Our
House Name
(Part 2 - The Chaps Arrive).
Pubpsy lived alone until 15 March 98 when the Chaps arrived. I had been advised by an e-list group CybeRat that rats are social animals and that they need companionship.
On 15 March 98 Pubpsy went with me to PetsMart and chose 4 little friends. He was, as usual, very picky and we had nearly all the ratlets out of the tank before he made his final choice. His first choice was a silver-mink hooded who he began grooming straight away, the second choice was a badger-faced ratlet who tried to crawl under his chin. Third was a capped badger-faced who threw himself to us in order to make friends and the fourth was a rex who clung on and wouldn't let go.
Within ½ a hour of getting them home I'd managed to loose the silver-mink hooded, who'd decided to go exploring inside the sofa. Bill was not pleased to hear me yell "Come quick, I've lost the Hoody" and then we had to rip the bottom off the sofa in order to extract the newly named ratlet. The second problem was the rex's seeming inability to use a water bottle but Pubpsy soon put him on the right track. It was so sweet, Pubpsy herded the now named Rex to the water bottles and showed him how to drink. From then on they always went to the bottles together, a big agouti head at the big water bottle with a little agouti head at the smaller water bottle.
The Chaps soon learned who was boss in the cage and always waited politely for Pubpsy to get his choice of food first. Pubpsy never seemed to understand that his little friends actually liked dry rat mix, his perplexed expression as they tucked in will stay with me forever.
The Chaps soon settled down and Bill and I began to think about extending the cage. Characters were quick to develop. Brownie, named for his pastel agouti fur, was outgoing and friendly while Stripe, named for his most distinguishing feature, prefered to keep himself to himself. Hoody seemed more happy to relax and sleep while Rex stayed with his big friend Pubpsy. It only seemed like minutes for little ratlets to become handsome bucks.
Back to the Buck House Main Page
This page was last updated: 07/10/98 21:39