Rat in a Box

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Monday, June 29. 2009

Some pictures Posted by Abita at 21:57

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Some pictures

R.C. loves cucumber.

Ratsie loves cucumber and being able to eat it while snuggling under his sweatshirt.

Isaac loves cucumber but is easily distracted by the camera.

Gino: I need to check my Facebook.

Fausto: I'll just change my status from the phone.

Tuesday, June 23. 2009

Paint chips Posted by Abita at 21:38

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Paint chips

Since I'm repainting their room, I thought the boys might want a little input into the color:

The consensus seems to be: they all taste the same.

And these pictures have nothing to do with the paint, but awwwww:

R.C. and Ratsie

Isaac and Fausto

Monday, June 22. 2009

Isaac's day at the vet Posted by Abita at 21:01

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Saturday afternoon (about 25 minutes after the vet closed) Victor noticed that Isaac had a lump. He was neutered a few weeks ago, so I though he was probably reacting to the dissolving sutures. We started him on Baytril, and Victor took him to the vet this morning.

The vet thought the same thing we did: Ho hum, typical abscess, about a centimeter.

Except when the vet went in to drain it, it was about three times that size. He used the laser to remove the whole thing (instead of just trying to drain it), flushed and cleaned everything, and sent him home with a big row of stitches (alternating nylon and staples).

He is eating and active; unfortunately "active" includes fussing with the stitches. Hopefully we won't have to resort to a collar.

Wednesday, June 17. 2009

Some still pictures Posted by Abita at 22:00

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Some still pictures

Gino, Fausto, and Isaac hanging out together in the cage.

Isaac eating some scrambled eggs.
I know...already over-feeding them. But the way to a rat's heart is through his stomach, right?

Gino with a rib bone.
We bought the ribs just for the rats. Seriously. We just ate the fries and the cole slaw.

I'm not trying to ignore the old men...here're Banqo, R.C., and Mosby (who really is ok, he just looks like he's fallen and can't get up.) Ratsie is in the box.

Wednesday, June 17. 2009

Let's go to the video! Posted by Abita at 21:20

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Let's go to the video!

Some footage of Isaac, Fausto, and Gino doing some grooming...some boxing...some more grooming.

(I need to learn how to actually edit video, and turn off the sound. Tonight's background noise is, as usual, the Washington Nationals on the radio. Hopefully MLB doesn't consider this an unauthorized rebroadcast.)

Sunday, June 14. 2009

Roomies! Posted by Abita at 20:18

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Roomies!

We are wrapping up a busy weekend here, but I wanted to do a quick update on the introduction situation: Isaac, Fausto, and Gino can all be reached at the same address. There are still some complaints from the neighbors about noise and general wildness...boys will be boys...but overall things are looking good.

Friday, June 12. 2009

The first introduction Posted by Abita at 21:29

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The first introduction

Tonight was our first attempt at introducing Fausto and Gino to Isaac. I was hoping we'd have a repeat of the Frat Boy introduction, where Jim curled up with Jack and George like they were long-lost brothers. I was praying we wouldn't repeat one of the intros that took us to the vet (or in my case, emergency room.)

It was in the middle. The guys did not greet each other like old friends, but there was no blood and not even much fur flying. I'm a little surprised that the clearly most aggressive rat is Isaac; he was the one doing all the siddling and puffing.

Gino and Fausto did their best to avoid Isaac, but neither was ready to just roll over and submit. Fausto boxed back just a bit, but when Isaac wasn't harassing him, he was content to groom, eat pudding, or crawl into my lap. Gino, though, was clearly more wary even when Isaac wasn't anywhere near him.

When we returned everybody to their respective cages they all took treats, so I don't think anyone is traumatized, but I don't think we are close to one happy family yet.

Thursday, June 11. 2009

Update on Ratsie Posted by Abita at 21:38

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Update on Ratsie

I talked to the vet today. The pathology on the mass they removed came back from the lab, and unfortunately it is adenocarcinoma. Chance are, he either still has tumors farther up his intestines or they will be growing back.

But to look on the bright side...he is 32 months old, and we bought him some more time with the surgery on Monday. Sunday night, I didn't think he'd be with us today. And he's back in the cage with his brothers, sleeping in the big rat pile and enjoying pudding.

Monday, June 8. 2009

There's one in every crowd (or, ... Posted by Abita at 21:27

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There's one in every crowd (or, watch me eat my words)

When I talked to the rescue volunteer who took Isaac to be neutered, I said something about how boys are much better about leaving stitches alone than girls are.

Today when I talked to the vet, I remarked that I've never had a male rat mess with stitches.

I ran out for dinner this evening, got home, and of course...Gino has open his incision.

I don't think it's a big emergency, because I'm pretty sure he can't get at the internal sutures, he just chewed off the skin glue. It's not bleeding, and he's running around like his usual jumpy self. But still...how much sleep will I get tonight?

Monday, June 8. 2009

A day at the vet Posted by Abita at 18:14

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A day at the vet

Fausto and Gino are home from their neuters and doing well. Fausto went first and was reportedly fine, but Gino was a bit of a handful, trying to escape. Hard to blame, him, really.

In more interesting news: Remember Ratsie started having off-and-on rectal bleeding back in the fall? Every time Ratsie went in, the vet looked around as far as his scope would allow and didn't see any tumors or polyps, and a few times (notably after I thought I saw a worm in dropping) he's checked fecal samples for parasites. But after nine months of 1. not figuring out why Ratsie was bleeding and 2. Ratsie apparently not caring that he was bleeding, we pretty much stopped worrying about it.

