage and it never healed properly. In his cage, you can't really tell. When he moves about greater distances in the open space of the rat room, it becomes more obvious. Sometimes, the only sign is that he tends to lean a little to his left, probably avoiding putting weight on that back leg.

 

Forget the toys, I want to play with you!

Jeremy and Bobo love their people!

One week with Jeremy, Hammie, and Bobo

Yesterday, Jeremy, Hammie, and BoBo got brand new hammocks in their quarantine cage. I like to make a new set every time we get new rats - something that I will always associate as being uniquely theirs. Plus, the boys were staying in some flowery hammocks, as all my unused sets were either flowers/butterflies for the girls or holiday themed. They needed something gender neutral and I had just the fabric.

I actually bought this fabric a while back from fabric.com and it was intended for hammocks for Casper. But when the vet diagnosed his lung tumor, I didn't want to spend my spare time sewing hammocks - I wanted to spend more one-on-one time with Casper, so I never used it. It features white mice (but they make good rats as well), both males and females, and their obsession with stealing and eating blocks of cheese. It was from the Lewe and Norton line of fabric, and unfortunately, this particular cotton print is no longer available on their site. The coordinating fabrics have been discounted, so I am guessing they will no longer be carrying it.

Jeremy in Cuddle Cup

In the process of making the hammocks, I think I finally perfected the Rigilene cuddle cup - at least as perfect as I will ever get. I added a second layer of batting so that there is batting on both sides of the Rigilene frame. This also makes the cup more cushy. The Rigilene holds the shape of the cup so they cannot trample over it and flatten it. My rats are much more likely to use this type of cuddle cup than the standard cup without the Rigilene frame. The next time I make one, I will photograph the steps and add it to the tutorial.

Hammie can't wait to see us when we come to the cage.

After spending a week with the new boys, their personalities are starting to come out. Hammie (the one with the beige markings), is definitely the dominant one of the bunch. The boys have had a few squabbles - usually during out time and not while in the cage - and Hammie is always involved. He is not always the instigator, but in the end, he ends up the victor. You can tell they are a little leery of him. But no one has been bitten: no blood, no foul. There have been a few mighty loud squeaks and hard tumbles, but everyone lives together peaceably and shares food, cage, and cuddles just fine. So far, it seems like normal young rat dominance play, but it is something to keep an eye on. Some of the males from this rescue are in line for neuters for hormonal aggression, so it is something to watch out for as these rats mature.

Bobo's abscess was drained and his cuts
and scrapes are clearing up on antibiotics.

Bobo is the sweetie of the group. He loves his people and is a natural born shoulder rat. He loves to be handled and wants to climb out of the cage and into your lap every time you open the cage. He does not like it when another rat climbs on top of him. I am sure he had quite enough of this when he was in an overcrowded cage, and he came to us with the resulting scratches. This experience has made him a little sensitive to being walked on, and he is sure to stand up and challenge anyone who tries. The good news is that we had his abscess drained on Tuesday and he is on trimethoprim sulfa for three weeks to help the abscess to heal without reforming and also to help his scratches heal. His skin is already incredibly improved, with many of the scratches having healed up quickly after starting antibiotics. There is still a slight swell where the abscess was and the vet will be checking in on him next week. We will see what she thinks. However, it is much reduced from what it used to be. If he had fur, I wouldn't even know it was there.

Jeremy curls up with Bobo in the space pod. I don't
think they had one of these in his last home.

Jeremy is the youngest little guy and he is exactly what you would expect from a young rat. He shows no signs of aggression and is comfortable with both Hammie and Bobo. I have caught him curled up near each of them at different times. He is inquisitive and curious and extremely friendly and he is quickly losing his fear of being picked up. Sometimes, you can tell he wants to be picked up, but then he has second thoughts at the last minute. If you are sitting on the floor, he has no qualms about climbing onto your lap and up to your shoulder.

All three boys are just wonderful and we can't wait to move them into the rat room and start introductions. I am certain that intros with Ruby will go well - she is so laid back and sweet and has never had problems being introduced to boys in the past. I can also tell that Ruby is missing her sisters. It must have been hard for her to lose them both in such a short time frame. She was a little quiet and withdrawn when we returned from vacation, but that might also have been from us having been gone for a week. She is starting to come back out of her shell again.

Burt had no problems with intros to the girls (a few scuffles with Jo, but overall, things went smoothly) and has lived with another male in his first home, but I am unsure how he will be with intros to new boys. I am hoping that things will go smoothly since they are so young, but it is possible that Hammie and Burt may have some dominance issues to settle. Burt won't let Hammie boss him around the way Bobo and Jeremy do. And Burt has been known to like a good wrestle - so I worry a little about Bobo getting scratched up during intros. But we will take things slowly when the time comes and see how it goes.

The Rat Room - A Room Just For Rats!

 

One of our dreams has finally become a reality - we have a Rat Room (dubbed Ratropolis, of course!). 

Our Rat Room is a large room in our basement. The full size of the room is 18 ft by 12 ft, but currently the rats only have access to half that space (10 ft by 12 ft), as part of the other half is currently in use and not rat safe. The other part of the other half is dedicated to storing rat things (extra toys, food, hammocks, towels, blankets), so everything we need for the rats is in one convenient place.

Storage space on the other side of the room.

The Rat Room has a cement floor, a drop ceiling with florescent ceiling lights, and some cement walls and some wood walls. There is a ventilation fan that runs on a timer that keeps the air circulating. We also have two air cleaners running to keep the air fresh and clean for both rats and people. There is a sump pump in the room, but we have blocked it off with a wooden wall.

Patio Love Seat Near the Cage and Across from the TV

Because the Rat Room will get more use if it is people friendly, we added a small love seat with end table. We chose a piece of inexpensive patio furniture, since it will be more durable, easier to clean, and hard for a rat to get lost inside or underneath. Also, the cushion covers are removable and washable.

For entertainment, we have a TV on a banquet table, connected to an X-Box 360 (mainly to connect to our media center PC/Cable) and a Roku player. All wires and cables are off the ground and safe from rattie mischief. Under the banquet table, we have a large storage box with rat toys not currently in use (the rat toy box).

TV, XBox, Roku, and Two HEPA Air Cleaners

 There are a number of things still to be done. Right now, we have a U-Haul furniture pad on the floor. I would like to get a second one and line them both with fleece for a thicker and softer pad to play on. And it would be nice to add pictures of our rats, past and present to the wooden walls. I ordered some mice wall decals for my son's birthday and he can decorate the room with those when they arrive. I also have ordered a ramp that will allow the rats to exit and enter their cage as they please during supervised play time.

But in the mean time, the rats are really enjoying the extra room and the many places to explore. They seem to appreciate their freedom. We appreciate being able to let them out without constantly having to be on guard - wondering what is the next trouble they will get into. Of course, they still must be supervised, but they really can't get into any trouble of significance in this room.

Below are some pics of the rats having a good time in their new room.

I can't believe they let me back here!

This is not allowed. Leave it to Jo to find a way to get into trouble.
We moved the box they used to get onto the side of the cage and climb up,
so no more rats on top of the cage.

Burt takes a bite out of the love seat.

Look what I found under the cage! Why isn't this out?

Casper has a look around. He loves to explore.

Casper needs a rest. His lungs can't handle too much activity.

Okay, ready for another go!