Who Are You...

And what did you do with my rat??

After last night, I can't help but wonder if the antibiotics cleared up something in Sugar we never knew she had. I wonder if she didn't feel well or was in pain and that's why she was such a lazy, uninterested rat.

Because after 4 days on the antibiotics, she is completely different. She is still bleeding, although not as heavily. It got worse on Friday, and then has been slowing down since then. I'll still take her in if it doesn't stop completely by Thursday, which is her last day of medication.

But her attitude and personality have just blossomed in the last 24-48 hours. It has been an amazing transformation to watch. It was literally like she came out of her cage last night a completely different rat.

She was hopping and running around. She's still got a limp, but she doesn't seem to notice it at all. She came to her name, which I didn't know she could do. It was awesome! I got her to follow me about 20 feet before she got nervous and hurried back to the cage. She played "chase the hand" for the first time. I drug my finger on the carpet in a circle around her, and she turned and turned to follow it. She was going pretty fast, and really seemed to enjoy it. I wish I got a video of it.

She's more comfortable coming to me, too. I just call her name, or tap (hard!) on the floor and she comes right to me. She's always been kind of licky, but last night she cleaned my toes and was very serious about the whole matter.

And the funniest thing of all: She is a fraidy rat for the most part. Loud noises startle her, and she runs for cover and watches from the safety of her igloo. However, night before last she was out and I had to vacuum up the bits of food and bedding she tossed out of the cage. As I'm pulling out the vacuum she's curious, but not really sure what's going on. When I turned it on, though, she started chasing after it, coming right up to it and confronting it and wasn't the least bit afraid of it. It was incredible. She was absolutely comfortable with it, and was even playing with it. The vacuum! The noisy vacuum!

It has been the most rewarding 2 days to watch her come out of her shell and metamorph into a normal rat. The only thing I can think is the antibiotics cleared something up, because why would she suddenly be acting more natural when we're forcing a foul tasting liquid down her throat twice a day? If it were me, I might be a bit more reclusive thanks to that.

And, on the topic of her medication, she's too funny with it. I hold her head still, slip the syringe in the side of her mouth to the back of her tongue and give her the dose. After I let her go, she puts her mouth on the bottom of her cuddle cup and rubs it around as if she's trying to get the drips off her chin, which is cute enough in itself. After a couple minutes of that, though, she then sits there for another couple minutes licking her lips and smacking her lips like she's trying to get the taste out of her mouth. When she's satisfied, she'll eat the cheese or yogie I gave her. I'll try to get a video of it, because she looks like she's trying to get the nastiest taste out of her mouth. LOL

I have to say, she is adorable.

Oh Wait. I Remember How This Works.

Having cute rat= Vet bills

Sugar made her first trip to the vet yesterday. She is suffering from the same symptoms Half Rat had here. The vet gave us the same treatment as Halfs had here.

I personally think she needs to be spayed, but the vet wants to do this route first, which is fine. I don't like watching her bleed, even though it doesn't seem to bothering her at all. She just cleans herself a lot more.

She's still eating normally, pooing normally, drinking normally and giving it all up for a treat. Her attitude is fine. It's just the blooding bedding and fabric pieces I have to clean out each day bother me.

The doc put her on Clavamox for 7 days. He flavored the liquid like banana, and I guess Sugar actually likes it. She is an absolute dream to give meds to. She doesn't struggle or fuss. She doesn't like being held, so she struggles against that, but when I put the syringe in the side of her mouth she lets me give it to her and she swallows it instead of spitting it out like... I don't know... every other rat I had did. So, really, she's very good and I can't complain. Of course, she gets a yogie after every dose.

As most of you know, I had to leave my amazing- wonderful- incredible vet behind in Albuquerque when we moved up here. I took her a to a new vet here, and while he said he specialized in exotics, gave me some concern. I explained things about the situation to him, and he nearly ignored me. I guess I assumed he'd be like my old vet and want to know every detail. Anyway, as we're leaving he asks me, "So, you have other rats at home?" "Nope", I said. "This is our only one. But we've had rats before her, and she's the sixth one we've owned." He replied with, "Oh. Well, then you probably know more about them than I do."

I was a little stunned, and didn't know what to say, so I just said, "No. We've just been through it all before. All our rats had health problems." And left the office.

Weird? I don't know if I should look for another vet. There is one other one that specializes in exotics, so I've been playing with the idea of taking her to him. I certainly hope he was joking, because I don't want to know more than him. That's why I pay to go see him! LOL

Squirrels!

So, no rat post today. Instead, cute squirrels!

J and I went to Portland to visit a friend and on the way back we stopped at a rest area we had never stopped at before. Pulling into parking place, we noticed there were tons of squirrels running around on the ground, laying in the grass and in general very comfortable with people.

We sat watching them for a minute, until another car pulled up alongside us. As we watched those people get out of the car they were bombarded with squirrels looking for a free handout. It was too cute!

I went to the concession stand and got some shelled peanuts to feed them. They proceeded to mob J and I, and it was great. They were so much fun. They acted so much like ratties. They were very playful, very competitive for the peanuts and did all sorts of cute acrobatics to get their treats. I got some good pictures, and thought I'd share them with you.

Gimmie!

I will sit on your foot until you feed me! (Which he later did.)

