(no subject)
So, some new faces and some sad news since my last update.
First, my little siamese boy, Zep, and my russian dove lad Grout have both passed away since my last update. Zep had an internal liver mass, and although we managed to buy him some time with antibiotics and a kidney-friendly diet, he died about a week later. I knew he was on borrowed on time, but he seemed to go downhill a lot quicker than I'd hoped.
Grout was more of a shock. I'd seen him that morning, then when I went to check him again later, he was dead in his chinchilla ball, covered over with blanket. None of the other rats were in the ball, which is really odd for them as its their favourite place. Grout was approaching 2 years of age, and although he had arthiritis in his hind legs, and a slight ear infection which was being treated with drops, he was otherwise healthy.
Im not sure what happened to him, other than perhaps a sudden stroke or heart attack.
They'll both be sorely missed :(
First off, I'd like to introduce you to the new love of my life, Ramsay (formerly Bo).
I adopted him from FurryFriends rescue after he'd been found dumped in a wood in his cage. I don't suppose we'll ever know what happened to him, but he is very distrusting of humans, so has likely suffered some abuse. I named him after Gordon Ramsay because of his tendancy to protest very loudly about anything he doesn't like.
The first day I brought him home, he was understandably stressed from the journey, but would scream at me whenever I so much as brushed against his fur. He wasn't aggressive, no biting at all, he was just terrified. If you attempted to pick him up, he'd squeal more, and thrash about to get away.
I've had him since Friday night now, and he is doing fabulously.
He is now much calmer when being lifted, his squeaking has lessened a LOT, and best of all, he is now settled in my big group of boys, who are all completely soppy and adore him. Being around confident rats really seems to have helped bring him out of himself.
Its early days yet, but Im so happy with the progress he has made; we'll have him laying all floppy in my arms and getting belly kisses very soon!
So, here is Ramsay!
He loves his Broccoli toy
He also takes yogies very politely!
Along with Ramsay, I also picked up 2 young hairless rats. I already own hairless, so am familiar with their specific requirements. These two came close to being sent to the RSPCA, where they would have almost certainly been euthanised as their previous owner claimed they were biters.
However, neither of them have shown anything even approaching aggression. They're just typical, bouncy, inquisitive babies! Thanks to Emma and everyone who helped get them to safety!
Please meet Giblet (my mum is a chef, she tends to like food names!) and Ace! Giblet is the smaller of the two, he has a tiny little pin head :P
They went straight into the big boy's group with Ramsay, easy as pie. Giblet in particular is strutting about like he owns the place! No fear.
Also, please welcome two new girls.
I had no idea these two would be turning up. Another call referred to me by the RSPCA. I hadn't planned any more girls, but I got one of those out of the blue 'we desperately need somewhere for these rats to go, you're our last option' calls. The previous owner apparently suffered from depression which, coupled with her having young kids, was meaning the rats were too much to handle. The previous owner's social worker had called me to arrange me to pick them up.
Little did I know at the time, both girls have mammary tumors.
The previous owner didn't mention this, and it wasn't until I was in the train station on my way home with them that I noticed them as it was my first chance to get hands on.
I have already taken both girls to the vet, and we've agreed surgery is an option, and probably the best one as they're both only a year old and otherwise fit.
My quote for the operations is £138 per rat.
Im currently contacting the RSPCA to see if they can help at all with the cost, since it was they who referred these rats to me, but either way, they'll be getting their ops asap.
So, please meet Karni Mata (lump is on lower belly, left hand side of the screen):
And Miss Rainbow Delish Queen Bee aka Queenie (lump obvious!)
Both:
So, now we've met the newbies, some random pics from today!
This is the cage my boys live in. Its kinda home-made, I guess. The cage on the left is, I THINK, two freddy cages on top of one another (got given it by Tuppence's old owner) and the one on the right of the screen is a FOP guinea pig cage with another guinea pig cage on top of it. The two are joined by a tube. Still needs some decoration, but with those two operations coming up, extra hammocks will have to wait!
