Oliver and Igby: Day 4

the boys have started warming up to their new home. oliver isn’t as batshit crazy and igby isnt as impossible to locate as they used to be. ive been trying to give them their space while continuing to socialize them, which for me means that ive been leaving them alone during the day until i hear them wake up on their own, ive been trying to keep to a routine, and i insist upon daily snuggle time of at least a half hour, on my person.

i brought the camera in for tub time and remembered once again how badly i need a camera that doesnt take 15 seconds to capture a shot. i dont think baby rats do anything for 15 seconds straight except maybe sleep. but heres what i managed:

the boys explore their daily playground

oliver snags a drink of water from the backwards boat situation

oliver, as usual, lookin for trouble

oliver recently discovered the wristband that hangs off the camera while i play photographer. at least it gets him to hold still a sec...

chowing down on treats in the parking garage basement, their favorite place

now that theyve settled a bit into their cage, their tub time, and the neck sling, they have time to get acquainted with each other. i was freaked for a minute, i didnt think that sibling would have to fight it out for dominance. i mean, they grew up together for crying out loud. then i remembered yoshi and zelda- those ladies fought like crazy for a few weeks. i was seriously worried, and then seriously annoyed, and then they just got over it. so im hoping this is a phase… and all signs point in that direction. rat advice sites say that when they end their spats with one grooming the other, its a sure sign they were just battling out their pecking order and are not in fact trying to kill each other.

as i type, they are all piled up in the “elevator shaft” of the parking garage, having themselves a little nap, and it is just about the cutest thing ever:

igby is buried underneath ollie- i think we know who won the battle today...

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Boyz in the Hizood, Day 2

Day 2 has been uneventful compared to yesterday, fo shizzle (sorry, i’ll stop).

Day 1 was lots of big crazy things happening: baths, new homes, scary realizations (oliver has bouts of mycoplasma, which is common for ratties, but hard to have to listen to. he wheezes and coughs sometimes, like ratty asthma, poor little guy) last night, i went to bed worried sick. today, ollie is back up and about, with just much energy as ever. i let the boys sleep in (they have the sleep patterns of teenagers), and when i got home from shopping, i took them out for some playtime. while i was out, i picked up some toys for them: a big plastic parking garage, a big blue boat, i even found what will eventually be a fabulous little rat carrier for ratty transport.

i put a towel down in the bathtub, scattered their new toys (plus some boxes and cardboard tubes) and let them have at it. the pictures are all blurry, but thats just because those boogers wouldnt hold still!

ollie, keeping an eye out while he preens

igby, checking out the boat

oliver made it all the way to the top of the parking garage right away

igby was content to preen on the first floor (sorry about the blur, this was a wrap-around sneaky-shot. this one’s a hider…)

oliver found one of the snacks i hid (i still cant get them to eat out of my hand, they just try to eat my hand itself, the naughty little nibblers. but we’re working on manners…)

and igby doing what he loves best: hiding.

they are sweeties, though. when i remember where they probably came from, theyre doing great and its amazing they let me handle them at all. they seem to like my rat cowl and after a bit of climbing and exploring will settle down to a snack and a cuddle hanging around my neck. ill try and take more pictures next time i have them in my little neck snuggler, but its hard to take pictures of myself while balancing rats and having the crappiest camera of all time. also, i have some modifications in mind. (think giant fabric tube around my neck)

next episode: day 3, rat cowl, and hopefully some snuggle pictures!

