So cute!

So cute. I got my rat Gina a year ago as a Xmas present from a former coworker. :) She's grey and white and i love her. She is smart and will go near the cage whenever i go near the doorway. She sits up and waits for her daily treat yogurt drop. If she doesn't get one she will act out/act up. Kind of like a kid who has a temper tantrum. She loves to sit on my shoulder and curl up there. I don't really take her out of her cage much due to all the other animals but she is the sweetest most loving rodent i've ever had. Yup no cedar chips either. It's paper.

As for hamsters i've had two really mean ones. The first one not too mean but still and i got her from PetSmart. She died and then i went to replace her with a very smaller meaner one and somehow she or the cats got her out of her cage and she was toast 2 weeks into having her. So i went to a pet store by our house and picked randomly. The hamster i have now is super duper sweet. He's a black long haired teddy bear hamster. I can actually pick him up bare handed. I can't do that with any other hamster. He has tried to bite me but somehow never has broken the skin. He loves to be held and will just sit in my hands letting me pet him for minutes. He loves his ball which i put him in while cleaning out his cage. If i were to get a hamster as a pet do not get one from PetSmart or PetCo i'd go to a petstore where they use hands on with the small animals and really do some investigation.

Rats the ones we sell at PetSmart are ok considering where Gina came from.

So last night we had a horrible scare.

The girls were in their cages- they had gotten their Christmas toys and were safely tucked away. In the afternoon we all left save for Davis and his GF. We left the dogs out, the cats- and the rats and ferrets safely (we thought) in their cages.

We screwed up.

Our big dog Raylie- she’s 65 pounds of german shepherd and lab and she has been TOO interested in Annabelle…..

We got home around 6pm. Braden went downstairs to the basement-and came booking back up-

“Ian, PLEASE tell me the girls were in one cage?!”

“what?”

“Ian, PLEASE!! Tell me the girls were in one cage!!!”

“No….”

“One is missing!”

Braden Ian and Rose bolt downstairs- I came slower- dreading what we would find. Rose comes running back to me in tears- Annabelle is missing.

I went downstairs- and it was a nightmare. Cage bashed open- litter everywhere. Looks like a war went down. I sent Rose upstairs because I was steeling myself to find Annabelle dead.

I started tiptoeing through the mess and she must have heard me- must have heard our voices- because THANKFULLY- right away her little black head popped out from under the TV stand. Ian got her out and she was put through a round of cuddles and kisses.

After examining the scene of the attack it would appear that Raylie bashed in the side of the cage- and in doing so knocked the whole thing loose. Annabelle must have escaped in the chaos- she did scrape her leg but the scrape is so tiny as to be almost not there-and hidden under the TV stand- and Raylie could not get to her.

We, and I especially- feel horrible. Their cages were on the ground- I just assumed they were ok when we left. I never should have left them down-add to that the fact that Annabelles cage had a defect so the hooks don’t line up quite right so we bent it out and hooked it ourselves-that was the side she bashed in. Plus the basement door has not been fixed- if it had been there neither of the other two problems would have mattered.

So I am going to buy some small padlocks- lock each corner of each cage and one for the door. They will be off the floor and I have told my parents I need my Dad’s help putting up the new door.

It was awful- and wonderful at the same time- Annabelle is certainly our little Christmas miracle.

Whew!!! I'm glad she was safe!

This has nothing to do with the problem you have but you really might want to consider putting both rats in one cage. Rats are very social and love to be with buddies. They almost always accept newcomers and generally don't need their own "territory" (my 4 boys sleep heaped in one big pile in their hammock). And since you have 2 girls, no worries about baby ratties. :)

:)

The problem is that the rat parents live in two rooms and want their girls with them- we are likely going to add a second rat to each at some point-or as a middle road solution- let the girls hang out together during the day and then let them go to their rooms with their people at night.

The girls now have cagemates-

Ian adopted a Rex rat- named her Zim. She a black hooded rat- very sweet and curious.

I just happened to contact a lady at the petstore who has a young Dumbo rat who needs a home for free- so Rose will be adopting her and right now plans to name her Isabelle. She is white with black spots. We will be picking her up today-

-and I fell for a sweet little Dumbo rat whom I have named Nani. Right now she is rooming with Annabelle-I will be moving her into my room soon.

So we have 5 girls.

Annabelle is totally back to normal- no more limp at all. Raylie is being much better behaved-thankfully!

You simply cannot post something about pets and not post photos.

So cute!

been having trouble with my photo bucket- will try to get a collection uploaded tonight when they are all home.

Dumbo rats are totally great. They are known for their loving, sweet dispositions.

I miss my Hollywog.

O tried to get me to hold a dumbo rat this weekend which is a total attempt to take advantage of poor Mommy. She knows if she can get me to hold one, her chances of taking it home go up exponentially. 4 dogs, 3 cats, 4 rats, 2 hermit crabs and 3 (soon to be 4) fish tanks is way past any sane person's animal limit.:rolleyes:

He WAS rather cute though...:D