The boys are home from their holiday with their Aunty Helen and Uncle Chris. It feels so good to have them back, and they seem glad to be home. Gonzo was a bit of a problem to them, as he took a dislike to Helen and gave her a couple of nips, and Zorro and Pirate were lively as ever.
I've decided that we'll try to get any new ratties each September, so that they have to be fostered out as little as possible, and there are as few of them as possible. That means a whole year before we get any more.
I've just noticed that Gonzo has a lump on his stomach, in the same position that his brother Pogo had an abscess. I thought at first that it was a bite, but having bathed it what looked like a scab seems to be a patch of black skin. Off to the vet tomorrow evening. Maybe that's why he's been grumpy.
Gonzo had his lump removed today. It was an abscess, just like the one his brother had. I'm puzzled about them each getting the same abscess, but can't account for it. Gonzo seems fairly well in himself, and has the neatest stitches that I've ever seen. He could win an embroidery competition!
It was such a struggle to clean the bottom floor of the big cage this evening. The bottom door opens just above the floor, and I need to change the litter tray, change the cloth on the bottom, wipe the floor, and replace the cloth. The problem was that the ratties were trying to escape from the cage in such numbers that I was spending all my time putting them back on the top shelf, and having no time to clean the cage. Those who weren't trying to get out of the door were dropping onto my back from their shelf. At one stage Fox, Pogo and Quicksilver all escaped at once.
Fox has perfected the technique, slipping straight out of the door and under the cage where I can't reach him. The others tend to lurk around me, making it far easier to recapture them.
They thought it was a great game; outwitting Mum!
I've put Dandy's birdcage up for sale on eBay. Have a look at if you're interested. My eBay page
Gonzo's abscess has opened up and is weeping pus. He's had his stitches removed so I can clean it if needed, otherwise we just need to let it heal as it is.
Pirate and Zorro have been living in the spare cage ever since Zorro attacked Gonzo last month. But Zorro's hormone levels should have dropped by now, so I thought I'd try to get them all together again. It's easier for cleaning out, and it means that Pirate and Zorro would be able to wander out onto the shelf when they wanted to play, just like all the others.
I've been swapping their bedding for a few days, so they could get used to each other's smell again. Then last night and tonight they've been meeting on the dining table in various combinations.
The biggest difficulty seems to be getting Pirate and Quicksilver to get along. Quicky fluffs up and tries to dominate Pirate, but Pirate looks twice his size and flips him easily. Pirate also had spats with Fox and Merlin.
Zorro attracts a lot of interest because he doesn't smell as much like a boy any more. Quicky, Pogo and Jasper were following him around the table sniffing him, and occasionally mounting him. They did lose interest eventually, so maybe they've worked out now that he isn't a girl.
It's hard to believe, but Gonzo's abscess is just about closed up. He's cleaning it up himself, and it looks much better. These little animals seem to heal up so quickly!
This evening was a little more stressful at playtime. I think Pirate wants to be the boss, because he has fought just about everyone this evening. Never mind, I'll keep trying and hoping.
They had the pea fishing bowl out this evening. I must have made the water deeper than usual, because most of them were struggling to reach the peas. Pirate has the hang of it, though. He just sticks his whole head in while the rest are trying to use their hands. He catches a pea every time.
Our bat detector kit came a couple of days ago, from Magenta Electronics. All I've got to do now is put it together. Mark (hubby) helped to drill the holes in the case yesterday. I've just got to figure out which resistors are which and find the soldering iron and stuff. Then I can listen to the ratty boys talking!
The Print it yourself calendar seems to be taking off! We have four months now.
I've almost finished the calendar for 2003! I've already got some pictures that I quite like, but I'm just waiting to see what else turns up. Still, I can always start on 2004.
These two are still living together in what was the spare cage. Pirate and Quicksilver are going to be difficult to reintroduce happily, because they both want to be the boss. I suspect that Quicky would come off worst because Pirate has grown into a strapping young lad.
Zorro is looking very tatty right now, due to Pirate's over-enthusiastic grooming. He's slowly trimming back all of the fur on Zorro's face, and also taking the odd bite. Zorro doesn't seem at all upset, though. He even tells Pirate to back off sometimes.
I was advised that Zorro's 'bites' might actually be mites, so I was going to make a vet appointment for these two boys, but then I couldn't find any of the marks other that the one at the corner of Zorro's mouth, which was obviously a rat bite. So I'm just watching to see if he gets any more scabs, and then I'll take them vetwards.
Zorro and Pirate are now living in an attic flat on top of the main cage. That's much easier, because there wasn't really room for the spare cage.
You remember I said that it would be a whole year before we had any more ratties. Well, maybe not. I was going to be strong and not get any more boys at the MRC Willington Show next weekend, but I failed. Oops. You'll have to wait and see who they are.
The children have been nagging me to enter the ratties in the show, so this Saturday will be their day of fame. I think we'll be taking four ratties and Drucilla the hamster to the show.
It's not going to happen. The boys have mites, so I've just withdrawn them from the show. Dru should be OK, though.
Pirate and Zorro came out to play with the other boys last night. I had a box full of tissue paper on the table, which was great fun to jump onto and tunnel under. Zorro had no problems with the others, but Pirate fought with Jasper, then with Quicky. No blood, but lots of hissing and bog brushing.
We had a great but long day at the Midlands Rat Club show. I listened to the voice of reason and didn't get any new boys. That means it's a whole year before I can get any more. I even got to hold the two boys that I had wanted to bring home, and only managed to leave them because Mark had taken the carrier out of the car before we set off.
Still, it's nearly October, so it's only 11 months till we can GMR! (Get More Ratties!)
In fact,
I only need to wait till we've had next year's holiday, so if we go early in August, I could GMR in August. 10 months!
Annette
Ratty Corner is the home of Brandywine Stud, NFRS Registration 2011-04
Last modified: Friday, 04-Mar-2005 23:56:42 GMT
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