January 8, 1999

I don't know if the girls miss their brothers or what, but they are much more active than the boys are in the living room. The girls are all over the place. They try to get in my room where Claude and Luke await, as does their mother. I had to do a little cleaning tonight, so I had to put them back in their tank a little earlier and as you can see, they want out. Now.

There's the Golden Girl, Swan (the one with the colors of her mom, but the markings of her dad, I call her Swan after a great character in one of my favorite books, Swan Song), and the Socks twins, who I cannot tell apart. When I put them to bed at night, their mom starts jumping at the lid, hoping to knock it off so they can escape. Well, the last couple nights the girls have learned to do this too. So now I've got five little rats jumping and knocking and making all kinds of racket. I've got company staying this weekend! I'm moving them into my room for a while. It's just about time for them to be able to go and that's hard to believe (at least to me).

The tank was just cleaned and the little girls are enjoying some corn and cat food. They are the size their mom was when I brought her home. The boys are out in the living room.

There she is Miss Frickin' America! Is that a cute rat or what? And this picture doesn't do her justice, because it's shot through the tank. Her fur glows. Her skin is a perfect pink. She's a show rat if there ever was one and the friendliest of all my rats. I just get the biggest kick out of her.

Next week they'll be ready to go, so if you're interested in a couple, now's the time to email me!