I love these kids!

Two brand new photos - one of the kids when I walk near the cage (they LOVE the attention!), and one I just took about an hour ago; I gave them a cat shaped doggie biscuit, "apple pie" flavoured, and they attacked it! Too cute ; )

Photo Update!

The ratlets are growing everyday in leaps and bounds - pretty literally ; ) Chubby tummies are big enough to kiss, as well as noses, and they're strong enough to climb all over the cage (and mom). They're driving Squink pretty crazy now, and she realy relishes the chance to get out and away from the gaggle of babies who seem to spend their free time bugging her. The first picture here shows how much bigger they've gotten!
They're all eating solid foods now, and I give them a wide variety of things to try. They've had
all sorts of veggies, cruchy rat kibbles, parrot treats, yogies, dog biscuits, egg biscuit meal, peanuts (I had to show them that they could crack them open for a treat!), and more. In addition, they've tried people foods, including french fries and mexican leftovers (fried rice, beans, coleslaw, etc. all mixed together). It's very rare to find any left overs in the cage at all! Because of their broad food experiences, their adoptive parents will be able to give them pretty much anything and they'll vacuum it right up : )
Besides torturing mom, the kids spend a good chunk of the day wrestling (next photo), chewing up countless toilet paper tubes, digging in the cage litter, and most recently 'monkey bar climbing' across the tank's screen top. These tykes look forward all day to coming out and playing, and they're already showing personalities very similar to their parents - pure balls of energy, brave, smart and curious as can be.
Right now they love to cuddle too! All of the babies are very lovey dovey; LOTS of kisses! The last photo here shows one of them kissing mom. They're all strong believers in the first amendment too - chattering up a storm everywhere they go ; )

Rat Pile!!

Growin' up fast!

The kids are growing up fast; seems like only last month they were pinkies.... oh wait - they were ; )

Their adult hair is just starting to come in and they all feel like little woolly lambs right now! I have very little doubt about whose daddy anymore - their underfur has turned very light, and their bellies have lightened up a lot too, so I do think that they'll roan out. I was looking at some "old" pictures of daddy (taken like 6 months ago) and noticed how much he's lightened up just since then; the process doesn't stop, they just keep bleaching out all their lives : )

The kids spend most of their days either lounging around or wrestling each other. LOTS of "Smackdown" matches going on in my house ; ) My mom calls them my "fleas" because they'll pop and hop around the cage just like popcorn (a nicer image). They're also really starting to crave attention - when you come near the cage at least a few will stand on his/her hind legs and ask to come out. A little boy that I've been calling Blacky (just because he's the only one with no tummy spot) is always the first one up your arm. They all love to cuddle, play and chatter up a storm when they come out. Most also show their momma's natural inclination to want to pee in the cage (if you give them breaks every ten or fifteen minutes) which is nice ... though the want to poop there would be nice too ; ) Overall they're wonderful, energetic little balls of fuzz!!

Chow time!

Chow time is one point in the day that all the kids look forward to - and mom too! Every day they get a dish of oatmeal and some fresh greens (in addition to a constant supply of feed) and sometimes other treats. I discovered a "soy protein powder" that tastes like powdered almond cookies and they LOVE it; a little added to their oatmeal = the bowl licked clean every night. They tried a fresh plum for the first time today and really seemed to enjoy it (we'll see how their guts like it though ; )

Family Photos!

Alrighty - it's time for some nice news and some fresh family pics (taken over the last day or two). : )

Dad and the babies finally met and he can't get enough of his family (though mom's off-limits). He loves to lick all over the babies and sits on top of the cage to visit. The other day I freaked out because one of my babies disappeared into thin air. I searched the entire room several tiems throughout the day and had no luck at all finding baby. Then in the evening I let Squeek down for his romp and told him to "find the baby" he snuffled around the room like a little bloodhound but didn't 'say' anything until I went to put him to be and gave him a treat (like usual) as he was going to bed. Instead of wandering into the cage like he always does, he made a mad dash up into the drawers of my desk. I found him in the very top drawer... sharing his treat with a frightened little baby! I guess mom must have snatched baby and run at some point - she's a sneaky little
bugger ; ) Glad to see that Dad made sure she was okay!

