The Rat Room » Anecdotes

A Real Honey in Mielle

jorats — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 14:54:55 +0000

I want to share this story about one of my girls, Mielle. She really wasn’t a fancy rat like what people call the real lookers, standard ears, fawn hooded, not very outgoing and keeping mostly to herself but loved her rat buddies. I respected her and loved her for who she was. I would pet her when she was ready, loved her more with words than touch. One thing about Mielle, she was aware of her colony which I never really appreciated until I adopted the three White Sharks. They were my neurotic pews from New Brunswick. These boys were so stressed from the move and changes, they became bullies. I ended up integrating everyone into one colony. I did have some concerns mainly because I would be housing 5 months old with an older rat. Bijou was over 2 years old and fast losing her mobility. I was keeping an eye on them, all the while trying to figure out how best to deal with the situation… pull her out of the cage? Find new buddies for the old girl? One day, during out time, I saw Bijou lying at the bottom of the cage and the three big white guys were staying around her. They were your typical curious males who just couldn’t stop at one sniff. They kept bugging Bijou. I was about to step in but from the corner of my eye, I saw Mielle drop what she was doing and run straight to the cage where Bijou was sitting. She immediately started to push the big guys away. She then nudged Bijou into a cardboard tube big enough for one rat. She pushed her in and closed off the one entrance then she set herself up at the other end, blocking access to any big rat who wanted a little too much friendship from an old girl. Mielle stayed there next to Bijou until Moose, Silas and Bobby got bored waiting and found something else to entertain their silly minds. That’s when I knew how wonderful my Mielle was. And I knew that all will be well in that colony.
Mielle remained the keeper of the cage until the day she had to leave me, at the age of 39 months old. She is truly missed.

Spook

jorats — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 14:51:57 +0000

Some rats are so comfortable they sleep on their backs. These rats are usually laid back and quite happy with life. Their stress levels are low and they get along with most anyone or anyrat. I’ve had a few rats like that. Currently I have Desmond who likes to sleep on his back. Finding your rat in that position is a heart stopping moment. You swear your rat has passed on and not in some deep comfy sleep. We run to the cage, fling it open and grab the limp body and will it to life… no, will it to an awaken state. The rat confused doesn’t realized he just gave his human a heart attack. I’ve grown used to the sleeping habit but for a split second, my heart is in my throat, once I relax, I can enjoy the moment, the sleeping beauty on his back.
Spook is one adorable little guy who loves to sleep on his back. His mom aptly named him. Talk about getting spooked each time you catch him in his favorite position. His mom a member on the Rat Shack (RKbusy) is often posting the wonderful back sleeping pics of Spook and we all can’t get enough of him.

World Rat Day 2010

jorats — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:15:08 +0000

April 4th has been set for World Rat Day. Today, it turns out to also be Easter. A much loved spring holiday. I hope you didn’t forget your ratties today. Not only is it a time to spend with family and nature but also to celebrate the world of rats.
Today, I put together a fun stimulating game for the young crew. I bought cheap easter eggs at the dollar store and filled them with cereal. On special occasion, I do allow the rats to indulge in some sugar. The eggs were filled with multigrain Cheerios, Captain Crunch and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. They sure enjoyed it. They had a little trouble opening the eggs. They tried to figure it out and when that took too long they decided to just pick up the egg and run with it. I helped cracking the eggs and all regaled in the sugar feast.
It really was a lovely out time… a lovely Easter and World Rat Day.

Down The Shirt Trick

jorats — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:19:17 +0000

One of the most common behaviour questions I get is how to make my rat love me more.
It’s simple, stick the little guy down your shirt. How to prepare for this… you’ll need to put on a t-shirt, then a sweatshirt, you’ll need a couple of hours of free time so settle down with a good book, movie or even reading the Rat Room.
Put your little guy or guys in between the two shirts and let them sit there and squirm for some time. They will eventually enjoy being in there. Rats love dark cozy spots and they will soon relate your natural body scent as well as your energy to a good place. Do this several times a day for over a week. You’ll see the rats will soon come running to you when they sense you come near the cage. This trick works on babies as well as older rats. Be warned though… it usually creates shirt divers. What’s a shirt diver? A rat that upon seeing shirt immediately dives in.

