Ratablog

Dear Santa

For Christmas I would like a new cuddle cup to chew up, a new tunnel to chew up, a new hammock to chew up, a new box to chew up, a new stick to chew up, and a new fleece sleeping bag to chew up. I have been a very good boy this year and I have not chewed up anything...honest.

Metro

Black beans & rice

Not long after I got Bob he came down with a bad respiratory infection. The poor little guy needed both Lasix to get the fluid out of his lungs and baytril for the infection, and he was refusing to eat so we had to force the meds into his throat with a syringe.

It was also terrible seeing him ignore food, because he needed to get his strength back. For days I tried tempting him with everything to no avail.

Finally...black beans and rice. I suspect that the day he ate the black beans and rice (gobbled 'em down, in fact) was the day the medicine had finally kicked in and he was feeling better, not that the beans and rice were so irresistable...but whatever reason, I was overjoyed to see him eat.

Whenever I have black beans and rice I give him a bowl, and he gobbles 'em right down, as you can see on Bob Cam here.

Curly

It's taken me a long time to do this, but I've finally sorted through Curly's pictures and put togther a bit of a memorial.

I had a quite a lot of photos considering that we only had eight months together.

Last winter I lost our first two rats, Krycek and Rizzo. Both had multiple tumors and had to be put to sleep, which I found very painful and hard to do. At the time I assumed it'd be easier to take if a rat passed away naturally.

I'm not sure it was easier in this case. Coming home and finding Curly was a shock...and although it didn't matter to him, not saying goodbye has bothered me.

On the other hand, I'm grateful that he did not live out his final days in pain and suffering. And although there's no way to know for sure, he certainly looked peaceful when I found him, like he truly had slipped away in his sleep. I hope that was the case.

Fooled ya!

I've been trying to cut back on treats for the girls because they are, well...fat. The problem is, they are right next to Bob, and Bob gets treats constantly because he's old and I spoil him. (Maybe that's a bad reason to give him constant treats, but when I'm the equivalant of his age, God willing, I intend to indulge in constant treats myself.) Anyway, the girls see him getting treats, and they hang on the cage bars and look like little rat Oliver Twists. I feel so mean saying no.

Awhile ago we bought some rat food (Regal Rat) from Oxbow Hay Company. They liked it okay...it went faster than lab blocks but not as fast as Nutro. But somehow the bag of food ended up in a cabinet before we finished it.

One evening when the girls were begging, I took three pieces of the Regal Rat and handed them out. Well, each girl ran to her separate corner and gobbled it down, then begged for more.

When I put just one piece in, they did the stash-and-grab game. I've never seen them do that with regular food. I guess it's all in the distribution...if I made them beg for lab blocks, lab blocks would be a treat. If I put a bowl of yogies in the cage, I wonder if they'd ignore them?

Rest in peace, Bill

This has been a sad week.

Bill, our first guest rat, passed away.

Hit Curly up for a yogie or two, Bill, and tell him we said hi.

Our condolences and hugs to Ratqueen and her family.

Curly, 4 November 2003

Curly passed away while I was at work today. I shall post more later...for now here are a few pictures.

Here's Curly in March, when he first came home. He was shy and nervous then, and took many a bite out of my fingers the first few weeks.

And just a few weeks ago with the Halloween decorations.

Rest in peace, my sweet boy.