An accident...

Sadly, I must inform everyone that we had an accident tonight. One of the little ones, one of my little girls, crawled in under a couch cusion and was squished when things shifted. : (( I think she got stuck, because we heard her crying, but by the time we found and moved the right cushion, she was gone. I think the actual movement of the cushion she was under was what killed her. I can only take comfort in the knowledge that the incident was quick; I keep careful count of the babies every few minutes, so she wasn't suffering long. Still, it's hard to see such a sweet animal die so young. The baby will be buried in the garden tomorrow, and I'll be building some sort of a playpen this weekend to offer a safer handling area. They love the softness of the couch, and with an added sheet on top they couldn't get into the cushions, but all it took was one tiny hole to sneak in. She will be missed, but she lived well while here.

The kids are getting bigger...

The fuzz butts are all wound up and running wild now! Last week their eyes opened, and within two days they were ready to explore the world. Now they want to go everywhere and see everything! Here are some pictures of tonight's explorations on the family couch:

Photos of Mom & Kids!!

Here's a few photos of Squink and the babies!!

Eyes open to the world!

Yesterday, the first eye of the bunch opened, and today, Sept. 3rd, most have at least one eye open!!! They're sensitive to light right now, but those litle black beads are sooooo cute!!! I can't wait to see how much more active they'll get as they realize they can see to get around.


Everybody LOVES to be cuddled and gives LOTS of kisses; several even brux up a storm while you pet them (it's actually chattery for the most part now; for a while it was more like 'gumming' - hee hee). I still have a hard time telling them apart though!
I sexed them yesterday, and it looks like I have four lovely little girls, and four cuddly little boys! Half and half ; )

I see whiskers, and fur!

Over the last few days, you could see changes every time you looked into the tank. First, whiskers grew in, just barely there. Then, the fur started to come in more; like fine velvet at first, then growing thicker. Now it's like chenelle, and I just love kissing and petting the babies!
Mom's okay with petting - in short bursts - before she snags the babies out of my hands. It's funny, because if I hide a baby, she knows right away! Makes me wonder whether she counts them, or just names them off until somebody doesn't answer; "Timmy... where's Timmy?!"

Baby photos!!

Mommy and the babies are doing very well - the babies are growing like weeds! Just a few days after their birth, the pinkies are changing color - not pinkies anymore. I'm really excited to see what color they might end up, and to see if I can tell who's their daddy!
They make all sorts of racket too - squeeking whenever mom moves. She lets me look in on them once in a while, though is still nervouse about it. I'm giving her 'mommy breaks' at least once (and usually twice) a day to let her stretch her legs. Besides, how long could anybody stand eight crying babies right? ; )
I took this photo on August 23rd - take a peek!

Is that a BELLY I see??

When we'd been home about two weeks, I noticed that Squink was getting a bit of a tummy. I knew that shipping the kids together (and keeping them that way for a few weeks until we settled) just about guaranteed pregnancy, but I was really hoping she *might* not. She's just so tiny that I hoped it was just pudge. She's only three months old and just sooo tiny! Can she possibly be pregnant?
After a few more days, I had little doubt. At the very least, I figured it was well beyond time to put squink in her own cage -- I had to leave their big cage in Germany (for later mailing) so they lived together in a nice big doggy carrier (which they really like!). Anyhoo, I went and bought a ten gallon fish tank (only $10), a nice screen top and a new water bottle, and introduced Squink to her new home. She settled right in, and within a day or two, I woke up to BABIES!! They were born on August 18th, 2005.
I was simply shocked - babies? Already? She just barely had a poodge! The eight pinkies she had were just about half her size - how the heck did they all fit in there?? When my mice had babies they looked like golf balls with feet!
She was very protective of her itty bitties, so I gave her some cotton fluff and covered half the tank with a dark towel, made sure she had plenty of food and let her be a mommy. All the babies had a nice big milk band around their tummies, so I knew she was doing good.