Freeze

jorats — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:14:16 +0000

You might at some point or another find your rat in a peculiar position, frozen on the spot. Some rats will do this when gripped with fear or even extreme stress. Snapping them out of it is not easy and not necessary either. I will leave my rat alone when he does this, it take a few minutes, usually no more than 5 for them to regain their composure. It may seem like it’s taking a long time but it really hasn’t. In order to avoid your rat becoming so fearful would be to interact with him more, take him out of his cage, lots more out time, expose him to new things often all the while holding on to him to reassure that everything will be fine. And don’t forget to do the down the shirt trick. Works like a charm.

The Good Alpha

jorats — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:40:36 +0000

In a colony there is always a chain of command. The alpha, usually the big male will rule the roost. Some are fierce and a bully while others are forceful yet gentle. I’ve seen all kinds of alpha from neurotic to very gentle.
One alpha was Tripp. He took care of his buddies and would butt in if he figured it was time too. The other rats respected him and the colony lived very happily with him as their leader. The time came when I needed to intro Tripp’s group with 3 older rats. Chase, a young neutered neurotic rat was having a hard time accepting the new buddies. He especially didn’t like old man Lex. One one occasion, during an intro Chase had cornered Lex into a box. Lex had nowhere to go and Chase was slowly approaching him, mouth open… along comes Tripp. Tripp pushes Chase aside and goes to lie down next to Lex. Chase immediately realizes that Tripp was telling him that Lex was an ok guy and welcome into their colony. Intros went smoothly because Tripp was definitely the good alpha.

Fancy Rat

jorats — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 04:00:27 +0000

All domesticated rats (pets and feeders) are considered fancy rat, no matter the color or markings.
A dumbo rat has bigger ears and different ear placement.
A rex rat has curly fur.
A double rex rat has patches of very short hair, another curly mutation.
A hairless rat has no fur.

Mister Finds True Love

jorats — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:15:05 +0000

I adopted Mister from a young boy who was breeding him with two females. He was supplying our local independent pet stores with feeder rats. Mister lived his whole life alone except when meeting up with the two girls. I also took in those two girls. The boy was giving them away because they were no longer producing litters therefore no longer making him money.
Mister was a sweet old man. I didn’t want him to be alone for the remainder of his days with me. But I had to be careful, intros usually take time with males. As it turns out, my Bijou was getting old and needed some time away from the rambunctious young rats in her colony. I decided to give Mister his Bijou. Bijou was the most easy going rat. She took to changes like a fish takes to water. When she met Mister, she didn’t have much of a care but Mister on the other hand became so excited with Bijou, the old boy started to hop around his cage. He would run and come back to Bijou, he would smell her and when he realized she was his to keep, he became full of energy and spirit. Mister and Bijou grew old together. Mister passed at the age of 39 months and his Bijou soon followed at 41 months. I have no doubt the two are still together at the rainbow bridge.

Bijou and Mister

Friend or Foe?

jorats — Wed, 27 May 2009 03:03:07 +0000

In March of 2006, I picked up two brothers from Small Victories Rodent Rescue based in Montreal. These two were already 12 months old and had been living together all their lives. They were born at the rescue.
They were quite adorable the pair but they were causing quite a ruckus in the cage. Each time, I would run to the cage, I always caught Pascal on top of Vincent. Poor Vincent was screaming bloody murder and seemed quite petrified to me. I would then take Pascal out and give him a good talking to. This went on for a couple of days. I was at my wits end and about to neuter the both of them and do the unthinkable…separate the brothers.
Instead of going through with these drastic measures, I decided to hide behind the couch and observe the two.
It was 1am. I’m squatting behind the arm of the couch, it’s dark except for a dim night light but I could see perfectly into the cage. I observe Vincent walking up the ramp onto the top shelf. He positions himself just so, waits a moment and jumps down right onto his brother Pascal. Pascal gets up and proceeds to flip Vincent and hold him there in a dominant position all the while Vincent is squeaking like a tortured soul.
Finally Pascal lets him go… Vincent moves off and slowly climbs up the ramp again. What does he do next? Yep, he positions himself just so, and jumps on Pascal again. Pascal somewhat annoyed knows the routine and flips his brother who is now again squealing with delight. This went on and on. I knew then and there that rats don’t always scream when in pain or in protest. They do it for fun too. I never separated the deeply bonded brothers. They went on to live together until Vincent passed away at 39 months old. Pascal stayed with me another 4 months after that.
Simply wonderful rats.