Mickey using Fry as a pillow:
Rather a sad shot of my old boy, Jester. He has a lump on his back, and he is not sturdy enough for an operation as he's quite old and has started slowing down of late. I don't think the time it may buy him is worth the stress at his age. He was also Grout's life long companion so I feel he has been through enough lately. But still, even though it doesn't hurt him at all, its a stark reminder that he is probably not long for this world :(
Jigsaw and Fry:
Mickey and Kyuss get chicken as a treat:
A box full of baldies. Carl is the one in the middle with redder looking skin. He is a very sensitive rat, and although the other two dumbo hairless you see are his litter mates, he has constant skin issues while the other two are pristene. He has been to the vet several times, and had several medicated shampoos prescribed which don't seem to really help. At the moment, he is being moisturised several times a day in an effort to help make his skin less dry and itchy. Although his skin seems to not be worsening, he also has very crusty feet. Im going to persevere with the cream for a little longer, then it will likely be back to the vet.
But anyway, just so you know!
Ramsay looks very concerned about Kyuss. Kyuss is the only rat in the group that he hasn't 100% clicked with yet. And I would have expected as much, since Kyuss is usually the one who likes to stomp about and prove hes the big man, which Ramsay finds most upsetting. Nothing serious though, just Kyuss making sure Ramsay knows he is above him!
Kyuss, as always, is being an attention whore:
Giblet is startled!
Ramsay and two pink things:
Iz tirin' bein' a baby:
Warlock clutches his chicken protectively. No-one touches Warlock's chicken, its his FAVOURITE!!!!
Ace and Giblet investigate Ramsay:
My beautiful little Ramsay boy. Wuv you!!!!
Frasier (at the back) shoving a baby out of the slipper. YOU DON'T COME IN HERE TILL YOU IZ BIG!!!
I LOVE this pic. This pic demonstrates Jigsaw's personality better than anything else. Here he is giving Ramsay a welcome-lick. Jigsaw loves EVERYONE. He tries to make everyone feel welcome, and he's fantastic with babies too. He's just a real sweet-heart:
Fry and Kyuss in their trippy hammock:
D'aaaaw, tired Fry:
OMG IT'S QUEENIE!!!!
Moth doesn't approve of this yogie:
Just Fry, bein' Fry!
Beautiful Jigsaw:
First, my little siamese boy, Zep, and my russian dove lad Grout have both passed away since my last update. Zep had an internal liver mass, and although we managed to buy him some time with antibiotics and a kidney-friendly diet, he died about a week later. I knew he was on borrowed on time, but he seemed to go downhill a lot quicker than I'd hoped.
Grout was more of a shock. I'd seen him that morning, then when I went to check him again later, he was dead in his chinchilla ball, covered over with blanket. None of the other rats were in the ball, which is really odd for them as its their favourite place. Grout was approaching 2 years of age, and although he had arthiritis in his hind legs, and a slight ear infection which was being treated with drops, he was otherwise healthy.
Im not sure what happened to him, other than perhaps a sudden stroke or heart attack.
They'll both be sorely missed :(
First off, I'd like to introduce you to the new love of my life, Ramsay (formerly Bo).
I adopted him from FurryFriends rescue after he'd been found dumped in a wood in his cage. I don't suppose we'll ever know what happened to him, but he is very distrusting of humans, so has likely suffered some abuse. I named him after Gordon Ramsay because of his tendancy to protest very loudly about anything he doesn't like.
The first day I brought him home, he was understandably stressed from the journey, but would scream at me whenever I so much as brushed against his fur. He wasn't aggressive, no biting at all, he was just terrified. If you attempted to pick him up, he'd squeal more, and thrash about to get away.
I've had him since Friday night now, and he is doing fabulously.
He is now much calmer when being lifted, his squeaking has lessened a LOT, and best of all, he is now settled in my big group of boys, who are all completely soppy and adore him. Being around confident rats really seems to have helped bring him out of himself.
Its early days yet, but Im so happy with the progress he has made; we'll have him laying all floppy in my arms and getting belly kisses very soon!
So, here is Ramsay!
He loves his Broccoli toy
He also takes yogies very politely!
Along with Ramsay, I also picked up 2 young hairless rats. I already own hairless, so am familiar with their specific requirements. These two came close to being sent to the RSPCA, where they would have almost certainly been euthanised as their previous owner claimed they were biters.
