In June, I adopted 3 older rats to add to the colony. Buddies Teddy and George are bullies but not in a mean way. The hold up right now I’m having is Ferdinand. He can’t seem to accept Teddy and George. I can’t seem to figure out why that is. Ferdy is quite fine with the residents, even young buck Doc. So why are Teddy and George on his no friends list? I’ve been observing T and G for a while now, sure they are big and strong, and some rat might even say a bit of a bully but they don’t hiss, they don’t hit, they don’t grab, bite or scratch. They do however command the space. Teddy seems to have a very strong presence in the cage, not a bad thing really. He’s the alpha for sure. George however is turning out to be quite the gem. He’s a bit shy with me, although he’ll lick me to death, he also doesn’t really like noise and sudden movements. But one thing he does like… rats. He’s now the cage guardian. A couple of weeks ago, Meeko, one of the resident rats was struggling with a nasty URI, most likely pulmonary abscesses. George took care of Meeko. One day, as I gave them all their veggies, George grabbed a big piece of romaine and ran up the ramp with it. He deposited within a few cms of Meeko’s nose. He waited for Meeko to pick it up and start eating it before turning around and joining the others downstairs gorging themselves on their food. It melted my heart to see George who is relatively new to the group take on such an important role. A few days before that, during intros, he threw himself between his bro Teddy and Ferdinand. Ferdinand had been whining and screaming like a little girl… George knew he had to move in to calm the situation. I might go as far as saying that George is like Gera, except Gera has no fear of anything. He lives in the moment and accepts all things. This colony is shaping up to be another awesome group.
Things were not progressing as well as I liked. Although Teddy and George really aren’t mean rats, they are still bullies and this worries Ferd to no end. So instead of waiting to do a move in with all the rats, I moved Ferd in with the residents right away. I didn’t want him alone any longer than needed be. Well it was a hit. Ferd and Doc did have some issues at the very beginning but Doc almost immediately let it go. Ferd’s best buds are Chief and Bianca. He loves his Gera too but Gera is not attached to Ferd. But all in all, it was a smooth move and exactly what Ferd needed to help him gain confidence. I’ve already noticed some changes in him in the out times/intros with Teddy and George. Ferd is such a sweet guy, sensitive and loving. A dream pet really cause he runs to his human each time he’s worried, he really cuddles… not just lay there, but presses hard in your hand. What a love!
I moved everything to familiar ground after only 3 days of neutral. Things were moving along well. I did a partial familiar ground where almost all the toys were blocked off. Things got more tense with Ferdinand. He really has low self confidence and is really bothered by the bully boys Teddy and George. I wouldn’t want to see him with real alpha boys. Teddy and George although bossy are really sweet and if the rat submits, they become great friends. My resident rats are awesome and really couldn’t care less about the newbies taking over, this made things much easier. So my real focus remains on Ferd. I decided that the only way I could move forward was with full familiar ground and that worked out much better for Ferd cause he has much more room and it took the focus off of him. Teddy and George love to run around, explore and claim their land. I knew though that beyond this point it was going to be a challenge as the next step is move in. That will not happen for some time, poor Ferd just can’t handle it. So instead I decided to try Ferd with the residence all the while continuing intros.
Day one of intros was on my bed, a neutral area, big enough for the rats to wander around but not so big that they wouldn’t run into each other. Day one went very well. Ferd had some issues but still not enough to stop anything. They are living beside each other so they can continue to smell each other all the time. The intros are lasting one hour daily. It was a good first day.
Day two was much of the same but better interactions between the group. Ferd really took to Pony and Chief, probably because they are weaker than he is.
Day three was on neutral ground still and it went great. In fact, I figured that it might even be time to move things along. I don’t usually like skipping ahead but I can tell when everyone is ready for the next step which is familiar ground.
On June 12th, 2 very good friends of mine, people I met on the Rat Shack forum took a drive north to visit me and my rats. At the same time, Shelagh was bringing me three new boys. These boys are older, one lives alone and the other two are together. Adorable solid boys, I immediately fell in love with them. I have decided to intro the three to my current colony. This one will be different for me because all three boys are intact and I want to attempt intros without neuters. When the rats are older, I like to avoid surgery so I’m giving them a go, giving it a good try before having to resort to surgery. I should add that my vet is most excellent and I know that she could successfully get them in and out and back to happy boys in a day or two. But still… operation intact will be my project. I have decided to record most of it on video and make it available to the public. Intros are scary enough and every bit of guidance is always welcome. So hopefully this works out as I hope it does.
For now… I introduce my new sweeties.
Teddy, an agouti hooded, he’s over 2 years old and lives with his brother George. Teddy is definitely an alpha kind of rat.
In the pic, he’s taking a nap during neutral ground intros.
George, just like his brother Teddy, loves to lick and kiss you. He’s absolutely gorgeous, a black hooded.
