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My first pet rat was a PEW (pink eye white) lab rat I named Salty
(I have a black labrador retriever back home named Pepper hence
the name Salty--Salt just didn't sound right). She was with me
for about a year and then unexpectantly died one afternoon (early
1996). I attribute her death to old age since she was already an
adult when I adopted her.
I bought an almond(?) hooded male, Cayenne, shortly before Salty died and soon after her death a black hooded female, Gumbo, both at a pet store. Gumbo was supposed to be a friend for Cayenne but 'he' turned out to be a 'she'. I made the mistake of letting the pet store worker pick her from the feeder tank for me because I would have taken them all home if I had to pick myself. I assumed that he could tell the difference between a male and female rat. Wrong! To top it off, a couple of weeks later Gumbo gave birth to 7 pups--1 PEW?, 2 PEW--pink eyed white (albino), and 4 black hooded of which one was male and three were female. Unfortunately, the pinkie died a couple of days after birth and the two PEWs died at about two weeks of age. Gumbo and one of her daughters, Bienville, died unexpectantly in September, 1996. I can only assume they succumbed to their infections of Mycoplasma pulmonis (Note: see pg.38). My other boy Cayenne also unexpectantly went to the Rainbow Bridge on June 26, 1997. Beignet finally ended his long bout with myco and also crossed the Bridge on August 8, 1997; his sister Iberville followed on October 4, 1997. Jazz, an agoutie girl, died in December, 1997, only a couple of weeks after I got her and Lafayette, my 'rex' girl, succumbed to myco on November 19, 1998. My beige boy, Chicory just crossed over to the Rainbow Bridge after having a tumor unsuccessfully removed (9/17/99) and Zydeco (a black berkshire boy) followed close behind him (11/20/99). Also have to mention Tabasco, a male PEW, who was only with me for a couple of weeks. Pinta (female hooded?)had been battling an infection and finally succumbed to it just recently (5/18/00). They will all be missed.
Today I share my life with three ratties, all of which are native Memphians: two girls: Orleans, a black berkshire and two boys: Pontchartrain, and Maurepas, a tan/beige hooded. Both girls just had mammary tumors removed and are showing their age.
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