Sandra Beasley and the Spaz Rats

The Alfabit Rats - The Third Generation

Varieties, colors, and markings, of the following rats were determined with the help of RatsPacNW Rat Fanciers Club
Unless otherwise stated the rats have Dark/Black eyes

From Paws 4 Purrfection in Moose Jaw
Albin was the last one left in his litter, still unsold and living alone. He was given to me free. Albin came home with me when I brought Yoda and Zen home May 30,2006. Albin is Sindi's brother.

I'm using the website, Babynames.com to help me find names

Albin (means "Fair" in Latin)
aka Al, Albi
Born: January 17,2006 (best guess)
Black, Mis-marked Bareback, Standard-coated, Top-eared, Buck
Personality: Such a charmer, an endearing, cuddly boy. Both curious as to what is going on around him, but willing for a moment's cuddle before he's off again.
RIP Albin December 20,2008
Ravages of old age

From DDK Pets n'Points in Moose Jaw
Local pet store, DDK, had a group of rats brought into them after the two room-mates and co-owners of the rats had an unsavory falling out and decided to go their separate ways. One of these wonderful, rat-crazy, owners works at Paws 4 Purrfection and did not know (until started digging for background info) that in anger her room-mate took the rats to DDK instead of bringing these now unwanted rats back to P4P as was verbally agreed upon. So in a round about way these rats belong to P4P.

The first time I met Cona and Berg, and they told me their names at this first meeting, I was told by an employee that they were a breeding pair, brother and sister, and around 4 months old. The second time I went into the store I was told by a second employee that they were for sale, and so I brought them home June 12, 2006. I knew that Cona was pregnant, and I looked forward to having her babies.

Berg (thought it meant nothing in a human definition, and was just rat-speak. It means "Mountain" in German)
aka Berj
Born: February 11,2006 (best guess)
Agouti, Mis-marked Hooded, Standard-coated, Top-eared, Buck
Personality: Very friendly and personable. He loves wrestling with my hand
His name is pronounced, Berg as in iceberg, or Berj with the j sounding like jug
Look at that little bottom lip sticking out
RIP Berg July 12,2008
Late-onset Mammary Tumor

Cona (means nothing in a human definition, it's rat-speak )
aka Conned again
Born: February 11,2006 (best guess)
Black, Mis-marked Hooded, Standard-coated, Top-eared, Doe
Personality: Very friendly and personable. She loves wrestling with my hand
RIP Cona June 14,2007
Chronic Myco

From Paws 4 Purrfection in Moose Jaw
I had already reserved the Blue Bareback girl and the Blue Bareback boy, but the black boy was an afterthought when I went to pick them up on June 19,2006. I had already thought up names for the Blues, but I had no idea what to call the black boy. I held him up to my face and looked him in the eye and asked him his name. He gave me his best buck-toothed grin and said, "Goober".

Fine, Goober it is. But wait a minute! What happened to my Alfabit "F" rat? I need another rat, one more rat.

There's a rat still at the store, he's Yoda's brother and I've been thinking about him ever since I brought Yoda home. He will be named after the author of the Novel, "Never Cry Wolf", Farley Mowat. In this case it will be Farley MoRat, as in "One More Rat".

Farley came home June 23,2006

	Daria (means "Upholder of the Good" in Greek) aka eh, I dar ya Born: May 20,2006 Russian Blue, Mis-marked Bareback, Standard-coated, Dumbo, Doe Personality: Sweet little girl. So very busy RIP Daria August 07,2008 Ravages of old age
	Evin (means "God is Good" in Welsh ) aka Evan Born: May 20,2006 Sky Blue, Mis-marked Bareback, Standard-coated, Dumbo, Buck Personality: Sweet little boy. So very busy RIP Evin June 07,2008 Chronic Myco
	Farley (means "From the Bull Pasture" in Celtic/Gaelic ) aka Farley MoRat Born: April 22,2006 Agouti, Veriberk, Standard-coated, Dumbo, Buck Personality: As sweet as a Buck can be, loves to be cuddled, but he's Yoda's evil twin. He's the only male that I have ever had who will climb the table legs to get to the top and harrass the rats living there. He can do this even when the table legs have been greased. His persistance in this matter is so frustrating I can tell him apart from his brother because his tail is a marbled brown/pink, whereas Yoda's tail is solid brown RIP Farley March 14,2008 Chronic Myco
	Goober (What can I say, the rat named himself) aka Goobs Born: May 20,2006 Black, Berkshire, Rex, Top-eared, Buck Personality: Sweet little boy. So very busy. Squeaks when I pick him up RIP Goober December 25,2008 Ravages of old age

From DDK Pets n' Points in Moose Jaw
Along with Cona and Berg, Hola and Iniko are from the same sad situation. Hola is related to P4P's DQRR Simone, and therefore related to my boy DQRR Ratsami-Chuan. Hola had just had her babies, fifteen of them, when she and her brood were dumped at DDK. I was thinking, who else would buy a rat that was already a year old?

