The Bad Rat Pledge

-I will not graze on the carpet.
-It is not considered "cool" to beat up rats smaller than myself.
-There is no need to steal treats from others when I am given one of equal size of my own.
-I will not leave raisins on the sofa for unsuspecting human butts.
-Pots are for growing plants in, not digging up.
-I will refrain from climbing down the blouses of female visitors.
-There is no nutritional value in used tissues.
-Chewing on electrical cords is not fun, even if it elicits such an enthusiastic response from my human.
-Peeing on the remote control does not give me the right to choose the tv channel, nor does it endear myself to my humans so that they turn off the tv and play with me.
-I will not develop a foam mining enterprise in my human's mattress.
-Unlike their favourite old t-shirt, peeing on their newly ironed white business shirt as they leave for work will not elicit a loving response.
-Licking my goolies in public is considered a faux pas.
-I will not create a fake massacre scene in my cage when I eat red foods.
-Barbering others is nothing more than gratuitous graffiti.
-I will not start a game of hide and seek every time my human calls me back to my cage.
-If I was meant to eat recycled paper pellets, they would be placed in my food bowl rather than my litter tray.
-I will endure a bath like the calm, dignified rodent I am.
-Bath time means a bath, not a time to jump out and eat the soap.
-I will do my best not to tread in squshy raisins and trample them all over the house and my human.
-I will not find amusement in nipping my cagemate's butt as he exits the hammock.
-Adding urine to my water does not make it taste better.
-When my human lets me out after completing their 100 page assignment, I will refrain from exploring the Delete key.
-Chewing of cage wires does not elicit a favourable respnse from my human.
-Whe dinner is being served, I will control myself and share with my cagemates in a sensible fashion.
-I will go about my night-time business in a respectful silence.
-When I don't want to go home to the cage yet, I will not wedge myself under immovable furniture.
-I will not give my human a heart attack by sleeping soundly with my eyes open.
-Human saliva is not a tasty treat.
-I am not qualified to give my human a manicure, pedicure, ear cleaning, nose cleaning or dental exam.
-I will try not to run off to the boy rats' cage at every possible chance.
-The newspaper that lines my shelf does not need to be shredded to bits and thrown out the cage bars.
-I do not pee on the newspaper my human is reading, even if it is "yellow journalism".
-My human lovingly handcrafted this cozy hammock for me... I must not pee in it, poop in it, eat staining foods in it, or chew six holes in it.
-I will refrain from sofa spelunking.
-I will not squeak in bloody terror when my human is trying to give me medicine and I will certainly not spit it out afterwards.
-I will not climb the curtains and play along th rod just out of reach of my human.
-Band-Aids are there for a purpose and are not to be removed without permission.
-I will not climb into the printer, scanner or paper shredder, especially when it is on. That also goes for the washing machine, clothes dryer, microwave, fridge and dishwasher.
-I will not throw bedding out of my cage at the cat.
-When the dog barks at me and sticks his nose in the cage, I will not stoop to his level and bite him... after all, he's just a big stupid beast and doesn't know any better.
-I will not bite my human's earrings, especially when she is wearing them.
-Humping my cagemates is not an acceptable outlet for sexual frustration.
-Chewing small holes in blankets, towels, clothes, bedcovers, etc is not appreciated as "ratty lace".
-Socked toes are not fair game.
-I will use my cage brick to keep my claws blunt, not as a honing tool for precision sharpness.
-Diving down my human's shirt and scratching them with my nails just to hear them squeal is not an acceptable game.
-Begging for another treat after stashing the first one does not fool my human.
-When I visit the vet, I will conduct myself with decorum.
-It's rarely ever wise to chew a hammock hook while lazing in it.
-It is not considered polite to take food from my human's mouth.
-I will refrain from flaunting my enormous torpedoes at anatomically inadequate human male visitors.
-I will not attempt to mate with the rat girls through their cage bars.
-I will enure my human's cuddling, belly kissing and smoochy baby talk with stoic dignity.
-My human does not approve of kisses immediately after I've groomed my butt.
-I will not look angelic while my human is attempting to reprimand me.
-I will not cling to that spot between my human's shoulder blades where I cannot be removed without assistance.
-I must rememebr that human skin does not have the traction required for vertical climbs.
-I will not sniff my human's breath then turn around and sniff my goolies for comparison.
-I will not pee in my dry food mix.
-Water bowls are not provided for tail washing, dangling balls in or as a repository for unwanted lab blocks.
-I will not poop uncontrollably in front of strangers.
-Peeing all over myself and my cagemates does not make us smell irresistable.
-Paper towels are not rat food.
-When conversing with other rats I will not refer to my human as "The Rat Slave".
-I will not stare forlornly at my human, nose pressed through the bars of the cage, when she is having dinner and make her feel guilty so we get most of what she is eating.
-I will not... I will not...
Ah, stuff it, I'll do whatever I want to do, because my human doesn't believe there is such a thing as a 'bad' rat, and even if I destroy things of great value or behave in a terribly embarrassing way (including using guests as a urinal), s/he's just going to say 'awwww' and give us extra avocado treats and tummy kisses!

