| Finish Line |
| The hardest part of owning rats is their lifespan of only 2-3 years. Here are a few of the many rats that had touched my life but have now moved on. |
| Rest in peace my little angels... |
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Mable was a brown agouti hooded female, she was the first to introduce me to the wonderful world of
rats. I had read many articles about how rats were becoming more common as pets because of their personalities
but I never believed they would be quite as much fun as they really are. I overheard one of the people
at a local pet shop talking about the baby rats that were going to be snake food, so I asked if I could
look at them. All of a sudden, this little baby jumped on my hand, crawled up my arm and perched
herself on my shoulder. Obviously, I bought her home with me. After a week, Mable learned her name and
responded to it. She'd follow me everywhere. Mable truly thought she was a human and everybody who met her even said so. She never liked other rats, she was very aggressive and dominant toward them but she was always gentle with me. Her favorite habit was to lay in my hand and nibble her teeth against the skin of my fingers which I guess was an affectionate grooming process for her. She spent most of her life outside of her cage and at night she would sleep in bed with me under the covers. Mable passed on all too quickly of pneumonia when she was 1 1/2 years old. I have never had a rat like her again and I know I never will, she was one of a kind. She passed on 6 years ago but her memories are still very much alive. |
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Bayakoa "Baya" and A.P. Indy "Indy" were definitely memorable. Baya was a beautiful chocolate rex girl
with an amazingly laid back, affectionate personality. She passed on her wonderful personality to give
me the best babies I ever had. Indy was an adorable powder boy from the first litter I ever raised. He was a chubby, playful boy with the biggest cheeks! He lost his right eye when he was only 6 months old due to a horrible injury. Baya and Indy were the parents of Kelso and Mumba...2 boys that will always remain dear to my heart. |
| Kelso & Mumba |
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Kelso was the apple of my eye. His entire litter consisted of 16 solid black babies but I knew before
he opened his eyes that there was something special about him. He was one of the biggest boys I ever
had weighing just under 2 lbs but was 100% love, he was like a ragdoll. I took him everywhere, he got
pictures taken with Santa and the Easter Bunny and always melted hearts everywhere he went. My Kel Baby
was one of the best rats ever. Mumba was Kelso were born the day after Christmas and my radiator wasn't working so I thought I'd help Baya keep her babies warm by putting a heating pad in her nest. 10 mins later, that mistake accidentally killed 3 of her babies and Mumba who was already the runt was barely alive. He didn't nurse for 3 days and never moved but suddenly, he started eating again and thriving. I decided to name him Munchkin. Munchkin grew up to be the largest rat I ever had weighing 2lbs and the name no longer fit so I started calling him Mumba. He was often overlooked...because of my love for Kelso, he was always came in second best. After Kelso passed was when I realized how wonderful Mumba was too. He developed rear-end paralysis plus arthritis. I practically had to become his around the clock nurse feeding him babyfood multiple times a day and washing his groin area that sat in urine. Mumba was truly grateful and we became especially bonded to eachother during this time. I'm glad I found the star that shone in him before he passed away. |
| Dante |
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| Dante was almost a carbon copy of his father Kelso only in blue. Shortly before Kelso passed, I bred him to Baeza in the hopes of having his son to remember him by. Once again, I was equally proud of this gorgeous boy. Dante was perfect in every single way and to this day, to think of him makes me choke back tears. He was a complete momma's boy, always in the mood to follow me around and play with me. He also was a bit of a spoiled brat and wouldn't hesitate to let me know when he didn't like something. Dante was absolutely incredible...my heart is still breaks of his loss. |
| Hot Boy |
| Hot Boy had to be the silliest boy ever. He was always so happy and I never saw him walk, always prancing and bouncing to and fro. He had a foot fetish...you couldn't be around him without wearing sneakers or he'd chase you relentlessly around in circles trying to get a nibble at your toes. Hot Boy gave me a laugh everyday, he was such an incredible part of the family. |
| Dustin |
| Dustin was pretty russian blue berksire out of the second litter born at my house. He was always shy when younger but became much more outgoing at an older age. He became the elderly stud boy, by accident, when I assumed he was too old to breed plus he also had rear-end paralysis. But where there's a will, there's a way...he impregnated 3 girls when he was well over 2 1/2 yrs old. |
| Shay, Ody & Coby |
| I adopted out 3 of the 12 babies from Dustin's litter, then fell in love with the remaining 9 and kept them all. It was not only the prettiest litter I ever had, but they all had the cutest personalities. There were 5 boys...Shay, Ody (identical to his mother Odessa), Coby, Corgan and Swale and 4 girls...Porcelina, Baeza, Lily and Dahlia. |
| Corgan |
| He outlived the rest of his littermates and became the grumpiest old man! He was crotchety and didn't want to be bothered unless I was offering yogurt drops. Corgan is definitely one of the most memorable boys. |
| Fahris & Nola |
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Fahris was the quiet, cautious boy with the prettiest diamond on his forehead. Nola and Fahris looked very much alike but Nola was much more adventurous. She always had places to go, couldn't sit still. |
| Beluga & Hennessy |
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Beluga was so stunning and a chubby boy. He was very nosy and inquisitive and got himself into alot
of things! Hennessy later got the nickname Chubby Checkers because of his chubby body and black & white checkered pattern on his sides. He was another silly, happy go lucky, little clown. |
| Joe & Carlos |
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Joe was quiet, nosy and always loved to be talked to. He also was a momma's boy. Carlos had the sweetest face but he was the dominant boy, he was the lion of the jungle who controlled everything. He was always marking his territory, including me, and would try to terrorize other rats from outside their cage...he was something else! |
| Sable |
| I got Sable from a good friend, Kim, and fell in love with her shortly after Mable passed, they were the same color. Sable fell right asleep in my arms, so of course she had to come home with me. She was so gentle and quiet, got along with everyone. She lived longer than anybody here at 3 yrs, 4 months. Even at her older age, she always had a sweet baby face. Sable was unforgettable. |
| R. Rebel Ruth |
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| Itty Bit was her nickname because she remained the size of a 4 month old. She was always fiesty...bullied her cagemates and was queen of the house. Ruthie was the epitome of a true fighter. She was the runt of the litter, had two strokes, a bad delivery when she was younger, survived two tumor removal surgeries, blindness and deafness. She still looked forward to running free outside of her cage despite bumping into walls and other things she couldn't see. Ruthie would follow me all around and often would fall asleep on my foot. When she was younger and she and her cagemates came out for free time, she would nip the others in the butt if they came to me while she was around, as if she wanted me all to herself. She was the most incredible little girl. |
| Tarek |
| Tarek passed on because of a horrible and unexpected accident. He was such a silly boy, he loved to play many games with me. His favorite game was to try and outsmart me by climbing out of the cage without me noticing. Many times, I'd close the cage door, happy because I thought I'd outsmartted him, only to find him standing on top of the cage looking down at me with almost a devilish grin! He had the prettiest markings. There was white along his mouth that gave him this constant shocked expression. Tarek was only 3 months old when he passed but I know he would've been a wonderful adult...he was taken from me too soon. |
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Thank you Toni... For providing my babies with a beautiful and final resting place. |