At first I had no interest in the Siamese mom Hola and her family of Himalayan babies, but each time I went into the store for cat food and a browse, she seemed to yell, "hello" at me. I saw that she was not doing very well because food and water were not always available to them. Quote from an employee, "they eat so much and they keep tipping over the water bowl". Her babies' coats were too thin and scruffy-looking, and Hola herself was too thin. It looked like she had the beginnings of mites. I decided that I couldn't leave her there. I brought Hola and one of her daughters home July 3,2006

	Hola (Spanish for "Hello") aka Born: July 02,2005 (best guess) Chocolate-point Siamese, Standard-coated, Top-eared, Doe Personality: Nervous, doesn't like to be held RIP Hola April 22,2007 Sudden death, cause unknown
	Iniko (means "born during troubled times" in African) aka Nik, Nicky Born: June 04,2006 (best guess) Chocolate-point Himalayan, Standard-coated, Top-eared, Doe Personality: A little easier to handle then her mother RIP Iniko August 28,2008 Ravages of old age

From Paws 4 Purrfection in Moose Jaw
Oops, while the employers were away on holiday someone was not minding the rats and the store was blessed with three unexpected litters.

I saw the four PEWs in the oldest litter, reserved them, could hardly wait to pick them up. Even came up with the silliest names I could think of for this awesome group of babies. When I first met them August 04,2006 they were just opening their eyes so I can give a pretty good guestimate of their birthdate.

The PEWs came home August 25,2006, along with the black girl who sought out my hand

	JuJube Gumdrop "JuJube" (means nothing, just a silly name) aka JuJu, Ju Born: July 21,2006 (best guess) Pink Eyed White (PEW), Standard-coated, Dumbo, Doe Personality: An absolute sweetheart RIP JuJu December 15,2008 Late-onset Myco
	Kashi Cornpop "Kashi" (means nothing, just a silly name ) aka Kash, ShiShi Born: July 21,2006 (best guess) Pink Eyed White (PEW), Velveteen, Top-eared Doe Personality: An absolute sweetheart Kashi's whiskers are long and kinky, not curly RIP Kashi April 30,2009 Ravages of old age
	Lemony Snicket "Lemon" (means nothing, just a silly name) aka Leemon Born: July 21,2006 (best guess) Pink Eyed White (PEW), Standard-coated, Top-eared, Buck Personality: An absolute sweetheart RIP Lemon March 09,2009 Ravages of old age
	Mulberry Mudpye "Mulberry" (means nothing, just a silly name) aka Mulder Born: July 21,2006 (best guess) Pink Eyed White (PEW), Velveteen, Top-eared, Buck Personality: An absolute sweetheart RIP Mulberry March 16,2008 Chronic Myco
	Nacho CheeseNip "Nacho" (means nothing, just a fun name) aka Nach Born: July 21,2006 (best guess) Black, Self, Standard-coated, Top-eared, Doe Personality: An absolute sweetheart. She's less skittish then her PEW sisters. Already she is proving to be my manicurist. This girl is so very, very, black that the only pink on her is some on her ears, the tips of her toes, and her little pink tau-mau-toe nose. Her tail is black from base to tip RIP Nacho July 21,2008 Sudden death of unknown cause

From Paws 4 Purrfection in Moose Jaw
Opal is from the second oldest "oops!" litter and Pippa is from the third. They were still too young to bring home when I purchased the PEWs. When I first met them on August 04,2006 they looked to be 9 and 7 days old respectively.

Upon first meeting her, Opal had a full blue, rex coat. When I saw her for the second time on August 21,2006 she was sparsely-coated and naked on her sides, meaning she is a double-rex. The color of her coat and the fact that it keeps changing reminded of white opals. Opal and Pippa came home September 05,2006

Opal (A Gemstone. Means "Precious Gem" in Sanskrit. What are Opals?)
aka Oppi
Born: July 27,2006 (best guess)
American Blue, Berkshire, Double Velveteen, Top-eared, Doe
Personality: Very well socialized. Calm and quiet in my hands
When I first met Opal she was a scraggly, naked, thing. So ugly, she was cute. Her coat continued to change day by day, and by the time she was 7 weeks old she was sporting a full coat.
RIP Opal December 12,2007
Sudden collapse, felt a cluster of grape-like tumors along her sides, malignant cancer

Pippa (means "Lover of Horses" in English)
aka Pip
Born: July 29,2006 (best guess)
Black, Mis-marked Capped with a headspot, Standard-coated, Dumbo, Doe
Personality: Very well socialized. Calm and quiet in my hands
RIP Pippa October 23,2008
Late-onset Mammary Tumor

From Paws 4 Purrfection in Moose Jaw, Via the Moose Jaw Humane Society
Paws 4 Purrfection has closed it's doors forever as of November 01,2006. It's all very heart-breaking for everyone involved.

On November 16,2006 I had taken a number of my deceased babies to the Humane Society for cremation and I was floored by the sudden influx of rodents they had there. Then I discovered that all of these rodents (rats, mice, hamsters, degus, guinea pigs) had once belonged to Paws 4 Purrfection. I know that the owners and employees of P4P had kept many of the animals for themselves but there were still a lot of rodents handed over to the Humane Society. Many of them had already been euthanized, but the board room table was still full of animals in cages.

