July Bogglebox, and An Update on the Ratpack
I told myself I'd have a nice long lie-in today after having two shitty nights of sleep, but I woke up early as usual and was just dozing when I heard Dad take a package from a courier downstairs. I figured that I might as well get up, and I'm glad that I did...
My July Bogglebox has arrived! Bogglebox is a subscription box for rats - you get some cage accessories, some treats, and sometimes little extra goodies. This month, there's a giant tube which I think my creatures will love, a wooden chew for them to destroy, some carrot chips and dried peas, some fruity cookies, and even a cute sticker sheet for their human, AKA me!
I'll be getting another Bogglebox next month, and then I can put my order in for the next three months - September, October and November. It's a really good little subscription box because between work and uni I don't often find myself able to make it into St Helens, where the best shops are for rat toys and treats. Plus, between this month's and last month's boxes, I already have a good variety of treats to spoil my ladies and gentlemen. It's great, because otherwise all they'd be getting would be the little fruity drops that I can buy from work.
Speaking of rats and rat stuff, I figured that it would be a good time to update on my current menagerie. Rats have such a short lifespan, so obviously there have been a lot of changes since my last bout of activity.
Last year, when I was last active, I think my mischief consisted of two boys, and six girls. If I recall correctly, it was Patrick and Duncan, then my girls Frida, Florence and Kali, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl.
Sadly, none of the girls are left. Patrick and Duncan are still here, though! They're getting on in age at this point; I'm sure that they're nearly 3 but I can't be more specific since they were rescued from mysterious circumstances. I've been meaning to ask Hilary, the lady who passed them on to me, about the situation she liberated them from.
As well as Pad and Dunk, I have two more boys and two girls. The girls are Clementine and Germaine, two gorgeous ladies who were in the rescue section at Pets at Home. I was warned when first trying to handle them that Clem was a biter - she did nip me rather hard, but since then, with handling, she hasn't bitten me at all. She's just incredibly hyper and very, very horny. Dear god, I swear the girl spends most of her days in heat.
By comparison, Germaine is much more mellow. While Clem is barrelling around at 200mph, Gem will just sit on the back of the armchair and let me pet her, or squeeze in next to my thigh and go to sleep. She still has a touch of anxiety when you first begin handling her, though, and will be very squirmy before she settles into things and calms down. She reminds me of my oldie Violet in that respect - Violet was also a super anxious rat.
The younger boys are my newest ones, Chester and Spock. I've had them for a month or two at this point and I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.
So I sent Jason on a mission to Pets at Home to get more rat food, because I was stuck at home either working or revising for my upcoming English exam. He went, he bought the food, we picked him up, and in the car on the way home, when we'd stopped at the auto spray place (Dad wanted to get some paint for the car), Jason told me about some of the animals he'd looked in on while at the pet shop.
He described two dumbo rats, obviously boys because they were, we shall say, well endowed, with black fur and little white bellies. Two boy versions of my old girl Burrito, who I had absolutely adored. I hadn't planned on getting any more rats; I wanted to keep the numbers at around four because I'd found having eight was proving increasingly difficult with my uni and work commitments. I wasn't going to give any away, of course - rather I was going to take care of them while they were around, and lower the frequency at which I would acquire new rats, so that over time the rattie workload would become more manageable.
But Jason had firmly scuppered that idea when he described two ultra cute boy Burritos. I knew I had to have them, and you know what? I regret nothing. They are the sweetest, cuddliest boys. Still a bit hyper due to their young age - Pad and Dunk are my go-to guys when I want proper rattie cuddles - but they are still so, so lovely. Clementine, the relentless flirt, agrees. I had Chester and Spock downstairs the other day, where the girlies live, and Chester and Clem had a proper Romeo and Juliet thing going on through the bars of the girls' cage.
As cute as babies would be, though, I am NOT breeding them. This is it, now, six rats is my absolute limit. Until I see an male siamese or roan that needs a home... *cough*
Here are some pictures of my creatures to close off the post! It's a shame they aren't better quality - my trusty Fujifilm FinePix tragically kicked the bucket last autumn so I'm relying on my Kindle, and rats are notoriously hard to photograph even with a proper DSLR.