Movin' in

Anyhow, I don't want to go on and on about the trip (it was just terrible!), so we'll just say it's over. The boys and squink got here safely and settled right in. They had to get a little used to being in the cage a little more than before - in my teeny barracks room they had free run. But this house it too big for that and my parents have a cat, so they have to settle for an hour or two up instead. They do get free run of my room when they are out though, and have figured out how to climb up into the drawers of my desk (when they're closed). Squeek is back to one of his favorite activities too - fishing. He balances on the edge of my aquariums and does his dangdest to catch my guppies. When he first started 'fishing' you'd hear this huge "SPLOOSH" once in a while and I'd have to fish HIM out of the tank... all dripping wet like a soggy noodle, the water running in big drops down his tail - hee hee. He hasn't fallen in here yet - I think the tanks I bought here have a bit bigger edge ; ) Squidge tried fishing once or twice, but he's such a clutz that he always falls in, and since he doesn't care for baths, he lost interest pretty quick.

Squink doesn't get free run of the room as often, because she's not fully trained to come when called and is a little wild thing to catch again, but she's getting much better. The trick is to make a call sound and give them a treat as soon as you get their attention - yoggies are such wonderful things!! Squink gets free run of the bed or the couch, and sometimes the computer desk, and she's the only one who will ride on my shoulder. Squeek tries to get down too much and Squidge tends to fall off!

I'm getting side tracked from the story again though - it's so easy with my mischief of rats!

A very bad day at the airport!

Now that you've met my kids, I'll continue the story ; )
On August 1st I packed averybody up and took the 2-hour train ride from Heidelberg to the Airport in Frankfurt, Germany. I had a real mountain of luggage, since the Army wouldn't be bringing my stuff to the US until the end of September. Within that pile were the ratties and two boxes of live fish - packed specially fo the ride. Things started out rough - I got on two wrong trains, riped one of my boxes in two, got stuck on a set of stairs for half an hour, then had to pay to catch a cab to the airport from a train station in the middle of nowhere... AARRRGH!!
Finally I got to the airport, and hoping things would go easily, wandered to the ticket counter (over three hours early, just in case). Unfortunately, things only got worse.
I checked very carefully ahead of time to make sure everything was packed just right, but once I got to the airport, it seemed like every airport attendant had to make me wait while they checked the rules and had my fish boxes checked by their supervisors. I ended up waiting for hours in different lines, while everybody and their mother... and aunts and uncles and second cousins... checked rules about shipping fish. Meanwhile, I was getting VERY nervous as I still had to take my boys to the other side of the airport to the animal shippers and there was only half an hour left... THEN they decided that my boxes were too heavy and made me repack them into other boxes, which of course, I had to pay for too. Then gee, big surprise, they made me miss my plane : (( Then, I spent four hours waiting for a hotel shuttle, that I found out later was unmarked (so, how was I supposed to know whih of the hundred vans to wave down???).. I ended up spending the night in a hotel (dragging my mountain of crap back and forth) and coming back the next day. The next day I did go through a little mess (new supervisors on duty of course...) but one good counter attendant from the day before helped me through. It did cost me $200 in extra luggage fees to get all my crap on though : P
I wanted to explode and ranted and raved like a crazy woman, cussing off my head throughout the several days it actually took to get on a plane. Luckily, a USO in the airport (lifesavers!) let me relax a little and supplied some MUCH needed chocolate for my nerves, and my loving ratties gave me all the love I needed to relive the stress in the evening.

When I finally arrived in Seattle a day and a half later, I had to stay over for a night to wait for the ratties plane to get in too. I repacked all my fish (about a hundred) in fresh water and bags. I lost very few on the plane ride (a good thing!) but they were all ready for a water change after about three days in the same teeny bags. I fretted like crazy about the rats, but a call to my parents helped a lot - apparently, the shippers on the Seattle side called them about eight times asking what to feed my babies, if they needed extra care, could they be petted, etc. etc... Good stuff!

The next morning, bright and early I headed to the cargo bay to get my kids. The shipper ladies there had fauned over them so much that the boys just kind of looked up and said 'oh, it's you.' Thaaaannnkks guys. What poops. The shipper ladies had fed them peanut butter crackers and fresh grapes, which they'd totally inhaled. When I went to leave all the workers came up to say bye to my babies and asked me all sorts of questions about rats as pets. I hope that maybe one or two will adopt kids of ther own! The kids' cage was buckled into the front seat of my rental car and off we went! We got home safely in just under three hours : )

Meet the kids...

