RECIPES

Thursday 19 November 2020

A Little Mischief

 

Our household has expanded from including a pair of rats to having a mischief (pack) of rats.

Son has purchased two young bucks to join his older ones and they arrived here last evening.




Meet Shadow, known as a Berkshire Rat as he is black all over.




And this is Spook, a Hooded Mink (meaning his head is mink coloured).




For now they will live in the small cage, placed beside the larger one where Templeton and Mello reside. 

There was much excitement when the larger rats ‘discovered’ the younger ones.




Within a week it should be possible to introduce the younger bucks into the big cage.  Both pairs have come from the same breeder (although they are not related) so there should be some smell memory present to help with bonding, although older rats are generally known to adopt and care for younger ones.




Although I am not musophobic (having an irrational fear of rodents), I have a deep-seated suspicion about rats and mice and so I refuse to handle them.

That does not stop me from appreciating the personalities and intelligence of these pet rats, who have little resemblance to the common wild rats I grew up with.




I hope everyone is enjoying a great week 😊

Margaret.



20 comments:

  1. Mittens, what do you think? Mr T

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    1. Ah, my purr-fect friend. They look so delicious that I love to sit and watch them, but these hoo-mans of mine keep chasing me away.
      Of course, as I move away (with studied feline grace!), I flick my tail to show that I have no idea what they are on about. As if I would entertain the thought of eating one of the family!
      Mittens 😻

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    2. Dunno about your housemates Mittens, but the feral ones have quite pretty fur and serious 'attitude'. I have had to pretend to chase one, but made a studied effort to ensure I didn't catch it. xxx Mr T

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  2. Interesting to read about your rats. Rats with personalities lol. Of course they're different, of course they entertain but it takes you pointing it out for me to even consider the possibility. I suppose I was a rat rascist 😅

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  3. Have fun watching the cute activities of Shadow and Spook ...

    Greetings from Indonesia.

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  4. I am musophobic, as one of my grand daughters discovered many years ago when she had pet rats. Now she is a mum, and saying a loud "no" to her 4 year old son who wants pet rats. I find that quite funny. Your son's rats do look beautiful.

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  5. Just seeing them from this huge distance makes me shudder!

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  6. The rats do look rather attractive, and I do know they are intelligent, but.... I would rather my cat any day, especially after seeing the mess they can leave when (wild) ones get into a house...
    Stay safe
    Blessings
    Maxine

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  7. My niece had rats for years, she loves them, and whilst I can look at them, like you I would not hold them. As a child we would try and catch field mice, on the rare occasions we got one, I loved to study them, we never kept them for long, they always escaped. We have mice at the bottom of our garden, I love to see them. Thank you for your kind comments on my blog, I am always amazed people drop by to read my ramblings of a senior woman.

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  8. Hello,

    The only pets I have had have been dogs and our son had a lop ear bunny and a gecko. They are cute, but not for me. Take care, enjoy your day!

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  9. This post made me smile. Thank you for educating me about pet rats...not a sentence I ever thought I’d write.

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  10. A very interesting post!

    Me too, I'd not want to cozy-up to them.

    But since they are pets and well taken care of, watching them, would certainly be fun.

    ✨✨✨✨

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  11. My daughters had mice, and then they had rats. I did not mind handling the mice at all, but I never did want to handle the rats. It is amazing they they have such a wide range of personalities...at least the mice did.

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  12. To the best of my recollection I have not previously known people who keep rats as pets. Having said that, I am sure that they are interesting and perfectly agreeable.

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  13. What beautiful rats.
    All rodents are misunderstood by the majority of humans,they are very intelligent and extremely loving as pets if handled and cared for well.
    They are playful and cheeky too. Looks like there will lots of fun to be had soon.

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  14. I don't have an irrational fear of rats but that doesn't mean I like them. When my granddaughter had a pet rat she was determined I should get to like it ( she failed).

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  15. My daughter would have fun at your house, she thinks they're cute.

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  16. No, no and no to the rats! I guess I have that fear because just the photos freak me out!!

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Thank-you for visiting my blog. I love it when you leave a comment so please feel free to have your say. Have a great day! Margaret xx