Time Ater Time

It's been a while since the last post but I've just been so busy!
The girls are doing well though I've put Diamond on a bit of a diet as she's getting a bit fat.
I went to visit some little boy ratties that my friend owns and the girls could smell the boy rat on me when I got back so I had to change my clothes! Java looked so determined to find a boy!

Been doing some ratty photography...

I'll get some good pics when I've got the time as it's hard to keep them on the black backdrop longer than they want to be!

I'm interested in getting a few more girls but it could be quite hard to introduce them to these two so I may wait as I don't want to upset these guys.

Two Ratties Romping

As summer approches the consevatory that the rats are living in is getting quite hot in the day. I've found two ways to tackle this:
1. Open all doors and windows!
2. I bought a 'Chill-Chilla' - it's a granite slab that stays cool (generally for chinchillas) that they can lie down on.

I've opened out the entire room to them now, there's only some cardboard around some rather nice plants. It means they can run about on and under the sofa which they love!

Below is on of Java's many examples of stealing treats before I can get to her hehe:

Diamond has started to love exploring my mouth - it's a great party trick to show people...girl with rat's head inside her mouth! Horah!

April the 4th as World Rat Day! Check out the website - http://www.worldratday.com/


Oh and the site I'm working on is almost done. I'll put up a blog with the address when it's finished :)


Also there have been a few additions to the family - 3 giant african land snails that are still babies at the moment, which I aquired of a friend. For snails I must admit that they are absolutely amazing animals!

Cyber Rats

I am currently working on a ratty website with loads of rat related stuff. Hope to get it up as soon as possible! It's going to be called Rat Rampage :-)

Happy Valentine's for those who care hehe!

Welcome 2008

Well it's been almost a month since the last blog! Gosh, time goes by quickly!

The girls have grown (I'm sure) not only physically but mentally. Diamond is up to all Java's old tricks now - the two of them enjoy running amok and trying to escape of the barrier that protects the sofa! I'm have thoughts about just opening the whole room up - easier for everyone! At Christmas the rats received a mini Xmas dinner and presents. Java has been learning her commands and is getting more clever by the day. Diamond comes when called (v. useful!). Below is the simple run I taught Java, although now she has added "Jump" and "under" (video to follow soon):

I have also been helping out with some rats my boyfriend is looking after over the Xmas period. They are also two girls called Alice and Vivian. Below is a picture of Alice with Parsley the rabbit . ^_^

Since Java's digging excavations we've had to put pebbles around the plant - not that's stopped her!

They are still scraping but not as much so hopefully they'll grow out of it soonish. Diamond has amazed me beyond belief with her recovery and bravery - I'm just happy they can enjoy every minute well. I spend about 2 hours a day with them now.



Although orignially my ideas that Diamond was a complete albino I now have to differ my opinions. My dad had talked to a vet friend who named her different breed. This is becuase she is now starting to get darker markings on her nose and rear - even though she has red eyes. I decided to look into different names for breeds etc but it's so confusing and there seems to be no end of sub-catagories! So maybe I'll just ask an expert!



As they enjoy sitting on my shoulder a lot it wasn't much of a suprise to discover that they love sitting/ridding around in my hoodie hood! Diamond loves climbing the tree as well although she tends to get tired and has to jump onto my hand for support. A few days ago I put them in the smaller cage and took them up to my room. My sister didn't know and when she came had a small heart attack and ran down the stairs screaming to my mum what I had done! The rats enjoyed it smelling all the new smells and were eger to come out, but as I haven't rat-proofed the room I thought it wouldn't be fair.

On the last few trips to Pets At Home I have become more and more attached to the rats I see in there. I always want to take a few home - it's so sad to see them with not even half a meter square space to play in and it's not like they get any attention!

They have had their first taste of snow - January 3rd brought a flurry down and as their cage looks out over the garden they seemed inquisative. I don't think they'd have been impressed by the cold though.

A happy new year to you and I hope it brings happiness.
-Amy-