Patrick
Duncan
Clementine
Germaine
Chester
Spock
My July Bogglebox has arrived! Bogglebox is a subscription box for rats - you get some cage accessories, some treats, and sometimes little extra goodies. This month, there's a giant tube which I think my creatures will love, a wooden chew for them to destroy, some carrot chips and dried peas, some fruity cookies, and even a cute sticker sheet for their human, AKA me!
I'll be getting another Bogglebox next month, and then I can put my order in for the next three months - September, October and November. It's a really good little subscription box because between work and uni I don't often find myself able to make it into St Helens, where the best shops are for rat toys and treats. Plus, between this month's and last month's boxes, I already have a good variety of treats to spoil my ladies and gentlemen. It's great, because otherwise all they'd be getting would be the little fruity drops that I can buy from work.
Speaking of rats and rat stuff, I figured that it would be a good time to update on my current menagerie. Rats have such a short lifespan, so obviously there have been a lot of changes since my last bout of activity.
Last year, when I was last active, I think my mischief consisted of two boys, and six girls. If I recall correctly, it was Patrick and Duncan, then my girls Frida, Florence and Kali, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl.
Sadly, none of the girls are left. Patrick and Duncan are still here, though! They're getting on in age at this point; I'm sure that they're nearly 3 but I can't be more specific since they were rescued from mysterious circumstances. I've been meaning to ask Hilary, the lady who passed them on to me, about the situation she liberated them from.
As well as Pad and Dunk, I have two more boys and two girls. The girls are Clementine and Germaine, two gorgeous ladies who were in the rescue section at Pets at Home. I was warned when first trying to handle them that Clem was a biter - she did nip me rather hard, but since then, with handling, she hasn't bitten me at all. She's just incredibly hyper and very, very horny. Dear god, I swear the girl spends most of her days in heat.
By comparison, Germaine is much more mellow. While Clem is barrelling around at 200mph, Gem will just sit on the back of the armchair and let me pet her, or squeeze in next to my thigh and go to sleep. She still has a touch of anxiety when you first begin handling her, though, and will be very squirmy before she settles into things and calms down. She reminds me of my oldie Violet in that respect - Violet was also a super anxious rat.
The younger boys are my newest ones, Chester and Spock. I've had them for a month or two at this point and I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.
So I sent Jason on a mission to Pets at Home to get more rat food, because I was stuck at home either working or revising for my upcoming English exam. He went, he bought the food, we picked him up, and in the car on the way home, when we'd stopped at the auto spray place (Dad wanted to get some paint for the car), Jason told me about some of the animals he'd looked in on while at the pet shop.
He described two dumbo rats, obviously boys because they were, we shall say, well endowed, with black fur and little white bellies. Two boy versions of my old girl Burrito, who I had absolutely adored. I hadn't planned on getting any more rats; I wanted to keep the numbers at around four because I'd found having eight was proving increasingly difficult with my uni and work commitments. I wasn't going to give any away, of course - rather I was going to take care of them while they were around, and lower the frequency at which I would acquire new rats, so that over time the rattie workload would become more manageable.
But Jason had firmly scuppered that idea when he described two ultra cute boy Burritos. I knew I had to have them, and you know what? I regret nothing. They are the sweetest, cuddliest boys. Still a bit hyper due to their young age - Pad and Dunk are my go-to guys when I want proper rattie cuddles - but they are still so, so lovely. Clementine, the relentless flirt, agrees. I had Chester and Spock downstairs the other day, where the girlies live, and Chester and Clem had a proper Romeo and Juliet thing going on through the bars of the girls' cage.
As cute as babies would be, though, I am NOT breeding them. This is it, now, six rats is my absolute limit. Until I see an male siamese or roan that needs a home... *cough*
Here are some pictures of my creatures to close off the post! It's a shame they aren't better quality - my trusty Fujifilm FinePix tragically kicked the bucket last autumn so I'm relying on my Kindle, and rats are notoriously hard to photograph even with a proper DSLR.
Patrick
Duncan
Clementine
Germaine
Chester
Spock