From: Sandra Beasley
Date: Tuesday, September 09, 2003 4:07 am
Subject: The Rats from "Shades of Blue Rattery"
Monday, September 01,2003: SBR Ratties have come into
my life.
Tuesday, September 02,2003: The babies have had 24
hours to settle in and they've done so very well.
Though Babs was a little standoffish at first, she
just needed a few more hours to get to know me. Now
she climbs into my hand without hesitation.
Only Laite, at 5 weeks old, can jump to the top of the
hut by herself. The 4 babies can only glance up with
awe in their expressions.
I chose Melita to be the babies' mentor and surrogate
mother. Of all of Hindi's girls Melita is the smallest
and meekest one of the bunch. Melita was mobbed by the
babies, but took it all in stride. She stood there
with this blank expression on her face while the
youngsters gave her the royal sniff over. Well, Laite
thought this young lady was the rat's whiskers,
climbed onto Melita's back and holding on with
clenched fists began to powergroom the back of
Melita's neck. It was hilarious, just like in a
cartoon where the little guy is trying to pin the big
guy down.
Wednesday, September 03,2003: I'm impressed with
Melita. When I take the lid off the cage she has no
intentions of leaping out....
This isn't going to work. Greedy Melita is gobbling
down the baby food and I can't be sure if the babies
are getting enough. I've been watching Laite as she
eagerly tries anything new in the way of food that I
put into the cage. The babies check out what it is
that she is eating and they follow suit. I think it
would be safe to remove Melita and put her back with
her family.
Thursday, September 04,2003: I received a partial
pedigree from Nathalie and it's awesome to see the
lineage of these babies. I made one error in my
introduction letter. Laite too, is a Satin, not a
Standard, and to prove this to myself I took her into
the bathroom and dampened her coat. A glistening wet
top coat was made into vertical stripes over a creamy
white undercoat, cool!
Friday, September 05,2003: Well, from day one when
they couldn't even leap to the top of the hut, they
are not only hut leapers, but they are now
rim-of-the-cage leapers.
Doodle started it first. After climbing into my hand,
he would get a grip on the back of my arm with front
and back feet, flatten out in a desperate attempt to
hang on, and shimmy up my arm to my neck. Not to be
outdone by a boy, Natty was soon performing the same
trick.
THE GREAT GRAPE INTRO! After putting 5 grapes into the
cage I got these weird looks like, "What's a
grape????"
Saturday, September 06,2003: So, from smallest to
biggest we have Sunny, Natty, Doodle, Babs, and Laite.
Sunny is the tiniest baby I've ever seen. I can't
recall my own babies being this small. Although he and
his sister are the same age (3 weeks old), Natty seems
far more mature then he is. There's nothing wrong with
the little guy. He popcorns and wrestles with the best
of them. He has a healthy appetite. He's just as cute
as a button.
Melita and Haley went in with the babies for a day
visit. Haley wanted out out of the babies' cage real
bad so she didn't stay long. Gosh darn but those kids
love Melita. Laite contues to power groom her, but
begs for melita to groom her as well. Other babies
also went underneath Melita is a plea for acceptance.
The babies' main diet is baby formula mixed with
Medivit water during the day and then the same thing,
only with baby cereal mixed in at night. They get baby
teething biscuits, and every day I add something new
to the menu: Dog biscuits, grapes, banana, corn, peas,
apple.
Sunday, September 07,2003: Tonight Doodle, Natty, and
Laite are playing follow the leader around the rim of
the cage. They haven't got the nerve yet to jump down
from the rim of the cage. They climb up my arm...every
once in a while Doodle takes a break and runs around
on my back.
I can't get over how tiny these kids are. Except for
Laite who is much bigger then the 4 babies, I feel
like I'm holding mice.
I'm starting to think of these rats as the Rugrats
children. Laite is Angelica, always saying to the
youngsters, "Stupid babies". Sunny and Natty are Lil
and Phil, Babs is Chuckie, and Doodle is Tommy. Fits em
to a T.
Monday, September 08,2003: Well, I've had these babies
for a whole week now, and knock on wood, I haven't
heard a sneeze or a wheeze out of the lot. They are
*incredibly* friendly and outgoing, and yes, they look
like they are growing. They certainly are getting more
confident and maturing day by day.
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