Until last night when we were giving Ratsie his evening check and noticed what appeared to be a rectal prolapse.

I took him into the vet this morning when I dropped off Fausto and Gino. I expected bad news, and the vet pretty much met my expectations, but he said he did want to give Ratsie some anesthesia and take another look.

Here's where things get interesting: after knocking Ratsie out with the isoflurane, the protrusion wasn't there. They woke him up...the mass came back out. Put him back under...the protrusion went away. It actually took two vets and all the techs, but they managed to find a light enough dose of the anesthetic to keep Ratsie under and still be able to grab the mass, which they finally could remove. It was about the size of my little fingertip, attached to a stalk that may extend further up the intestine, but hopefully they got enough of it to keep Ratsie comfortable for awhile longer...a much happier outcome than I expected.

Oh...and he found pinworms, which had me a little freaked out initially, but they said he's probably had them his whole life, and it's not terribly unusual for them not to show up on a fecal test. We are going to treat him for that as well, but the vet wanted to do some further research tonight to make sure he uses the safest medication. If anybody has dealt with pinworms in rats, can you leave me a comment with the details?

Thursday, June 4. 2009

Some pictures Posted by Abita at 22:36

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Some pictures

Isaac had a little adventure this afternoon; he decided to jump off and explore under the bed. (I am ashamed to admit how long it's been since I vacuumed under there, and my first reaction was to worry that he'd drown in dog hair.) It took close to 45 minutes to get him captured...I think he was actually taunting me. All is forgiven; he came back out a little while ago and behaved quite nicely.

Gino caught grooming.

Fausto wants up.

Tuesday, June 2. 2009

Quick updates Posted by Abita at 22:13

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Quick updates

Isaac is definitely drinking out of the water bottle. He's also a food stasher...I found grapes from Sunday when we cleaned the cage today.

He's also not really enjoying being held (that's all "forced socialization" is...holding a rat for a period of time to get them used to being handled). Last night, he was pretty nervous and shy out on the bed, too, and we wondered if smelling Fausto and Gino on the blankets freaked him out. Today he came out first on a clean blanket, and he did explore more.

Gino might not be quite as submissive as I first thought; he has stood up a bit to Fausto. The boys are scheduled to be neutered on Monday, so we'll see what happens when the testosterone stops flowing.

Gino is still antsy while being held, but not as nervous. Fausto isn't nervous at all, but he's got the energy of a classroom of eight year old children after cupcakes and Mountain Dew. And remember the scene in Ratatouille where Remy first crawls into Linguini's chef's jacket? We recreated that tonight, except without the actual cooking.

Sunday, May 31. 2009

New Rat Notes Posted by Victor at 22:11

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New Rat Notes

Isaac: 364g. Did 20 minutes of forced socialization, was rather squirmy. He's showing no signs of discomfort from his recent neutering. More important, he's learned to drink from a water bottle. We're going to keep two dishes in there for the time being.

Gino: 409g. He had two sessions of forced socialization, the first 30 minutes long and the second, 20 minutes long. He was very squirmy (with one escape during the 30 minute session), and performed some annoyed bruxing. And there was pooping.

Fausto: 319g. He had two 20-minutes sessions of forced socialization. He, too, was very squirmy, with one escape during the first session. Unlike Gino, he didn't seem scared, just annoyed. All rats were given a small honey graham cracker after their sessions.

Sunday, May 31. 2009

The rest of the story Posted by Abita at 09:06

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The rest of the story

Here's the story to go with last night's pictures.

Isaac is the rat I mentioned last week. We formally adopted him yesterday from Small Angels, and when we went to pick him up from his foster mom, he was riding around on her shoulder, so I think it's safe to say his biting days are already behind him. (He was neutered on Friday, but I'm betting that the handling he got in foster care probably made more of a difference. And as for the neuter, he's literally climbing the walls of his cage, so I think he's recovered from that already, too.)

Fausto and Gino are a rehome. Their original owner called Small Angels rather desperate to surrender, but right now the rescue foster homes are full (the Martins cage we donated last week that started it all? I think it was back in use within hours) and since I'd told them we had experience with biting rats, they asked if I'd be interested in a couple more. I went out with the woman from Small Angels yesterday morning, armed with leather gloves, and what we found were two very squirmy young boys who aren't used to being handled (and two super-sweet mellow boys, so I can see where their owner was overwhelmed). I don't doubt that Fausto and Gino nipped because they didn't want to be picked up, and their scare tactics worked.

After I got them home and set up in the cage, a bit more of the story emerged...there is an extreme dominance thing going on. I don't think Fausto is a bully...Gino's allowed to get food, and he doesn't seem to be cowering...but as soon as Fausto approaches, Gino flips right over.

With us, both are squirmy, as I said, but Fausto seems to be pretty outgoing and Gino is very shy.

Our goal is to get back to fewer cages, and of course to give Isaac some rat companionship. Since he's neutered, though, I don't want to put him at a hormonal disadvantage, so we're going to get Fausto and Gino snipped, too. It'll be interesting to see how they behave with less testosterone.

Oh, and the old men? Right now they are next to Fausto and Gino, and I'm not sure they've given the youngsters a first glance, much less a second one.

Saturday, May 30. 2009

Rats the equivalent of five year old ... Posted by Abita at 18:31

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Rats the equivalent of five year old children

Fausto

Gino

Isaac

Banquo and R.C. .. oblivious to the new kids on the block.

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