Foo - I'm going to be a Grammy!

We adopted two little rat girls a couple of weeks back... unbeknown to us the came with a bonus. They're preggers!

One of them, Zoe, is real close to delivery. She's spent just about the whole day sleeping on her back. It's so cool to watch the little bumps in her tummy jiggle.

Will update as news is available.

So will you let us know on the big day what the total is so we know how many pink and blue socks to knit? :D

I've a family of water voles that live under the shed. They're a bit like rats but have rounded ears and are vegetarians. Sadly a lot of people mistake them as rats and kill them even though they're a protected species.

Congrats Stacey. I just gotta hope that my wife doesn't find out. She would probably bug me til I adopted more babies ourselves.

Congrats :beer: Grammy Stacey :beer:

Congrats. So what will you do with the ratlings? If you can't give them away, would you just release them or something? Just curious.

6:30 AM EDT ~ Nothing to report. Girls spent about a half hour gamboling about on the sofa last night.

KingTerminte; Will do. Problem is, you can't sex a rat untill at least 3 weeks. So, a nice gender neutral purple would be good. I'd start for a dozen pair (and a dozen pair of mittens for their hands). The average first litter is about six pups, subsequent litters have reached as high as twentey two. So, start knitting!

SpiderMike: If you were closer, I'd make sure you'd get pick of the litter :D

*new*guy: We'll love 'em. Never! That's not responsible pet... oh how I hate this term, 'ownership'. If we had a worst case scenario and they both had a full litter of 22 each (we currently share our home with 17) it would be too many for us to house, much less feed, as it is... it's like cooking for another person with a good appitite.

We have a friend, a fellow rat fancier, who works at a local animal shelter. They'll get anyone we can't keep or place.

Thanks all for the well wishes!

hummmm. Interesting pet.

It's offical, we ARE grammys!

Roxy was the first to deliver... preliminary count is 7. How's the knitting coming KT?

Mother & babies seem to be doing well. Now we wait for the all important milk line to show on their tummies.

EDIT: Make that twelve, up 12 of the little pinkies!

AAAAAWWWW!!!!

Looky at the little pink buggers. :love:

Momma looks good too.

Congrats again!!

the mommy looks alot cuter in that last photo

the mommy looks alot cuter in that last photo
The mommy in the second photo (Roxy) is the one that's in the backround, in the box, in the first photo. Zoe is in the forground, on her back, in the first one.

All rats are cute, no such thing as an ugly rat.

Isn't that cool? A bunch of little lives, all happening at once. What a miracle! Congratulations to you guys!

I initially thought you were saying you were going to be an award for the Recording Academy. Never come across "grammy", otherwise. Anyhow, I gets it now. Congrats!:D How're the little guys doin'?

Everyone seems to be doing fine. Zoe littered this afternoon, with 11 pups. Everyone is showing the milk line in their tummies. Squiggly, squirmy, & squealy.

Wow... 23 new kids in the colony in 24 hrs <shakes head> that more than doubles the colony size!

I'll post pics of Zoe & her kids sometin=me tomorrow.

Congrats, Grandma Stacey!

hehe, congrats

can you explain the interest in rats? not hatin', I'd just like to understand better :o

hehe, congrats

can you explain the interest in rats? not hatin', I'd just like to understand better :o


Not a problem friend. I was first exposed to domesticated rats as a child in a summer science enrichment program. Years went by and I saw them again in a pet store window. We adopted two little girls the next week. Well, there being no such thing as an ugly rat... we adopted our way up to 20 at one point.

Rats make great pets. So much better in every way than hamsters or guinea pigs. And contrary to popular fiction they are not dirty (a bath is the most important thing to a rat, even over food), they are not vicious, they are not disease ridden, on the contrary they are friendly, intelligent, emotional, social and clean.

They are fairly low maintenence... they don't have to be walked in the rain. Keep them fed, pay attention to them through out the morning and evening, being nocturnal they tend to sleep durring the day and keep their cage clean and you have friends for life.

For more information on the rat as a pet, may I suggest;

http://www.quite.co.uk/rats/

http://www.rmca.org/

and

http://www.ratfanclub.org/


Thanks for asking! :)

Rats are the BEST pets!!!! :)

The only minuses:

1. they are nocturnal, so don't put the cage in your bedroom unless you can sleep through explosions and thunderstorms

2. They only live 2-3 years typically - you will get so attached to these sweet little creatures it will break your heart a lot sooner than with a cat or dog. But they are worth it.

The smartest rat we ever had was incredible - she came when called, sat with us outside the cage while we watched tv or read.....a great little friend!!

Here she is (the one with the brown hood) with her buddy - sleeping in their hammock and coming out to play!

Hope those "wittle pinkies" (note that what my neice called them) are doing good.

Another downside about owning rats, You may have to educate your landlord about rats. I had to do that where I live right now. Wish I had a picture of the landlords face when I showed her the paperwork from the vet!

I have been working on getting some decent pix of my little ladies. They must be related to bigfoot, because in every photo they are blurry. While everything else is in focus.

