It's been a fun couple of weeks trying to introduce the two Bongo Fury boys to the oldies. At first I didn't think we'd ever manage it. But slowly, in stages, it seems to be working.
First I got Gambit in with the boys. No More Mr Nice Guy squealed and squealed and squealed. But eventually he settled down. Then we were able to introduce Cyclops, and the four were quite happy together.
Introductions with the rest didn't go so well at first. There were squeals and scuffles and a few cut tales. Then we swapped Gambit and Cyclops for Robb and Rickon, who are both pretty calm boys. These four were soon happy together.
We tried a few more goes at having the full group together at times, but No More Mr Nice Guy was constantly squealing and starting fights. I was seriously starting to work out rat maths and who best to put where.
Today I let them all in together and why the little boy still squealed, the others showed no interest in fighting, and Nightcrawler managed to ignore the squeaks long enough to temporary join Cyclops and the little ones in a hammock.
It was daytime though, so everyone was kinda calm. Things got a little more active this evening, although it still seemed to be mostly No More Mr Nice Guy making lots of noise for no reason. So we decided confined quarters might be a good idea. Bran and Jon, the two who NMMNG doesn't like, with Cyclops (for company) and the two little ones are all in a carrier beside me. They're chewing away on food, sniffing about, but otherwise seem to be pretty calm. We'll see what happens when they all go back in the cage together.
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Sunday, 6 May 2012
Introductions
I used to blog regularly about my rats, but this seems to have dried up in recent years. So behold, a new blog to write about rats in!
This post would probably be better with photos in it, but for now I'm going to force you to use your imagination. I am sure photos will come at some point in the future. Possibly lots of points.
I'm me. I am a rat owner. I have a bad case of GMR - a common ailment of rat owners, and short for 'Get More Rats'. But no more. My rat quota is full! At least for the next six to twelve months.
The current household consists of the following, in order of age:
Cyclops: born in the closing months of 2010, Cyclops is some form of grey dumbo rat - too dark for a silver, I think, too light for a blue. That may make him a dove, but I'm no good at rat varieties. He has a white stripe close to his one eye. This eye is ruby, the other is black. That's why he gained the name of the best X-Man in the world ever.
Gambit: a pink eyed white, acquired in around April 2011. The brother of the late Beast (an aggressive sod who spent his final days with some girls, and died too young).
Nightcrawler, another last remaining brother. His brothers: Havoc and Vulcan, were impossible. Nightcrawler, however, is a lovely boy. He's an agouti hooded. I got him somewhere around May/June.
Bran, Robb, Rickon and Jon are the Stark brothers. There were obtained somewhere near the end of the year. Bran is a black hooded. Robb and Rickon are both black with white bellies (Rickon's has slightly more appearing on the sides - this is the only way to tell the difference between the two). Jon is agouti.
Then we come to the girls.
Sansa and Arya, the Stark girls, are the oldest. Sansa is a dumbo Himalayan with a head tilt. Arya a Siamese. Sansa is unfortunately very difficult to handle and doesn't come out very much. Got these some time in February 2012.
The latest arrivals from April 2012 on the girls side are Broken Sword - a black hooded with an almost unbroken stripe down the back, and Beneath a Steel Sky - who's the same colour as Cyclops. Both are dumbos. Steel has a short tail for some reason - guessing an accident when she was very young.
All the above are rescues.
Yesterday I acquired my first breeder rats, since my last lot died in the first half of last year. The boys are Bongo Fury Awkward Customer, a blue with a head tilt and because of this serious balance issues. And a Russian Dove Agouti called Bongo Fury No More Mr Nice Guy. This little fella has a lot to live up to - I had the first ever Bongo Fury Russian Dove Agouti, the wonderful Guile, who was absolutely amazing. These two are ridiculously friendly, as you'd expect from breeder rats. Particularly Bongo Fury rats which are the best rats in the world ever! (Seriously. Just a shame they have to travel from Ireland to get here).
This post would probably be better with photos in it, but for now I'm going to force you to use your imagination. I am sure photos will come at some point in the future. Possibly lots of points.
I'm me. I am a rat owner. I have a bad case of GMR - a common ailment of rat owners, and short for 'Get More Rats'. But no more. My rat quota is full! At least for the next six to twelve months.
The current household consists of the following, in order of age:
Cyclops: born in the closing months of 2010, Cyclops is some form of grey dumbo rat - too dark for a silver, I think, too light for a blue. That may make him a dove, but I'm no good at rat varieties. He has a white stripe close to his one eye. This eye is ruby, the other is black. That's why he gained the name of the best X-Man in the world ever.
Gambit: a pink eyed white, acquired in around April 2011. The brother of the late Beast (an aggressive sod who spent his final days with some girls, and died too young).
Nightcrawler, another last remaining brother. His brothers: Havoc and Vulcan, were impossible. Nightcrawler, however, is a lovely boy. He's an agouti hooded. I got him somewhere around May/June.
Bran, Robb, Rickon and Jon are the Stark brothers. There were obtained somewhere near the end of the year. Bran is a black hooded. Robb and Rickon are both black with white bellies (Rickon's has slightly more appearing on the sides - this is the only way to tell the difference between the two). Jon is agouti.
Then we come to the girls.
Sansa and Arya, the Stark girls, are the oldest. Sansa is a dumbo Himalayan with a head tilt. Arya a Siamese. Sansa is unfortunately very difficult to handle and doesn't come out very much. Got these some time in February 2012.
The latest arrivals from April 2012 on the girls side are Broken Sword - a black hooded with an almost unbroken stripe down the back, and Beneath a Steel Sky - who's the same colour as Cyclops. Both are dumbos. Steel has a short tail for some reason - guessing an accident when she was very young.
All the above are rescues.
Yesterday I acquired my first breeder rats, since my last lot died in the first half of last year. The boys are Bongo Fury Awkward Customer, a blue with a head tilt and because of this serious balance issues. And a Russian Dove Agouti called Bongo Fury No More Mr Nice Guy. This little fella has a lot to live up to - I had the first ever Bongo Fury Russian Dove Agouti, the wonderful Guile, who was absolutely amazing. These two are ridiculously friendly, as you'd expect from breeder rats. Particularly Bongo Fury rats which are the best rats in the world ever! (Seriously. Just a shame they have to travel from Ireland to get here).
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