So - now I'll introduce the characters of my show! I have two males, Squidge and Sqeek, and one little girl, named Squink.

Squidge was the first baby I adopted (while overseas - I'd had ratties before, in the US). I found him in a petshop near Notre Dame in Paris, France, while on a weekend trip (Martin Luthur King Weekend) with a good friend of mine. He was such a cute, tiny baby! I brought him home on the train to Germany and he settled in pretty quickly. I don't like to name my animals until they show their personalities, and after a while he made his name obvious. "Squidge" is a word my parents used when I was a kid when they grabbed at baby fat or gave big hugs; and Squidge was exactly that - a little ball of baby fat who just want to be petted and cuddled.

Squidge is a standard beige self, whose life now is dedicated to serious snoozing. He'll come out of the cage, where he was snoozing, and wander around the room until he finds a comfortable place to snooze and settles in. Under the covers on the bed and in my desk's drawers are his current favorites.


Squeek followed soon after. It was still cold in March, and I was worried about little Squidge being alone while I was at work and cold in our drafty barracks building. I watched the pet stores in Heidelberg for a long time for a rat who was just right, and even visited pet stores in a few surrounding cities. I had almost given up when I wandered into Dehner (a German garden/pet shop) and saw a little gray ratty, just a little bigger than Squidge. While all the other ratties ran and hid, this little boy came up to the glass and followed my hand back and forth across the front of the tank. The only drawback was that his ears were horribly infected with something -- I later found to be mange mites -- that had curled them all up and made little pimples all over : ( I took him home and used medine to clean up the mites, and the two hit it off right away. He gained his name because he's extremely talkative; as a baby he squeeked like a dog toy whenever you touched him, and 'talked' to you with squeeks and chatters. Now, he still chatters plenty but squeeks much less (though you'd think you were murdering him when you try to clip his claws!!).
Squeek is a grey European husky or roan rat. As he's aged, parts of his grey have faded out to white (like around his face). Though very popular in Europe, true roan rats are very rare in the US, which makes my little squeek all that much more special : )


Squink is my newest baby. I bought her on a whim right before I moved (I know, I'm bad... but they're addictive!) at the same store that I found Squeek in. She was a tiny little thing, that at the beginning actually looked like a banded rat, but in beige, with a dirty little nose. After a few weeks, the color stripe on her back and head faded out, leaving just a little bit of "dirt" on her nose and at the base of her tail - she was a siamese! "Squink" is a nickname my dad used to use when I was a kid, it basically meant "littlest one", and this little girl was exactly that. She has beautiful fine features, very fitting of a lady, and a tail that is about the same length as the boys' even though she's about half their size! She's full of guts and vim though, zapping all over the room like a wild thing when she's loose and attacking her treats like she's starving to death (she's not, believe me!).

In the beginning...

The story of the eight black ratlets starts in late July, as I packed up my three "babies" Squidge, Squeek and Squink for the long trip from Heidelberg, Germany, where I was stationed with the US Army, to my parent's home in Wenatchee, WA.
My three ratties kept me loving company in Germany, and the thought of leaving them behind was just unbearable. I figured that I'd just bring them home with me - you just put them in a dog carrier and get on the plane, right? Well... no. It ain't so easy. Customs didn't cause any problems at all - rat's are easier to get across the border than dogs, you just need a health certificate. It's all the airline's fault in this case; apparently, rats are "dangerous" on a plane because they "might" escape and chew up wiring. Never mind the noise and strange people and smells that will pretty much make them want to curl up and hide... oh well.
Anyhow, I ended up having to call all sorts of shipping companies to try to find some way to bring my kids home. After lots of calls to airlines trying to sweet talk my babies onto a plane, I finally broke down and used my only option; I paid an animal shipper to bring my babies home. It cost a whopping 350 euro (roughly $470)!!! For that price, all three babies could ride together in a double screened doggy carrier and would meet me in Seattle as I arrived. All my friends thought I was crazy, but I just couldn't leave my babies behind.