Indecision!
Wed, Jan. 26th, 2011 04:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterSo instead of working on job hunting, I spent the entire day reading and playing with rats! Or letting them sleep and then running to their cage every hour or so to wake them up and bug them, and, in one memorable instance, switch their cages around to get Ed more used to the scent of the ratlings.
Also, I still can't figure out what to name them! I like Fai and Kurogane because (Tsubasa spoilers, rot13) rira gubhtu Snv unf NATFG TNYBER, obgu Snv naq Xhebtnar unir n fjrrgarff gb gurz. Nyfb, rira gubhtu Snv naq Xhebtnar ner abg gjvaf, gurer ner gjvaf va gur onpxfgbel! Naq Xhebtnar'f nez! On the other hand, Hikaru and Kaoru are twins! Hikaru would be the guy missing a finger, who is a little more energetic, although both of them are full of baby ratling bounce. I do not think the ratlings are quite as tricksy as the Ouran twins though. And then Momiji and Hatsuharu, just because they are so sweet and I feel I should have Fruits Basket rats! And maybe I could nickname Momiji "Momo" so it is kind of like having half of Momo and Appa. (I feel Appa should be a guinea pig. Or a really giant lazy squishy old rat.)
I feel kind of bad babbling about these guys so much, because I think I basically stopped blogging about poor Ed and Al through the entire last year of grad school, and I feel I didn't pay as much attention to them as I could have because of grad school.
I finally emailed their foster family about Al, and was somewhat comforted when the family wrote back to say that all Ed and Al's other sisters died earlier, and that they were from a fairly long-lived family. So at least I did not cut Al's time short by too much. And Ed is still going pretty strong, although he's almost three.
Also! Ed has been officially introduced to the ratlings instead of having to peer into their cage! They have already had several scuffles for dominance, which, embarrassingly, Ed has not always won! I laugh because it's really funny watching him getting pinned by a wee baby ratling. Still, he does win most of the time, although he also squeaks way more than the ratlings. He huffed a bit more when I let them run around his cage while he was in the bathtub, but it's only day 3. Also, they have all three of them slept in a giant rat pile more than a few times. And! Ed is much more lively, but in a less neurotic way. Before, after Al died, he used to squeak at me when I pet him and then go chew the blankets, but now he is coming back to my lap for scritches and kisses, which is more like normal. I think the baby ratlings tire him out after a while, making him retreat to my lap, but he seems to be doing much better with more rats around.
The ratlings! OMG! I swear I will stop posting about them soon! But I don't think I have ever had rats so teeny weeny before! It causes some unforeseen problems, such as the fact that they are so small that they fall down the crack where the sofa meets the wall. Also, it's kind of hard to lose Ed, who's ginormous, but even when I shake out the towels and blankets, sometimes I still can't find the ratlings... they are so light that they cling to the towels I have lifted up and don't fall off! I am terrified I am going to accidentally sit on them.
Also, one of them, a la Ren, attempted to insert himself up my nose. Alas for me, it was much more successful than Ren's attempt, since the ratling is so much smaller, but thankfully he only stuck a bit of his nose in.
And! I am really hoping to train them to be shoulder rats. The quieter one (who tried to stuff himself up my nose) still curls up at the nape of my neck if I have a cowl neck or a hoodie or something. And they are so small I can sit them on top of my head! They sit there better if I have the hoodie up, since my hair is slippery, but still! And they are so small and light they can just jump onto my pajama sleeve and scale their way up to my shoulder, which Ed and Al have not been able to do without my noticing for a long time. Ed tried yesterday, I think to escape frenetic baby ratling energy, but mostly just clung to my sleeve with his paws without achieving leverage. Oh Ed. So cute and squishy and confused!
Also, I still can't figure out what to name them! I like Fai and Kurogane because (Tsubasa spoilers, rot13) rira gubhtu Snv unf NATFG TNYBER, obgu Snv naq Xhebtnar unir n fjrrgarff gb gurz. Nyfb, rira gubhtu Snv naq Xhebtnar ner abg gjvaf, gurer ner gjvaf va gur onpxfgbel! Naq Xhebtnar'f nez! On the other hand, Hikaru and Kaoru are twins! Hikaru would be the guy missing a finger, who is a little more energetic, although both of them are full of baby ratling bounce. I do not think the ratlings are quite as tricksy as the Ouran twins though. And then Momiji and Hatsuharu, just because they are so sweet and I feel I should have Fruits Basket rats! And maybe I could nickname Momiji "Momo" so it is kind of like having half of Momo and Appa. (I feel Appa should be a guinea pig. Or a really giant lazy squishy old rat.)
Poll #5766 Ratling names!
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 25
What should I name the ratlings?
View Answers
Fai and Kurogane (Tsubasa)
7 (28.0%)
Hikaru and Kaoru (Ouran)
12 (48.0%)
Momiji and Hatsuharu (Fruits Basket)
12 (48.0%)
Something else I have detailed in comments!
0 (0.0%)
I feel kind of bad babbling about these guys so much, because I think I basically stopped blogging about poor Ed and Al through the entire last year of grad school, and I feel I didn't pay as much attention to them as I could have because of grad school.
I finally emailed their foster family about Al, and was somewhat comforted when the family wrote back to say that all Ed and Al's other sisters died earlier, and that they were from a fairly long-lived family. So at least I did not cut Al's time short by too much. And Ed is still going pretty strong, although he's almost three.
Also! Ed has been officially introduced to the ratlings instead of having to peer into their cage! They have already had several scuffles for dominance, which, embarrassingly, Ed has not always won! I laugh because it's really funny watching him getting pinned by a wee baby ratling. Still, he does win most of the time, although he also squeaks way more than the ratlings. He huffed a bit more when I let them run around his cage while he was in the bathtub, but it's only day 3. Also, they have all three of them slept in a giant rat pile more than a few times. And! Ed is much more lively, but in a less neurotic way. Before, after Al died, he used to squeak at me when I pet him and then go chew the blankets, but now he is coming back to my lap for scritches and kisses, which is more like normal. I think the baby ratlings tire him out after a while, making him retreat to my lap, but he seems to be doing much better with more rats around.
The ratlings! OMG! I swear I will stop posting about them soon! But I don't think I have ever had rats so teeny weeny before! It causes some unforeseen problems, such as the fact that they are so small that they fall down the crack where the sofa meets the wall. Also, it's kind of hard to lose Ed, who's ginormous, but even when I shake out the towels and blankets, sometimes I still can't find the ratlings... they are so light that they cling to the towels I have lifted up and don't fall off! I am terrified I am going to accidentally sit on them.
Also, one of them, a la Ren, attempted to insert himself up my nose. Alas for me, it was much more successful than Ren's attempt, since the ratling is so much smaller, but thankfully he only stuck a bit of his nose in.
And! I am really hoping to train them to be shoulder rats. The quieter one (who tried to stuff himself up my nose) still curls up at the nape of my neck if I have a cowl neck or a hoodie or something. And they are so small I can sit them on top of my head! They sit there better if I have the hoodie up, since my hair is slippery, but still! And they are so small and light they can just jump onto my pajama sleeve and scale their way up to my shoulder, which Ed and Al have not been able to do without my noticing for a long time. Ed tried yesterday, I think to escape frenetic baby ratling energy, but mostly just clung to my sleeve with his paws without achieving leverage. Oh Ed. So cute and squishy and confused!
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