OH man this brings back memories
When I was younger my mom let my sister and I get two pet rats. My sister had the boy and I had the girl. I named her Rosie. She was the sweetest, spunkiest little thing and believe it or not we were GREAT friends
I used to build two story houses out of cardboard with windows and doors for her. We would play on my bed for hours. She loved running in and out of the windows and doors. She would run at me, do a hop, skip and a filp and head back inside
She was also very lovey, dovey too. We put Rosie in with Peanut and she became pregnant. I don't remember how long it took but it wasn't long before we had little babies. As soon as she started showing that she was pregnant I would tear up pieces of newspaper and give them to her, one by one through her cage. By doing this I got to watch her build one heck of a newspaper shack. It was round, solid and had a small hole for her to go in and out. It was pretty darn impressive!!!!!!!!!
Every morning when I woke up I would lay still for a few minutes and listen for the sound of little squeeks. She always had her babies at night. Once she had them it would be a week or two before I would ever see them. But once they started coming out of their shack it was so fun to watch them and play with them. I think she had 3-4 litters in all. I learned the hard way never to leave the male in with the babies. He ate them
:shocked
Peanut developed cancer and we had him put down by our vet. Rosie lived for another few years. She started looking pretty skinny and not as energetic. At that time I was staying with my dad every other weekend but would leave her at my mom's house. She was fine when I left her on Friday but when I came home on Sunday she looked horrible. She was grabbing frantically at her cage door so I quickly got her out and held her little body in my hands. Once in my hands she laid quietly and her breathing became more and more labored. I laid her on my bed and ran to get my mom. By the time we came back into the room she started having little seizures here and there and it was hard for me to watch so my mom sat with her. When I walked back in the room I saw Rosie take her last breathe and as she did I swear on anything that she waved her little hand at us lol
It was pretty amazing. To this day I still believe that she waited for me to get home to die.
Some people think I am silly but I believe even little rodents have personalities and can become attached to you
I have often thought about getting another little rat but I doubt the experience would be the same again since I wouldn't have nearly as much time to spend playing house with the little one
Sorry to write a book but I haven't really ever told that story and this post just made all these memories come flooding back in
You are going to have so much fun with your new guys
I would LOVE to see pictures!!!! I don't think I have any pics of Rosie. She was black and white.