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Meet the Boys!

this is my little tan dumbo man. names are still forthcoming, as we are still getting to know each other.

this is my “black and white” hooded standard boy. although im beginning to see some dimensions in his coloring and i suspect hes a little agouti boy. i love his markings, especially the little white spot on his face!

the relationship started out with a bath. when i met with the girl from craigslist, she pulled out a bag, untied the hankerchief she had them tightly wrapped in and plopped them into the flat-bottom cloth bag i brought, complete with fluffy towel and snacks. they reeked of piss and when i got them into the light, i could see where the white fur on my hooded boy was stained that obvious piss-yellow. the poor little guys were big- still babies but not tiny little 4-week old babies like she said. she wouldnt let me see the cage they came from and i would just bet they were packed in like little furry piss-stained sardines. they arent socialized at all and are basically terrified. i havent gotten them to eat yet, even a super-yummy chex or carrot, and they havent touched their water or explored their cage at all. poor little guys.

sorry, no pictures of the first big scary bath experience, but you can take my word for it that they were very brave and very good little swimmers. they were reasonably patient when it came time to dry them off and they seemed to like running around and tunneling through the towels on the couch with the heater turned on them. all in all, a good bath experience. i might need to go get some real pet shampoo and take another stab at the hooded one’s fur, though. the piss stains arent quite gone.

heres some more pics:

whoop! went right for the bra…

snuggled in all cozy…

ha. bra tent!

clutching for dear life, poor little guy.

they both seem ok with being handled, they certainly dont bite and after awhile, theyll sit still and relax. but they dont like being moved or picked up- from their cage, the towel, my neck. i think maybe theyve had a long day, including a new home and their first bath. im just gonna let them hang out now and get used to their cage.

oh! the tan dumbo just found the water bottle and the food! hooray! hopefully my shy little hooded boy will venture out from his hiding place soon…

ok, the floor is now officially open for rat name suggestions!

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Crochet Bins

i know, i just posted.

i know, i promised rattie pictures.

but hey, this bins were hours and hours of work and they turned out totally awesome. i couldn’t help but pop off some pictures:

-fin-

…thank you for your patience. tomorrow: ratties!

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Rat Cage: A Guided Tour

Hello, friends. I have been doing many exciting things (exciting as far as yarn goes, anyway), but will put all that on hold momentarily to give you a brief tour of a new home within my home. Today at noon, I meet with some chick from craigslist to pick up my new ratties. They are sisters, they are both dumbo, and they have super cute coloring. Names are both TBD, but I am leaning towards a star trek theme. Beverly Crusher, Ro Laren, Dr. Pulaski, Luwaxana, etc etc.

here it is, folks. a gated community of thrills and chills! the cage of wonder! (aladdin reference…anybody?) the, uh, rectangular box of excitement and awesome stuff and hidden foo

we begin with the hammock of wonderfulness, complete with pre-misplaced fluffies, and the compressed-timothy-hay upside-down-nest hanging from the cage, full of broccoli and carrots and waiting for the ratties to discover and then figure out how to get into…

nextly, the great cardboard-and-yarn ladder-bridge of doom. at the top, a nice high shelf (they love that shit) with a little waffle box for them to hang out in. also, more veggie snacks. treats for venturing out and exploring and not being scared little sissy rats.

at the other end of the ladder-bridge of doom, the hobbit home of glory and wonder. this was a lucky find- brian had an ikea light fixture in the back of his car in this box, and he donated it to the cause. its perfect: little hole at the top for light and for peeking, round hobbit hole door on the side. i predict this will be their favorite place. also: next to food dish.

hobbit hole door! drippy water bottle!

on the other side of the cage/adventure paradise, we have the purple wheel of doom, which was a little more expensive considering that it can sit flat or hook onto the side (for high-stakes, high-risk wheel running, as brian put it, at the top of the cage) and its supposed to be quieter, thank the lord. hopefully these rats will be smart enough to figure the damn thing out.

also visible: corner litter box of hopefulness!

and finally, we have the big blue ball of exploration and of bumping into things and the cutest little crochet harnesses ever ever ever. they look like little 4-legged starfish and are adjustable to an extent, but im not sure what size my little girls will be. the craigslist lady called them “juvenile”, so we shall see. i might have the make a smaller set for the time being.

well, there it is, folks! tune in tomorrow (or possibly later today) for pictures of the residents themselves!

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