We picked up five little boys today at the MRC Show. Ron is a Russian Blue Point Siamese Dumbo, Wolfie is a Black Striped Roan, Storm is a Blue Agouti, Henry is a silvered black, and the final little boy is unnamed as yet but he's a black rex. They're all little sweethearts, and are in a cage next to the big boys and teasing them something rotten.
There was a good two inches between the two cages, but Storm still managed to stick his tail into the big cage. Ouch! He now has a bite mark on his tail. I think I'll move them and just exchange bedding cloths for a while so they can get used to each other's smell.
Kim has decided to call her little black rex Vladimir. I would never have thought of that name, but it does seem to suit him, fluffy as he is.
Quicksilver is getting very wheezy at the moment, and is not eating well at all. He's been up to the vet and has had a steriod injection and baytril. At the moment we're taking him to the vet each day for baytril injections - he doesn't seem to suffer from baytril burns and it's the fastest way to get it into him. If he doesn't improve after today he will have to go onto a different antibiotic.
We've been swapping bedding cloths each day to let the boys get used to each other's smell, so today we tried a cage switch. The big boys went onto the table, the little ones went into the big cage, then the baby cage went onto the table with the big boys.
The big boys looked so big in the baby cage. Pirate was fluffed up into a huge snowball, despite no longer having the hormones to fuel his aggression. The other big ones just took advantage of the babies food bowl and hammocks.
The little ones swarmed through the big cage, investigating everything. We had to keep an eye on them because they can easily push their way through the bars. They kept sticking their heads out to say hello.
Eventually it was time to put everyone back into their own home again. The big uns were simple to extract from the baby cage. Stick a bowl of peas in water on the table, make the treat noise and stand well back. They didn't even notice me taking the baby cage away again. Catching the babies, well, that was another matter.
Zorro met the new boys today. He was fine for about 10 minutes, then something set him off and he puffed up so I took him away. Quicksilver had a brief visit, but he got excited and wheezy, so I thought it best to take him back home.
Quicky is worrying me. The vet says he sounds better after a week of Baytril, less clicky and congested, but now I think I can see the early signs of back leg degeneration.
Well, he lasted about five minutes then went bog brushy. Maybe I need to get the vanilla extract out.
Happy second birthday Quicky! He shared some cake with me to celebrate, but he gets so wheezy when he gets excited that I didn't do too much with him.
I painted the babies with vanilla on their backs and furry cushions, then did the same to Foxy and put him on the table with them. It was a complete anticlimax - he ran around with them for about 10 minutes, then asked to go home. Zorro was vanilla-ed to come out for a play with them too. The babies seemed fascinated by him - he was like a ratty Pied Piper with a trail of little ratlets following behind him. He was very good, but climbed up me for refuge after about five minutes. I really need to get up the courage to let Pirate meet them soon.
Storm is going to be a big boy. He's the youngest, but now the heaviest too.
I think Quicky is leaving us. His weight is right down at 422 grams. He was over 500 just two months ago, now he's all bone. His back legs are going, he's wheezy and he's being uncharacteristically grumpy with the other boys. He's still sleeping curled up with the others though, so I don't want to move him out of the cage while he's coping.
It's not his back legs - at least he has a very swollen and painful looking toe, although that could be an effect of wonky legs rather than the cause. I've put Quicky in a cage on his own for tonight because he's biting the other boys. Totally unprovoked as far as I could see, but maybe they've been hurting his poorly foot unintentionally and he's had enough.
I've put out a call for pictures for my Print Your Own Ratty Calendar on some of the ratty mailing lists, so we'll see what turns up.
Each of the big boys met the babies in turn today. Fox is still completely unconcerned about them, Jasper and Zorro can stand them for short periods. Merlin isn't impressed, but lasted a short while before bog brushing. Pirate is very unsure. He sat on my lap and met them nose to nose, then alternated between puffing up while hissing at them and hiding on the back of my neck.
Quicksilver has been getting quite aggressive with the other boys, possibly blaming them for the pain in his toe. Unfortunately he's about half the weight of the others, so if he starts a fight he will be the one who gets hurt. He's still on Baytril for his wheezing, and is now on Metacam for his swollen toe. For a while I put him into a smaller hospital cage, but that was frustrating him because he could see home but couldn't get there. He is now living in the base of the big cage, with a partition so he can say hi to the others but can't reach them. He still can't understand why he can't get into the top of the cage, but at least he can see his friends.
Quicksilver spent the night in the big cage because he was so desperate to be with the others. This morning he was still in the same place that I left him in. He wouldn't take his medicine, wouldn't eat and would only take a little water from our fingers. After he had spent the whole day panting for breath and just wanting to be cuddled by the family, we took him up to the vet and said goodbye. He's now out in the garden under a tree with his friends Gonzo and Pogo.
He's in my bad books again! He got all puffed up over the new babies, but because he couldn't reach them he took it out on Foxy. Poor Fox has two fairly major bites on his back. Pirate is now back in his attic flat where he can talk to the others but can't reach them. Sigh!
The ratlets are growing so quickly, it won't be long before they can go in the big cage. I'm going to step up the intros this week, with everyone except Pirate. Maybe I can eventually get him back in with everyone, but it's hard to trust him because he's such a bully.
Each of the ratlets has his own special character. Wolfie is a manicurat, loving to clean my nails. He also likes to arrange the bedding in the cage, spending time carrying it up and down the shelves. Henry is a cheeky boy. He likes to climb up onto your head, and is very wriggly to hold. Vlad the lad is a terror! He wants to be on the floor, and spends all of his lap time trying to get down. Thankfully he doesn't do it when they're out on the table. Ron is shy, and likes to burrow down inside your clothes. He has such a cute face. Storm is a big solid boy. He likes to shoulder ride, and to stick his nose in your ear.
I've just bought a lovely little fountain from http://www.watergardeningdirect.com/ which the ratty boys seem to appreciate too. I chose the Japanese Rock with Candles because it's battery operated (no wires) and has a noise sensor. When the boys move the stones on the base the fountain starts. Mind you, their favourite game is stealing the stones and stashing them too.
We were in fits of laughter this morning. The babies have spent the past two days in the big cage, being separated again at night. This morning little Vlad was sitting in the entrance to their big tube when Merlin came to go inside. Every time Merlin approached Vlad began screaming as if he were being murdered, while Merlin stood there with such a bewildered look on his face.
Pirate spent a very short time with the other rats on the table today. He had a quick dip at the pea fishing, then went bog brushy so I removed him. I think it's not the fact that he gets riled up so easily that scares me, it's the fact that he doesn't stop when the others surrender.
Annette
Last modified: Friday, 04-Mar-2005 23:56:44 GMT
