(no subject)
So, some newbies have turned up!
Thats the thing about rat rescue, you lose a lot, but you have to glean some positivity from everything by reminding yourself that there are always more needy rats out there that need you, and for every loss, there is another little soul who is waiting to fill it.
First off, I have two new does.
This actually occured at a wonderfully convinient time. I'd just lost bunty and Aggie, which left me with onle one girl, Mirabelle, who lives with Hoffman. Mirabelle clearly missed the other girls and was pining, then, as if on cue, two new ladies come in!
They belonged to an old friend of my boyfriend. He'd had them a year, and didn't have the time to give them the attention they needed. They were extremely nervous, as they'd never really been handled, and he knew they needed a more hands on home.
They are both very nervous, worried, and hate being handled. They'll take a lot of work.
They're already in with Hoffman and Mirabelle, as nervous rats do much better when around more confident rats.
The black hoodie is called Perez, and the Agouti hoodie is Lorelai.
As you can see, everyone is getting on amazingly well! Hoffman had a bit of a fued with Perez on the first day, but now they're all deeply in love!
Hoffman with his girlies!
And I also recieved two new baby boys.
They're only 12 weeks old, and the owner had only had them a month. The story is that the little girl had become allergic to them. They're both gorgeous rats, but need some handling. They're both a little nippy through fear, but thats easily fixed.
My boyfriend and I drove to Stowmarket to get them.
One is a black eyed white and my boyfriend named him Theodore. Theo is the most outgoing of the two and seems the most comfortable being handled. The other is a gorgeous black berkshire and I named him Luke. He is timid and very worried about everything, but he's slowly getting better.
One brief meeting with my other lads ended in Mandylor being unecessarily aggressive, so Im giving them some more time before I try that again. I want them to be bonded to me before I try putting them in with the others.
So, on to photos!
Luke's first meeting with the two highest ranking boys!
Lovely Luke!
Mandylor. He's getting such a big boy, and, unfortunately, he's showing some very familiar behaviours. He came from the same place as Hoffman, but was only tiny when I got him so I figured he wouldn't be affected by the need to be the alpha, but he is. He's becoming an extremely dominant rat, and may have even usurped Henry over the last couple of days as the boss. I feel it could partly be my fault, as he has become a surrogate Warlock to me; he comes up to bed with me in the same way Warlock did, and he is obsessed with me in the same way Warlock was. I think he may be thinking he is special because of this treatment. I often find the rats I bond with this strongly become dominant rats. He's at the worst age for dominant behaviour, so Im hoping he'll grow out of it, but if not, he may need to be castrated.
Suffice to say that, at the moment, he is TROUBLE.
Mandylor tormenting Hoffman through the bars.
Luke's meeting with the others. As you can see, it was all quite concerning for him.
Theodore. Being a white rat, it takes luck or skill to photograph him without him just appearing as a white blob, especially as Im using a camera Im not used to right now. This was the only photo that came out well.
Henry!
Huey, looking a bit rusty around the muzzle lately, bless him.
Huey and Barney.
Bowie and Barney.
Hoffman.
Thats the thing about rat rescue, you lose a lot, but you have to glean some positivity from everything by reminding yourself that there are always more needy rats out there that need you, and for every loss, there is another little soul who is waiting to fill it.
First off, I have two new does.
This actually occured at a wonderfully convinient time. I'd just lost bunty and Aggie, which left me with onle one girl, Mirabelle, who lives with Hoffman. Mirabelle clearly missed the other girls and was pining, then, as if on cue, two new ladies come in!
They belonged to an old friend of my boyfriend. He'd had them a year, and didn't have the time to give them the attention they needed. They were extremely nervous, as they'd never really been handled, and he knew they needed a more hands on home.
They are both very nervous, worried, and hate being handled. They'll take a lot of work.
They're already in with Hoffman and Mirabelle, as nervous rats do much better when around more confident rats.
The black hoodie is called Perez, and the Agouti hoodie is Lorelai.
As you can see, everyone is getting on amazingly well! Hoffman had a bit of a fued with Perez on the first day, but now they're all deeply in love!
Hoffman with his girlies!
And I also recieved two new baby boys.
They're only 12 weeks old, and the owner had only had them a month. The story is that the little girl had become allergic to them. They're both gorgeous rats, but need some handling. They're both a little nippy through fear, but thats easily fixed.
My boyfriend and I drove to Stowmarket to get them.
One is a black eyed white and my boyfriend named him Theodore. Theo is the most outgoing of the two and seems the most comfortable being handled. The other is a gorgeous black berkshire and I named him Luke. He is timid and very worried about everything, but he's slowly getting better.
One brief meeting with my other lads ended in Mandylor being unecessarily aggressive, so Im giving them some more time before I try that again. I want them to be bonded to me before I try putting them in with the others.
So, on to photos!
Luke's first meeting with the two highest ranking boys!
Lovely Luke!
Mandylor. He's getting such a big boy, and, unfortunately, he's showing some very familiar behaviours. He came from the same place as Hoffman, but was only tiny when I got him so I figured he wouldn't be affected by the need to be the alpha, but he is. He's becoming an extremely dominant rat, and may have even usurped Henry over the last couple of days as the boss. I feel it could partly be my fault, as he has become a surrogate Warlock to me; he comes up to bed with me in the same way Warlock did, and he is obsessed with me in the same way Warlock was. I think he may be thinking he is special because of this treatment. I often find the rats I bond with this strongly become dominant rats. He's at the worst age for dominant behaviour, so Im hoping he'll grow out of it, but if not, he may need to be castrated.
Suffice to say that, at the moment, he is TROUBLE.
Mandylor tormenting Hoffman through the bars.
Luke's meeting with the others. As you can see, it was all quite concerning for him.
Theodore. Being a white rat, it takes luck or skill to photograph him without him just appearing as a white blob, especially as Im using a camera Im not used to right now. This was the only photo that came out well.
Henry!
Huey, looking a bit rusty around the muzzle lately, bless him.
Huey and Barney.
Bowie and Barney.
Hoffman.