Rats!

[oyceter]

I haven't posted about the rats for a while... Most of it is because Momo's hind legs continue to deteriorate, which makes me sad. He's still getting around pretty well, but mostly via his front legs, with some flailing with his hind legs, and I need to weigh him again to make sure he's eating. I took him to the vet because he has a fatty lump on his chest (probably just fatty tissue) and possible lumpiness elsewhere, and my old vet said he looked fine while the new vet said he was overweight. Now, of course, I feel guilty about feeding them too much, though old vet mostly did not care about rat weights, so I will try to not feel too guilty.

Other than that, they are in the lazy guy rat stage of life. Also! CB's allergies are now much reduced. After two air filters and assiduous cleaning, what helped the most was putting a blanket over the cage. This was great for the winter, since my apartment gets pretty cold, though I'm trying to think of what to do now that it's getting warmer. Also, Haru has greatly enjoyed the new addition and spends tons of time pulling bits of blanket through the cage to chew off and line the igloo with. He managed to pare down a queen-size blanket to something roughly 1' x 1'!








Hahaha, they so don't fit into the box.


Hello Momo's nose!


Momo hates me.


They are so big now! I still remember when they were wee ratlings, and now Momo barely fits on my shoulder.

Comments

[jinian]

Rats! Happy rats! Rats in box! Yay!

[oyceter]

My favs are the rats in a box!

[heavenscalyx]

AWH! FUZZY GUYS!

[oyceter]

^___^

[oracne]

RATS INNA BOX SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!1

[oyceter]

Those are my fav!!

[rachelmanija]

Awww! So adorable!

Momo is HUGE.

[oyceter]

Omg, Haru is EVEN HUGER! And very squishy ^_^.

[hebethen]

Tiny... paws...

[oyceter]

They are so cute!

[merisunshine36]

I love your rat posts, they are super adorbs!

Do you have a/c in your house for the summer? I keep thinking about how much I miss having a rodent pet, but I am in an a/c-less apartment and don't know how much heat they can handle.

[oyceter]

No AC =(. Debbie Ducommun says they start getting uncomfortable around 90 degrees, which I'm not sure my apartment has ever hit (I'm in Bay Area, CA). Still, I try keeping the fan on and the windows open, and when it gets hot for me I try giving them frozen water bottles or run their tails under cold water (they don't sweat and usually lose heat through their tails iirc).

[merisunshine36]

Ah, I am AC-less as well, but here in Philadelphia 99-degree days in the summer are not an uncommon occurrence. So I will keep that plan on the shelf for now!


Allllso, this is random, but I happen to be flying into SF tomorrow to visit friends, and fleete and I are going to meet up for fangirl coffee at 2pm on Friday at Borderlands on 20th & Valencia. If you are around, you are welcome to join!

[oyceter]

Ohhhhhhh, so want to go but have to meet with ppl for work at that time =(. Have lots of fun, though! I love Borderlands (and their hairless cats).

[umadoshi]

Eeee, rats! *^^*

[thinking_lotus]

Your rats are SO cute!

[vass]

Aww, babies! Lazy guy rats are the best rats.

They're so sweet. Thank you for sharing the photos, it brightened my day.

About the weight, a lot of rat people think of it as an insurance policy against illness, since they can lose it so quickly with myco. As long as they're not so fat it's causing health issues now.

[oyceter]

Awww, yay, glad to hear they brightened your day.

Re: weight, oh good. I worry a lot more about them losing weight so don't really curtail their food or whatever. I guess most of my rats have been pretty large and squishy, but it doesn't seem to impact their lifestyle?

[sqbr]

So cute!

[torachan]

Such cuties!

[king_touchy]

What handsome fellows!