I recognized the 9 rats who were up for adoption, 7 girls and 2 boys. They are, 3 Agouti sisters to my Zen, Yoda, and Farley, and 4 Black and White sisters and 2 Black and White brothers to my Pippa. Since the Humane Society has very little luck with finding homes for rats, other then myself, and with the high number of rodents now in their care, the rats would be at a very high risk for euthanesia. Because of this, I couldn't leave them there. The last of the P4P rats came home with me November 17. The girls in general are a jumpy lot and easily startled.

Image was taken at the store and used with permission from the owners of the store.
Oreo, a black-hooded dumbo and Carmel, a fawn-hooded, top-eared
are father and mother to this litter of agoutis.

There is a story of warning behind this image. A Yahoo Answers user who goes by the name "Reptilian Queen" plagiarized this image along with the work of other respectable rat keepers to build her website in 2008. By doing this it made her out to look like a pet rat keeper with considerable knowledge instead of the feeder breeder with questionable knowledge that she really is. When several complaints to the Yahoo Answers Team resulted in nothing being done about this plagiarism, a lawyer was brought in and had her website removed from the web.

	Quiona (a type of grain) aka Qui-Qui Born: April 22,2006 Agouti, Veriberk, Standard-coated, Top-eared, Doe Personality: Quiona is the boldest of the girls and quickly established herself as the alpha of the group. RIP Quiona January 26,2008 Mammary tumor
	Ronni (a play on the word "run" because she doesn't stop) aka Ronda Born: April 22,2006 Agouti, Mis-marked Hooded, Standard-coated, Top-eared, Doe Personality: RIP Ronni August 19,2008 Ravages of old age
	Shell (her broken stripe looks like shells strewn along her back ) aka Shelby Born: April 22,2006 Agouti, Mis-marked Hooded, Standard-coated, Top-eared, Doe Personality: RIP Shell March 16,2008 Mammary tumor
	Tapanga (means "sweet" in African) aka Tappy Born: July 29,2006 (best guess) Black, Mis-marked Hooded, Standard-coated, Top-eared, Doe Personality: RIP Topanga July 16,2008 Late-onset Myco
	Unni (short for University, she seems to be the smartest of her sisters) aka Unice Born: July 29,2006 (best guess) Black, Mis-marked Hooded, Standard-coated, Top-eared, Doe Personality: RIP Unni July 04,2008 Chronic Myco
	Venya (means "lovable" in Hindi) aka Vinny Born: July 29,2006 (best guess) Black, Bareback, Rex, Dumbo, Doe Personality: RIP Venya January 17,2009 Late on-set Malignant Mammary Tumor
	Wicca (A pegan religion) aka Wicked Born: July 29,2006 (best guess) Black, Bareback w/headspot, Rex, Top-eared, Doe Personality: RIP Wicca June 18,2008 Chronic Myco
	Xolo (short for Xoloitzcuintle, the Mexican Hairless dog) aka Solo Born: July 29,2006 (best guess) Black, Split-capped Bareback, Standard-coated, Dumbo, Buck Personality: Xolo has the confidence to master this brotherhood. June 2007, Xolo has become the subordinate and he's terrified of his brother. Xolo lives alone because he can't get along with other males. RIP Xolo April 21,2008 Chronic Myco
	Yikes! (Subordinate to his brother and complies to his brother's every wish. Shreaks at the slightest altercations) aka Yesser Born: July 29,2006 (best guess) Black, Bareback w/headspot, Rex, Top-eared, Buck Personality: This little guy is subordiate to everyone, and afraid of everything. He literally screams at the another rats. Because of this, introductions with older males was never successful for Xolo and Yikes! However, as of December 15,2006 These boys have made themselves a colony with Iniko's boys. June 2007, Yikes! has become a bully and terrorizes all males that he comes into contact with. He lives alone. Yikes! lived out his old age with an old girl :*) RIP Yikes! September 14,2008 Ravages of old age

"Skunk"
I took this image of Xolo and played with it
until it looked like an oil painting

From DDK Pets n'Points in Moose Jaw
Xylia has only one daughter in her litter and I wanted a playmate for Ambria that was her own age. Zera came home January 29,2007. February 1,2007 Xylia welcomed Zera as if she was her own daughter.

No image available. Little Zera died before I was able to get a picture of her

Zera (means "seed or offspring" in Hebrew)
aka: Zero
Born: December 29,2006 (best guess)
Agouti, Mis-marked Hooded, Standard-coated, Top-eared, Doe
Personality: She got my attention right away with the way she would turn upside down under an adult girl's head to lick the adult's chin. Just like a dog pup would
RIP Zera February 3,2007
Killed during introductions

RIP ratties can be seen here

Their bodies held in storage in the freezer, awaiting this day,
The Third Generation Alfabit Rats were cremated, their ashes mingled,
and returned to me,

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