However, neither of them have shown anything even approaching aggression. They're just typical, bouncy, inquisitive babies! Thanks to Emma and everyone who helped get them to safety!
Please meet Giblet (my mum is a chef, she tends to like food names!) and Ace! Giblet is the smaller of the two, he has a tiny little pin head :P
They went straight into the big boy's group with Ramsay, easy as pie. Giblet in particular is strutting about like he owns the place! No fear.
Also, please welcome two new girls.
I had no idea these two would be turning up. Another call referred to me by the RSPCA. I hadn't planned any more girls, but I got one of those out of the blue 'we desperately need somewhere for these rats to go, you're our last option' calls. The previous owner apparently suffered from depression which, coupled with her having young kids, was meaning the rats were too much to handle. The previous owner's social worker had called me to arrange me to pick them up.
Little did I know at the time, both girls have mammary tumors.
The previous owner didn't mention this, and it wasn't until I was in the train station on my way home with them that I noticed them as it was my first chance to get hands on.
I have already taken both girls to the vet, and we've agreed surgery is an option, and probably the best one as they're both only a year old and otherwise fit.
My quote for the operations is £138 per rat.
Im currently contacting the RSPCA to see if they can help at all with the cost, since it was they who referred these rats to me, but either way, they'll be getting their ops asap.
So, please meet Karni Mata (lump is on lower belly, left hand side of the screen):
And Miss Rainbow Delish Queen Bee aka Queenie (lump obvious!)
Both:
So, now we've met the newbies, some random pics from today!
This is the cage my boys live in. Its kinda home-made, I guess. The cage on the left is, I THINK, two freddy cages on top of one another (got given it by Tuppence's old owner) and the one on the right of the screen is a FOP guinea pig cage with another guinea pig cage on top of it. The two are joined by a tube. Still needs some decoration, but with those two operations coming up, extra hammocks will have to wait!
Mickey using Fry as a pillow:
Rather a sad shot of my old boy, Jester. He has a lump on his back, and he is not sturdy enough for an operation as he's quite old and has started slowing down of late. I don't think the time it may buy him is worth the stress at his age. He was also Grout's life long companion so I feel he has been through enough lately. But still, even though it doesn't hurt him at all, its a stark reminder that he is probably not long for this world :(
Jigsaw and Fry:
Mickey and Kyuss get chicken as a treat:
A box full of baldies. Carl is the one in the middle with redder looking skin. He is a very sensitive rat, and although the other two dumbo hairless you see are his litter mates, he has constant skin issues while the other two are pristene. He has been to the vet several times, and had several medicated shampoos prescribed which don't seem to really help. At the moment, he is being moisturised several times a day in an effort to help make his skin less dry and itchy. Although his skin seems to not be worsening, he also has very crusty feet. Im going to persevere with the cream for a little longer, then it will likely be back to the vet.
But anyway, just so you know!
Ramsay looks very concerned about Kyuss. Kyuss is the only rat in the group that he hasn't 100% clicked with yet. And I would have expected as much, since Kyuss is usually the one who likes to stomp about and prove hes the big man, which Ramsay finds most upsetting. Nothing serious though, just Kyuss making sure Ramsay knows he is above him!
Kyuss, as always, is being an attention whore:
Giblet is startled!
Ramsay and two pink things:
Iz tirin' bein' a baby:
Warlock clutches his chicken protectively. No-one touches Warlock's chicken, its his FAVOURITE!!!!
Ace and Giblet investigate Ramsay:
My beautiful little Ramsay boy. Wuv you!!!!
Frasier (at the back) shoving a baby out of the slipper. YOU DON'T COME IN HERE TILL YOU IZ BIG!!!
I LOVE this pic. This pic demonstrates Jigsaw's personality better than anything else. Here he is giving Ramsay a welcome-lick. Jigsaw loves EVERYONE. He tries to make everyone feel welcome, and he's fantastic with babies too. He's just a real sweet-heart:
Fry and Kyuss in their trippy hammock:
D'aaaaw, tired Fry:
OMG IT'S QUEENIE!!!!
Moth doesn't approve of this yogie:
Just Fry, bein' Fry!
Beautiful Jigsaw: