Goodbye to Tumkins

And so it is time to say goodbye to the newest rat in our family: Tumkins. Though he is very adorable and incredibly sweet to us, he bit the heck out of Squidgie's foot last night. This will not be tolerated. Poor Squidgie - Ratsy bit the crap out of her neck when she was just a baby, now Tumkins has bitten her foot.

Thankfully Ryan stepped in last night when they were fighting (I was asleep). They've fought before but Ryan heard more of a strain and anguish in Squidgie's cries. Tumkins was banished to the naughty cage where he will remain until we find another home for him.

It saddens me a bit, because he is cute - he just isn't that nice to other rats apparently. Hopefully we can find a better place for him.

That's Mister Tumkins to you!

I went to the pet store (always a bad idea) last Monday and found the cutest male rat! Of course, as I've been looking to get some additional rats, I figured adding a male rat to our rat group would increase those odds. (Ratsy and Squidgie haven't been too successful at having babies...yet.)

Anyway, he's adorable. We named him Tumkins. Don't ask me why. We pick random names (though Ratsy tends to make sense). He's a cream colored "Dumbo" rat (no, he's not dumb - he has rounder ears set more on the side of his head) with brown markings on his nose. He's about six months old, or so the pet store thinks. We also believe that he's deaf which is neither here nor there. He's probably the most loving of our rats, though the girls haven't warmed up to him yet. They probably just don't want to have to fight over him.

Pictures are below!

Ratsy & Squidgie

Above: This is Ratsy. She's a bit older than Squidgie. She's the one that got away from us about 20 minutes after we brought her home by located an unfinished portion of the cabinet under our bathroom sink. We thought we were safe having her locked in the bathroom - she's crafty.


Above: Squidgie is younger than Ratsy by a couple months. She still acts like she barely knows how to walk sometimes which is silly and adorable all at the same time. She is smaller than Ratsy - I think that Ratsy steals a lot of the food. She's very timid, possibly because Ratsy bit the crap out of her neck the day that we brought Squidgie home. Though we've tried our best, we have been shitty parents to these rats on the days we brought them both home. Sigh...



Above: Ratsy sniffing the air for the sweet smell of freedom.


Above: Squidgie is training for the 2008 Rat Olympics.



Above: Both rats on top of their cage. They are conspiring against us and plotting to escape.

Above: Ratsy checking out the camera.

Above: This is their cage. Considering their size, they have more living space than we do.

Above: Squidgie is thinking deep thoughts.