World Rat Day

Happy World Rat Day! (Click the banner for more info.)

I look forward to this day every year. I love that we have a day for our special pets; a day we get to share with other rat owners and with people who have never thought about owning a rat.

As I type this, Sugar is running around on the computer desk, and it strikes me how much she's changed and come out of her shell in the last 2.5 months. I feel so blessed that I was able to bring her home and have her share her life with me. As all rat owners will tell you, each rat, though so very different, touches us in profound ways and teaches us something new. They reinforce that we are their world, and truthfully, they are ours.

It's hard to own a rat only once, and I don't know anyone who has. Once they come into your house, they're in your heart forever. And people who have never owned one can't figure out why.

Anyway, enough reflecting. Give your ratties a hug today!

Update On Sugar

So, I've finally gotten a moment, and here's the newest on our little Dumbo rat.

After 2 months of trying to diagnose and treat the problem, our little rat keeps grooming herself to shreds. Granted, she isn't as scabby as she was when we got her, but she's still developing new scabs every week.

We thought her diet might be to blame. We brought her home and immediately put her on a new diet lower in protein and rife with fresh veggies. And of course, 1 or 2 yogies a day. That did nothing for her, except help to fatten her up a bit (which she needed anyway) and introduce her to new foods. So, not a total loss.

We thought it might be because her skin was dry and irritated.

• The first thing we tried was putting a great wheat germ/vitamin e salve that worked wonders for our other rat's dry skin. And if they licked it off, it was all natural, so no harm done. Not for this little girl. Sugar could not stand the salve on her skin, and wound up tearing herself up worse than we have ever seen, even when she first came to us. After 1 try of that, we ditched it.
• Then, still thinking it was dry skin, we bought a new, fancier humdifier (the old one was ultrasonic and this one is evaporative). We used it for a month with no noticeable change, other than her fur was softer and silkier.

We thought it might be that her nails are too long. We trimmed them, and that made a little bit of a difference, but she sharpened them up right away, so we have to keep on them every few days.

Then we figured it might be neurotic. I thought she might be bored, since she doesn't have a cagemate, and might be self-destructing. So, I started bringing her out more each day. She's getting 5-6 hours out instead of 2-3. She's content to find a hole and go to sleep.

I also cannot get her to play for anything. She doesn't have the playful spirit I'm familiar with. I figure that may part of it, so I've been trying new things with her to encourage her to play, explore, use her brain, etc. I think boredom may be a big part of her problems; she sleeps all the time, and is happier in her igloo than coming when I open the cage door so she can come out. To counter this I'm trying new training techniques and seeing if I can teach her new tricks.

She is a slow learner, but once she gets something she wants to do it over and over again. She's a good shoulder sitter, she'll run up my arm if I put it out for her, and she's learned to respond to her name. She still won't always come when I call her, which is why she isn't allowed to free range. If I can't find her, she needs to come when I call. I know it can be done, because of the success with my other girls, but like I said, she's a slow learner.

*Side Note* If I've ever seen an argument for buying rats in pairs, this is one. I honestly think that being isolated has done a great deal to affect her psyche. She didn't know how to nest, how to climb cage bars and has never had a buddy to cuddle with, fight with, groom or teach her things. (She did learn to nest and to climb cage bars, so that's good.) So, always, ALWAYS get your rats in pairs. *End Note*

Anyway, we're still working on her. The scabs have greatly diminished, but they're still there. I'm trying my hardest to figure out what is causing them. The combo of trimming her nails, making her work for her food and basically forcing her to exercise and the humidifier are what we've got her on now.

She may always be like this, but of course, I'd like her to be scab free. She's also got a patch of very thin hair on her left side, and it's just not growing back in. I don't think she's over-grooming, but I think she's a slow hair-grower (is that a word?) like Coda. I'm not sure what the inital hair loss is from, but it doesn't seme to be getting worse.

The Good News

She has discovered the amazing world of food. She's got a ton of new favorites, the top being cheese. She will do just about anything for a piece of cheese, so it's a great training tool.

She's also thoroughly pleased with her new food mix we started her on when we got her. She has started hoarding peanuts and her favorite crunchies. That's a great rattie trait she didn't have before.

She is extremely particular about her nesting now. Now that she's got a place to hide and plenty of bedding, she shores up the sides of her igloo with bedding nearly to the top and works countless hours perfecting it.

She has also potty trained herself incredibly well. She will not go, not even piddle, when she's out of the cage. And in the cage she will only go in a particular spot, so after 5-6 days it smells absolutely foul and I have to clean the cage. I cleaned the cage every 7 days with 3 girls! But she piddles in the same spot over and over until the bedding is soaked through. However, it's nice to cuddle her and not get a big wet spot.

All in all, it's a good thing to have her. I'm still trying to decide if we should attempt a buddy for her, or if she'll be more calm by herself. Maybe if I find another single rattie.

Kiss The Blarney Stone

If I had any photoshop skills at all, I'd put a little shamrock hat on Sugar. But I don't. So, to wish you a very Happy St. Paddy's, you get this instead.

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

The rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

~Traditional Gaelic Blessing

Love,

Lynn, J and Sugar

Just Because

Just because this is an unusual day of the year, and we won't see another one for 4 more years.

Happy Leap Year Day 2008!!