My five new girls are all happily living in their princess palace together.  As soon as we felt Maple was well enough we moved her and Kiki in with Dora, Tangy and Mitzi and once all the intial excitement was over watched them all settle down happily together.

It was a nice and simple introduction.  We were cleaning the big cage out, and Maple and Kiki really wanted to come out and play, so we let them.  Of course once out they made a bee line for the big cage which was down on the floor!  They played happily in the wire top while I changed the hammocks, and tried to wipe the shelves, with them trying to help and pinch the cloth all the time.  By the time the cage was clean and put back together, all the girls were pooped and we just left them all together to sleep.

Derek and I kept a close eye on the girls just incase they woke up and realised what had happened, but I’m pleased to say there was no trouble at all.  The girls have been sharing the cage for a few days now and they all look very happy and content.

The girls asleep in their hammock

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It’s funny to think that Smudge was our least favourite of the five girls we adopted from the RSPCA.  It’s not that we didn’t want her, although I don’t think I will ever be a fan of dumbo rats, it’s the fact that when we first got her she continually and aggressively attacked and bit my hands.  I remember she would charge from across the room if I put my hand on the floor and give me a really nasty bite.  Oddly she never bit Derek, it was always me!

It didn’t take much to break Smudge of her bad habit, just time patience and love.  Smudge would never bite me if I was holding her, so that’s what I did – I picked her up at every opportunity and wouldn’t put her down until she’d had a good cuddle.  And it worked; Smudge and I became great friends.

After the last of her sisters passed away I got two new little rats, who Smudge shares a home with and we hardly ever see her!  Smudge is content sleeping the day away in her igloo and getting up when she thinks we have some yummies for her.  Not that I mind, if Smudge is happy then I’m happy.

It’s just funny how things have turned out.  Smudge has gone from being our least favourite little rat, to a very precious little family member.

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Sugar

Our sweet, and sometimes bossy, girl Sugar is beginning to slow down quite a bit and is a little unsteady on her feet.  We are assuming it is old age, as she wasn’t a young girl when she joined our family over a year ago.

It is both a bit sad to know she is getting old, but at the same time, with all the traumas of loosing out younger rats, good to know she has reached old age makes us feel very proud.  I don’t like to think of loosing her as a year is such a sort time to spend with such a special little girl, but I think Derek and I have made her very happy.  We love spending time with her and will up until the end, but we know it is coming, just not when.

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The girls, or at least one of them, has chewed their way out of their cage. It’s a Furplast Furret Plus that originally belonged to Petal. I was concerned when I first got the cage that it had a lip inside the base, and sure enough Petal had a go a chewing it, but fortunately she didn’t do too much damage. These girls, however, are destructive little madams.

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Twix is really starting to mellow and it’s great. He can stay out of his cage longer now, and will happily pop back in for a drink and something to eat before coming back out again. We leave him alone while he is out now, so he can wander around and do his own thing and generally enjoy his freedom. We do still go and see him. He likes chasing us around, especially up and down the stairs. His walk and flexibility has improved a lot he no longer hobbles around and he can run now too. He is pretty nifty at getting up and down the stairs as well. It is wonderful to see, he is like a new rat.

We have moved his cage into our dining room as well, so he gets to spend more time with us, and I think that has helped a lot. When we first go him he would get quite agitated if we hung around near his cage to long, so we kept him in a spare bedroom. We could go and say hello, but we could leave him alone when he started to get stressed.

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Sugar, Smudge, Pearl and Kiwi enjoying some treats

I’m very pleased to report that the girls are starting to settle down a lot more.  Yes Kiwi, Sugar and Pearl are still intent on chewing their cage, but they are a lot happier.  We are able to keep the girls out for longer periods now and that wears them out so they have less energy for destroying their cage.

Our demon rat, Smudge, is also settling down.  I’ve been making an extra special effort to pick her up and fuss her every time she is out.  At first she made a right fuss and wriggled and squeaked, but she has gradually come to accept the attention and when I put her back down on the floor she’ll go bouncing off, letting me know she is happy and enjoying the attention.  The most important thing is she has stopped seeking my hand out and biting me, which shows she was starved for attention.

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Kiwi and Pearl looking for the exit

I would love to say things are going smoothly with our new arrivals and we are all getting on well, but we are not.  I understand the bond rats form with us humans, and the pain it must cause them when they are forgotten, or in my girls’ case given away.  Some of them have obviously been more hurt than the others and are acting out in different ways.

Firstly Kiwi is a bit destructive, she likes to pull up the carpet, chews are the bars of her cage and the base and other plastic bits she can reach.  We are a bit concerned she is actually going to chew her way out of the cage.  Pearl and Sugar also chew the bars of their cage, which is very noisy especially at nighttime, but we can hope that they will settle down. 

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We knew Twix was going to be a challenge when we took him on, and we are prepared to care for him for as long as he needs no matter what happens. Even so nothing could have prepared us for what a character he is.

Twix obviously had a difficult life before he joined us and, sadly, that shows in the way he acts. The most noticeable thing is his walk he hobbles like a little old rat. His back end appears very stiff when he walks and he can’t run very well. The condition of his fur has improved since we’ve had him, but he struggles to twist round to wash his sides, usually he rolls over when he tries to do this. We are keeping him in a low cage to stop him from trying to climb, when he does climb up the outside of his cage he struggles to get down and usually falls. So we feel a low cage will keep him safe.

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