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Babies find homes

9/6/01

update 9/7/01
update 9/10/01
update 9/18/01
update 9/25/01 (final)

Anyone who is in Los Angeles knows that the Katie pet stores have rats for the sole purpose of providing snake food. I saw a mom with some babies at the one on Venice Blvd.  I originally saw them about a week ago and they seemed to be okay. I went in today to check up on them, and it appears there were less babies than a week ago, meaning they were selling them for snake food already. The girl there told me that the mom only had three babies to begin with and although I can't say for sure how many there were last week, I'm pretty sure there were more than three. I told her I'd take them right there. She even told me that I would be saving them from being snake food so I have no doubt the other babies already went.

The mom, who bit me as I stuck my hand in her tank (so I call her Aggie for "Aggressive") which is okay since she doesn't know any better, had no food and hardly any water and as I was asking about her, the girl noticed this and said she should get some water for her (no duh!). There's no way I could leave her and her babies in this condition, despite the fact I HAVE NO ROOM.

I have Aggie and the three babies in Kirby's old cage, which she just loves, being it's way bigger than anything she's lived in before (she was in a ten gallon tank at the store). The babies are pretty big and it appears their eyes have just opened, so I'd say they are about two weeks old, maybe a little bit more. The people at the store said these were the biggest babies they've ever seen and I'd have to agree. I'd estimate they were born about August 22, 2001.  There is one boy and two girls.

I have to find homes for these babies because I have 18 RATS RIGHT NOW, divided up between five cages as it is, in three different rooms. I have no room for these. I think any animal lover would have taken them anyway, but I just can't keep them. Aggie, if necessary, I could keep because I could just eventually incorporate her into my clan, but there's no way I could keep all four (especially the boy), so any help I could get would be greatly appreciated.

I can deliver these babies anywhere in California and all I ask is that I see where they will be staying.  Please help out!
 
 

Aggie is getting a lot of me as her cage is on my desk (I have no where else to put it). I keep it open while I'm here so she can come out if she wants, but she never gets farther than sticking her head out the door.  I keep putting my hand or arm near her so she can smell it and get used to it and she always ends up trying to take a bite. Seeing as how she's never had any human interaction her whole life, she needs to get used to having a human as a friend. She will be a project. It will take a little time to get her to trust me, but it will happen.

The babies spend most of the time sleeping. Whenever Aggie goes to the top level of the cage, I'll take the babies out and hold them so they can get used to human interaction.  They will never have to go through what their mom went through.  Poor mom just doesn't understand that there are friendly humans.  She's getting lots of treats and is still trying to comprehend that there are no strings attached to all the nice things she's getting.  She loves corn but isn't much of a fan of peas. She got her first piece of banana and went nuts with it, devouring it in minutes. She loves cheese and crackers. The babies were even licking the corn a little, but didn't understand eating it yet.

Pretty much the whole time I'm here, Aggie watches me.  This is good so she can learn that I'm her friend. When I actually have to put my hand in the cage, I wear gloves and she bites all over. But she will learn. She's a good mom and is just protecting her babies.

I put the cage on the (towel covered) couch while I'm home and keep the door open so Aggie can come out if she wants. There's no doubt she appreciates it. She loves climbing all over the couch and will come to my lap if I sit down.  She still nibbles on my hand or finger, but doesn't bite like she did the first day. She knows who I am now. Aggie is a beautiful girl, flawless fur and a sleek, agile body.  How sad it is that this girl was raised in a pet store and a crappy one at that. She's a show rat! I hope by the end of the month that I'll be able to carry her around and pet her easily.  But the progress I've made in the last four days has been amazing.

The babies are starting to play for the first time in their lives. They wrestle and run around and one finally started climbing up the cage today.  I let them run around the couch too (supervised) and they just absolutely love it. They will all jump on my hand and wrestle it and then branch of to each other. They play for a few minutes, but I guess since they're so new, they get tired out quickly and will just rest where they are.  These three babies are huge and healthy and whoever takes them will not be sorry.

Aggies babies aren't even a month old yet, but they're huge. They will be ready to go about the 23rd.

I've named the boy Toby (TOB, The Only Boy) and the two girls, Cotton, because she (they all) looks like a big ball of cotton, and Vanilla, because their fur is as white as the finest ice cream.  All three babies are super healthy and happy and love humans. They are eating like royalty and will never stop playing. Please email me if interested.
 
 

Aggie and her two daughters Cotton and Vanilla went to a new home today. Thanks to a friend who posted a flyer in a local vet, I was able to hook up with Katrina here in Los Angeles, whose own rat recently passed.  She ended up taking the three girls.  Right away, the babies took a quick liking to their new home, running around on their new friends shoulders and bodies.  All the new sights and smells were baffling to the little babies, especially since pretty must most of the time they've had the sense of sight in their short lives, they've only seen my living room.  They didn't like the car ride too much, but once they got to their new home, it was pretty evident that they were going to be enjoying themselves quite a bit.

Even the mom Aggie was having the time of her life. She ran around the new living room checking out things and got a new friend, the existing lone rat (I forget her name at the moment) who seem to take to Aggie and the babies like fish in water.  They got some cheese and played a while, the beginning of a lot of spoiling for the little critters.  You could see Aggie was really happy to have another rat to groom and sit next to besides her baby (proving once again that rats are extremely social animals).

Another great ending to what could have been a sorry situation, where some lovable pets would have suffered during their short lives because of the incompetence of people running a pet store who don't care about animals.  Aggie and her girls will have a great life.

That left Toby, by himself, kind of wondering where everyone went.  When I got home I played with him right away to let him know he wasn't forgotten and to hopefully get his mind off wondering where his mom is.  He was very playful (was? he still is, as I write this).  I lied on the couch for a while and watched TV while the little guy enjoyed running up and down the couch, climbing all over me and playing in my wet hair (having taken a quick shower first).

Toby will be getting neutered next Wednesday and will eventually be put in with the rest of my clan (unless someone asks for him in the meantime).  So he too will have a great life, the cute little guy.