Fuzz Butt Rattery

Henry X Penelope litter update

fbrattery — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:31:23 +0000

Penelope’s babies are almost 6 weeks old!

I seperated the boys and girls last weekend and all seem to be taking to their new cages well. The boys are with Papa Henry, Grandpa Geraldo, and Uncle Ferdinand… while the girls are with Momma Penelope, Grandma Otis, Aunts Marty, Phish, and Naima, and Talulah and Wanda.

Talulah and Wanda are our newest additions. Talulah is a black irish and Wanda is a beige hooded, both standard eared. They were purchased at a reptile show (I know, horrible place to get them… they were just too cute. I need to break that habit) that was being held at my work, ORE. Both seem to be approx 4 weeks old now, and have practically drove Penelope mad trying to feed from her. Neither bite and seem to have an excellent temperament for where they were bred/kept.

Apparently the lady that bred them bought a house just to breed these poor little rats in and to keep her snakes! It’s sickening how horribly they are treated, all of the adult rats ears were scabbed and bit and just looked nasty. My sister’s boyfriend also got two of them, a male and a female.. the tip of the males tail is missing, and he doesn’t seem to be the nicest of little boys.

Pictures coming soon, I hope! Time is escaping me now that school is here.

In other news;
Two of the boys were picked up by their now owner, Meredith, on Thursday, August 28.

Also, I’m making a trip down with my mom to Kentucky tomorrow. We are meeting halfway with the woman who is adopting two of the female babies.

Best of luck and good wishes goes out to both of you! I’m looking forward to hearing about their growth and life.

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4 wks old

fbrattery — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:55:18 +0000

While when they were only a few days old I could hold all 13 in my hand at once, holding even one in my hand for any period of time now is difficult. They are active: climbing up arms, down backs, jumping out of hands to run around the bed, etc. I love the difference in coloring in some of the agoutis… some more ashy grey than the others who are ashy brown.

They are great little fuzzlets. They eat well (what porkers!), wrestle with eachother, attack momma Penelope when they’re hungry, bury themselves in the bedding, and all try to cramp together in the smaller of the two plastic houses in their cage. They are quite the sight to watch and I’ll be sad to see some of them go. In 3 days they will be a month old.

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Male vs. Female

fbrattery — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 20:55:58 +0000

While both male and female make wonderful pets, their personalities are like night and day. You should definitely consider the following when picking out a rat that will best suit you.

Male
Male rats are larger in size, have a coarser coat, and are lazier than females. A male rat will be more prone to sitting on your shoulder and enjoying a walk around the house or backyard with you, laying on your lap while you watch a movie or work on the computer, and most love a good head-scratch. Like male dogs, male rats will scent mark (only 2 or 3 drops of urine, but something to think about) but this can be controlled if they are neutered. Their cage may need to be cleaned more often if they are not neutered, but leaving a small amount of the soiled litter in the cage after cleaning may reduce this.

Females
Females are smaller, leaner, softer, and a whole lot more hyper than males. Females prefer exploring to cuddling, but are fun to watch run around and play games with. Females may need more things in their cage to climb on and play with, while males should have more soft things to lay in or on. Females are more prone to chewing things up quickly, though males will too… just at a slower pace. Though females are typically very active, some may slow down when they get into their “senior” stage.

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Slacker

fbrattery — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:23:00 +0000

Whoops!
I’m seriously slacking on the siteand pictures.

The babies are growing up so fast, already eating some solid foods and drinking from the water bottle. I’ve been letting them all play in the bath-tub with some towels, toilet paper rolls, and plastic containers… they seem to like it! I’ve named them all with the exception of two girls.

Found a new bedding today called ECO Bedding. It’s crinkled paper… looks like the stuff found in easter baskets. I’m going to be putting it in the girls cage later tonight and we’ll see how they take to it. The package says, “Hygienic and Sanitary! Made with recycled paper. Safety-tested. Healthy for all small pets. Cleans easily with no sticking. Is completely biodegradable. …. Hypoallergenic. Completely Dust Free. …. Deodorizer Ammonia Blocker Quick Absortion.” For 4.5 lbs. it cost about $15.00 and expands to about 125 liters. It will need to be cleaned more frequently because it’s paper, but it’s definitely softer for them to lay on!

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Growing Up

fbrattery — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 06:36:28 +0000

Their eyes are opening!
In the next couple days all of their eyes will be open and they will be more active than ever, so I’m going to be building a cage for them and building onto the girls cage. Did the boys cage today and doubled it in size.

No pictures for the 14th day. I can’t believe they’re already 2 weeks old! There is such a difference from the day they were born to today.

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