Rats are the BEST pets!!!! :)

The only minuses:

1. they are nocturnal, so don't put the cage in your bedroom unless you can sleep through explosions and thunderstorms

2. They only live 2-3 years typically - you will get so attached to these sweet little creatures it will break your heart a lot sooner than with a cat or dog. But they are worth it.

The smartest rat we ever had was incredible - she came when called, sat with us outside the cage while we watched tv or read.....a great little friend!!

Here she is (the one with the brown hood) with her buddy - sleeping in their hammock and coming out to play!



Those are great pics! The hammock is cool!
I'll have to look into a rat, after my cats are gone. :D

Those are great pics! The hammock is cool!
I'll have to look into a rat, after my cats are gone. :D

I've been wondering about that.... Could rats and cats get along in the same house(as pets)? I don't see why not if maybe they're raised together or somethin'. What do you guys think? Sorry for the hijack, Grammy!:)

I've been wondering about that.... Could rats and cats get along in the same house(as pets)? I don't see why not if maybe they're raised together or somethin'. What do you guys think? Sorry for the hijack, Grammy!:)


yep, we had a cat the same time. You have to be careful, but it's about the same as having a fish tank. Be EXTRA careful when you take the rats OUT of the cage!! :eek:

btw, we also had some feral rats someone rescued and gave us - we raised them from babies (The mother had been killed by a trap) - they are NOT the same as store bought, very wild and not so friendly - they will bite your fingers and make more noise and you can't handle them - once one of ours got out of the cage and it was a nightmare catching it.

The domesticated ones are a JOY! You will not be sorry if you try one. Inexpensive easy to care for and super cute. They're like little tribbles but much smarter......I'd recommend getting two - they like having a playmate. They also need excercise, so get a BIG cage and and a BIG wheel for them to run on. They grow FAST and the smaller wheels become useless......watching them try to run on an outgrown wheel is like looking at old pictures of Sean Kelly.:p

The tails will gross you out a bit at first if you don't like snakes...but unlike a snake they are soft and warm to the touch. Very very cute!!! :)

Hope those "wittle pinkies" (note that what my neice called them) are doing good.

Another downside about owning rats, You may have to educate your landlord about rats. I had to do that where I live right now. Wish I had a picture of the landlords face when I showed her the paperwork from the vet!

I have been working on getting some decent pix of my little ladies. They must be related to bigfoot, because in every photo they are blurry. While everything else is in focus.


LOL! I remember my super coming in to fix the sink, walking by the cage and doing a double take -

Him: "Are Those RATS????"

Me: "errr.....no, they're long-tailed Montezuman gerbils, a rare breed...."

re: blurry pics, most of our good ones are of the girls sleeping! :D They're a bit hyper......but they do calm down as they mature and pretty much all of them are safe to take out and let run on the couch.....

They WILL chew on stuff though! (Keep the clement silk sew ups and wool jerseys well out of reach!!)

In a time long long ago.....I was still living at home when I had my first pet rat. We had 3 cats in the house. Waited til Kat (my first rat) got some size on her, then introduced her to the cats. The cats had already been exposed to a kitty litter trained rabbit, but I was still cautious. Two of the cats were scared of Kat, the third would let Kat crawl on top of her. Kat had no fear, of course she went with me to the beach, she would sit in a handlebar bag on bike rides.

My current babies (Lucy and Tara) have no fear also. Visited my brother-in-law couple of months ago. He has a Lab and a Chihuahua. The chihuahua came up to the cage and bolted when the girls popped their heads up. The lab was a different story, had lived with a ferret before. Lucy walked right up and started cleaning the Lab's nose. Tara was grooming herself, and then started grooming the Lab's ear.

Rats are great and cheap pets. I would recommend one for even small children. They can be pretty quick, mine have all been know escape artist. If you let them run around on the floor like I do, make sure its in a safe room, and keep that door closed.

A cheaper and easier pet to take care of though is a Tarantula. Just my thought from experience with both.

I've been wondering about that.... Could rats and cats get along in the same house(as pets)? I don't see why not if maybe they're raised together or somethin'. What do you guys think? Sorry for the hijack, Grammy!:)


We have the rats (16 mature and the 23 babies), two cats & two dogs. One night the cat in its inherant curiosity accidentaly knocked our tank topper cage to the floor. Imagine my horror upon seeing this as I came down the stairs in the morning. A after a quick self composure and recon of the situation I found three little girls cuddled together in the corner of the cage... completly unharmed. One of our dogs is a hunderd pound lab/chow mix who absolutly adores the rats. Says good morning & good night to them, will share a mutual groom session with any rat who cares to ventur on the floor during an out session.

Back on track, the kids and moms are doing great, thanks! They're growing by leaps & bounds... starting to get some pigment to their skin or hair foliciles, so we can get a basic idea of how they're going to be marked.

To anyone interested in the rat as a pet, I'd be glad to answer any specific questions. I'm sure Spider Mike & pgoat would love to chat them up. If you'd like to come to Quakertown, PA in a couple of weeks, I can even hook you up with some swell little kids! :D

Sorry I haven't posted pics of Zoe littter, just been a hectic auction schedule the past few days.

that's so cool! we have some great cat 'n' rat pics but not digital.....gotta buy a scanner one o' these days.