No more Sputnik

I’m sure anyone who has rats knows what a Sputnik is. They are fantastic plastic beds, by Savic, and have been hugely popular with many of my rats. I got my first one when I bought a Savic ‘Freddy’ cage, it came with the cage, and I recently bought a second one when I got the Furet XL. These simple little beds have proved so popular with my girls I’ve had to confiscate them - twice.

The Twiglets

When I first got the agouti girls - now lovingly known as the Twiglets - they had a sputnik and they never left it. They were quite a shy bunch anyway, and combined with a bed they wouldn’t leave I wasn’t getting to see much of them. The bed was also getting very smelly, with shed fur, food crumbs and goodness knows what else not making for a healthy sleeping environment. Seeing as they had lots of other beds and tunnells to sleep in I took the Sputnik away from them. This had a positive effect on the girls, I got to see more of them and they made better use of their other beds, which was more hygienic for them.

While in their quarantine cage, Maple and Kiki also had a Sputnik. Though they weren’t permanently stuck in theirs, they liked to sleep in other beds and readily came out to play. When Maple and Kiki decided to move in with the Twiglets, I let them take their Sputnik with them, so they would have something familiar.

BIG MISTAKE!

Kiki and Dora peeking out their sputnik and the others are in there somewhere

The instant result was all five rats piling in that little plastic bed. I don’t know how they managed to breath squished in like that. The Sputnik soon got stinky and messy leaving me with no choice but to take it off them, again. I did replace it with an extra bed - not that they need anymore - which was simply an old jeans leg.

No one really seems to miss the Sputnik and all the girls tend to sleep a bit more split up, which is no bad thing. Sometimes I still find them all piled into one bed together, but mostly they are in two groups in different beds. It’s nice to see them making better use of their home, and I’m sure it will be healthier for them in the long term.