Ferdinand, is a huge rat, but not fat, a solid boy. He lived most of his life in a 10 gallon tank with two females. A sad life until Shelagh took him into her rescue. This boy is a sweetheart. He’s scared of bullies but loves to bully the weaker boys. In bullying them, he shows his love for them. I can’t wait for him to be in a colony and learn life as a group.
I finally was able to capture one of my rats boggling. Unfortunately, I was using the video on my camera and not my real video recorder so the quality is pretty poor. You sure do get the essence of the boggle anyways. That’s Gera, the rex guy having a good boggling. He’s quite content, in the cube, next to his long time companion little Meeko. Those two came to me together. I am quite pleased to see Gera boggling. I’m in the middle of doing intros and to see Gera still completely content and unaffected by intros simply warms my heart.
So sit back and enjoy the boggle!
Having helped raise a handful of litters and watching them raised by a friend, I’ve long since realized that mom rats have a definite impact on the social and behavioural development of the pups. Happy moms will have happy pups. Scared moms will instill that fear and anxiety in the pups as well. A pet rat will do better with a happy mom but in the wild, moms must raise their pups to deal with all the many stresses found in their environment. Mom’s effect on the pups is in part due to epigenetics as we see from this study. http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/epigenetics/rats/
Mom rats lick their pups which causes a change in the rats’ metabolome altering their epigenome which results in more docile behaviour. So in essence, if you have a female rat with a calm and gentle nature she will nurture her babies into becoming more docile rats.
This might explain how some rats are naturally skittish and why in some cases no amount of human interactions and socializing will change your pet rat into a more social rat. It’s up to you to manage your friendship with this rat as best as the rat can handle. Many skittish rats live happy lives listening to their humans talk to them, sing to them or just being near them. They don’t need the constant cuddling and touching that some rats do.
All in all, you must accept your rat for who he/she is… because in the end, it’s how he/she was raised.
The beauty of being part of a rat forum, you get all kinds of good ideas on how to entertain your rats. As you know, these little guys are so smart, we need to be imaginative and inventive in keeping their little minds and bodies busy. Interacting with your rats can add months to their life.
So when I saw a couple of the members of The Rat Shack used bubbles to play with their rats, I couldn’t resist and do the same with mine. Their rats were very curious and interested in these soapy floating wonders. Mine were the same way. They tried to grasp and clasp onto the clear balls but only to have them disappear right before their eyes. It was fun while it lasted. They didn’t seem to tire of it either. But I had to stop the game as everything was getting far to wet and slippery. I had a good chuckle at poor Meeko’s expense. The little naked guy was having a heck of a time walking on the slick floor, running was even worse, his legs would slip out of underneath him. *giggle* When choosing your prop(s) make sure you use only items that are also safe for children. It’s also very important to clean up after the fact. I had to make sure I emptied and washed their water dish. I didn’t want them drinking detergent. yuck. I also removed all the fleece and other toys that ended up holding the bubbles, hole or popped.
My sister and I certainly enjoyed the “magical” event as much as the rats.
Posted by jorats on Saturday May 28, 2011 Under Daily with Rats
Last Friday, I had to let go of two of the sweetest rats that I’ve ever had the pleasure to love. Mother and daughter went together for their final trip to the vet. Right till the end, Molly was the mother. She had always been mother to all the rats, no matter their age. Molly didn’t allow for quarrels or bullying in her colony. She would take her post next to the rat being picked on, often times getting the brunt of the force when the big macho boys were on the warpath. She had a calming energy, soft and light. All the rats loved her and when one was stressed, you would see Molly find her way to them. Scout was a shy quiet girl. She took to everything with ease. She enjoyed her out time with lots of human cuddling, just like her mom Molly. Both girls developed a respiratory infection about the same time, we fought the good fight together but in the end it was just too much. Scout was much worse off, she was also quite stressed with the limited lung capacity. Molly, even though she was struggling, took it in stride. While riding to the vet, true to her nature, Molly calmed her daughter, she groomed her the whole time. The two left together, leaving me with a big hole in my heart. I hope to God I am lucky enough to meet another rat like them.
Be free my sweets… and don’t forget me.
Posted by jorats on Friday May 20, 2011 Under Daily with Rats
Once in a while you come across a rat lover who truly knows how to go the extra mile with their rats. Cirque Du Sewer shows off the amazing acrobatic feats of a couple of vermin. Melissa Arleth has taken the negativity in all things rat related and turned into an exciting adventure. And here I thought my rats had a luxurious life with plenty of out time. The boys of the Cirque are very well trained and enjoy out time like no other rat. I would love to be part of an audience where the rats are the stars and the human is the sidekick. Melissa’s rats must be one of the most social rats that ever lived… no showboating here, they truly are doing what rats do best.
Hats off to Melissa and her crew.
