A rattie update

Tweaker and The Brick have been giving me some problems recently. I would take them out for playtime as usual, and everything would be fine. But as soon as they would go back in their cage they would start fighting. I don't mean dominant squabbling type fighting either. This was the Rattie Boxing Championships, an all-tickets-sold-out show, with bedding flying and food bowls being knocked over kind of fight.

Pretty soon, it dawned on me that they were only fighting after they'd been put back after playtime. To me, this means that they're sick of each other. Which means that their cage is too small. They are brothers after all-- making them share the same room for one third of their rattie little lives would be enough to drive anyone insane. So, I gathered up my extra money and my Maddo and went on a pet store hop to track down a new home for the boys.

It's not as easy finding a rat cage as one might think. For some reason, the pet world has labeled ratties as "exotic" pets, and does a result, few pet stores have a wide range of rat products.most rat owners have to settle among gerbil cages, rabbit hutches, and ferret condos. Cages built specifically for rats are of course available online, but the shipping is expensive, and I didn't want to make the boys wait that long. I settled on a ferret condo, and I bought a three-story one. Since I've decided that I'm probably going to own rats for most of my life, I went ahead and bought a cage that would last. Since then, there have been no fights.

They are a little miffed that their new cage comes with a ceramic bowl that they can't tip over, and they still refuse to use their hammock, but they love every other aspect of their cage. I've been training them to come stand on the upper door when I open it, simply so I don't have to stick my entire arm down into the cage to retrieve them when it's playtime. Tweaker, after two days of training, has a perfectly figured out. The cage door opens, he bounds up from the bottom floor, stands on the door, and receives his yogie. The Brick, true to his name, doesn't quite get it. He runs around frantically on the bottom floor, staring at me sadly through the bars. If I try to lead him up to the open cage door with a yogie, he stands on his back feet on the bottom floor and stretches as much as he can instead of actually moving. Today, however, a little progress was made. Of course, this means pictures!

Here is their brand-new cage. They don't use the pink tube so much anymore, because they prefer to sleep below the first level. The empty space at the top of the cage is usually occupied by the hammock, which I'm currently using is a pattern to make several soft fleece ones. Observe:


Yes, that is Cars fleece, straight from the remnants bin at the fabric store. (The hammock is still not done, as sewing is painful.)


This is The Brick, looking very pensive at the bottom of the cage, while his brother is upstairs getting yogies.


He finally decided to come check it out after his brother had received no fewer than five treats.


The Brick in the back, while his brother comes up for another treat.

Now I just have to deal with their recent decision that my fingernails are snacks. They keep attempting to grab my fingernails and haul them away to nibble on them. It doesn't feel very pleasant. I read on my rat forum that if you "squeak" when they do things that are uncomfortable, they'll realize that they're hurting you and stop. This will probably work with Tweaker, but I have a little less faith in The Brick's powers of comprehension.

The Brick is my favorite of the two. He just. Doesn't. Get it. And that is so endearing...