Please pass the sucker stamp...*PICS* *Update--They have names now!*

[zoocrew26]

Ok, so last night myself and a friend took a road trip to drop off some of our ratties (she was bringing 2 of her fosters, and i was bringing my 3 boys from a litter my girlie had a couple of months ago), and afterwards as we were in a local Petsmart, it started to hit me that i didn't have my 3 boys anymore (i still had 20 other rats at home, but I was getting really depressed about the fact that 3 of my babies were gone). Sooo, I looked at the rats in Petsmart and the only had girls, which was good, in a way, because i knew i couldn't get anymore girls (i can't fit anymore into the cage). So we went to Petco, and i decided that if i saw a cute feeder that looked like he needed to be saved, i would take him. Well, i didn't see any that really called out to me, so i begged my friend to take me to Petland. (She was less than pleased, haha. I don't blame her though.  ) Anyways. So we were in Petland, and i was looking for someone to ask where the rats were, being that my friend said that they kept them in back, because they weren't treated well. Then me and my friend saw a tank with rats in it just randomly sitting out. I wasn't prepared for what i saw. It STILL makes me sick. There were 11+ rats, in a 10 gallon tank. They had little bits of food scattered around, and their litter was NASTY. They were out of water, and the houses (there were only 2 of them)they had were barely big enough for a hamster, let alone a rat. And these rats were CRAMMED into the houses, so much so, that in order to get them out, my friend had to literally pull them out, because they were so stuck. They had boys and girls mixed together, but we don't think any of the girls are pregnant (yet), thank god, because they looked to be only about 4 weeks old. No sign of the momma anywhere. These rats were definitly calling out to me. I could almost feel their desperation, as weird as that sounds.
Sooo i think you can guess how this story ends. I picked out one boy, and then i knew i couldn't take just one. So i picked out another boy, and they layed in my arms as my friend picked out 2 girls for herself. They looked healthy enough, considering the conditions they were in. Me and my friend were both literally SICK in the store and on the way home because 1) we kept picturing the tank they were in, 2) we had to leave rats in the crappy conditions, and 3) we had to tell our parents we got more rats.
It was a long ride home, and i kept shining my cell phone at the ratties (because it was dark out), checking up on them, and her new girlies were busy exploring and sleeping, and my boys were play-fighting and wrestling. (And then her other 2 girls that she brought to keep us company on the way home were just chilling out--little did we know that we would be having 6 rats keeping us company on the way home...) One thing that helped me feel a little bit better, was that i was looking out the window at the stars, and i thought i saw a plane, but then it disappeared. It was a shooting star.  The first one i've ever seen. I dunno, it just kind of reassured me, if that makes sense. For that brief second, i was able to just sit there and think "ok. i just saved 2 lives. and it's gonna be okay.". That sounds weird lol.
She dropped me off at my house at around 11:30 p.m., and then she went home. She managed to slip her rats in her house without her mom seeing, but i wasn't that lucky. The second i walked in the door, with my rat cage, i felt the "guilty look" creep onto my face, the look that my mom can always tell when i've done something i wasn't supposed to do.
And so i just stood in the doorway of my kitchen, staring at the ground, with my cage in my hands, and my mom just said very very sternly "Jennifer...what is in that cage...do you have rats in there." And i explained to her why i NEEDED these rats, and how bad the conditions were, and i showed her the pics of the tank that i had taken on my phone, and then she gave me the silent treatment for awhile. Then all of a sudden she snapped out of it, and started talking to me again. So i think she's okay with it now. Which i was glad for, because i was already feeling crappy enough, without knowing that my mom was "disappointed in me".
So i put my new boys in quarantine in the basement (i know, i know, it's not "proper", but it's the best i can do), and i left them alone for the night (well, i fed them and gave them water, but i didn't play with them or anything). I checked in on them today, and they seem to be doing well! No sign of respiratory problems, and their eyes are bright, and they were curious and investigating me. Their fur wasn't shiny, but i think it's because they are so young, because it looks like the fluffy fur that really young rats have (and they look to be around 4 weeks old, maximum).

I need help figuring out the colorings/markings tho!! And also, does anyone have any ideas for names?? I've been calling them Punkin and honey-bun so far, but those aren't names that are fit for growing man-rats. 

Here's some pics!! 







The right one looks like an odd-eye here...i'll have to take a closer look at him tonight when i get home from work, and see if it was just the flash that made it look that way...

[Fae]

LOL you know you could have saved yourself a car trip if you had of just kept your original baby's? Those two are real cuties tho. Good luck with them

[NightmareWolfie1]

They are adorable.
I cn never walk away, either.
Mom always tells me Im can't save them all.
But the kids I have at home that I've taken from bad places or people,
They thank me.
And that's enough.

On colors and markings, the brown guy looks like a mink hoodie. And the bluer guy LOOKS like a Russian Blue capped. With the mismarked blaze. But I'm not great at these.

Congratulations.

[nancycccslp]

I've been handing out a few of these lately.............



BTW; they are gorgeous!

[Serendipity Rats]

Looks like you have a Mink Hooded and a Black Bareback Blazed boy (say that 5 times fast, lol!)

Very cute guys, and they appear healthy...only time will tell with that though. 

[nevadamoon]

I didn't even know that Petland carried rats.  Now I'm SUPER glad I never asked.  The last (and only) time I've been there, I ended up going home with a rabbit someone gave to the store.  It's a good thing I'm full up, or I'd be tempted to head over there and grab a few out of there.      (But we also have a kind of 'unofficial' boycott of them, especially now that we've found a privately owned shop that has WONDERFUL fishtanks.  We've been planning on setting up a tank at some point, and Petland had better fish then Petsmart/co)

They're adorable boys.     I don't know a thing about markings really, but they're so cute! 


Fae- She could have saved herself a trip, but then I wouldn't have my new babies.      

[zoocrew26]

Fae- She could have saved herself a trip, but then I wouldn't have my new babies.      

Exactly. 

The boys are doing really well tonight.  They are currently curled up in my bathrobe, next to my hand (as a result, i'm typing with one hand, so please excuse any typos  ), and the blaze boy keeps grooming himself and then grabbing my fingers and grooming me. I must be dirty. 
The minky boy is a little more reserved, but he is still a sweetie. Once he comes out of shell, i think he'll make a good cuddler. 

I can definitly tell by looking at them that they were on a crappy diet. Their fur is very dull, and even though it's still in the fluffy-baby-fur stage, it looks especially dull and thin.  And they are really really skinny. I'm hoping that with their Harlan Teklad and their vege treats and baby food, they will fatten up, and their fur will develope a healthy shine.

Other than the fur, which is an obvious diet issue, they seem to be in very good health. Surprisingly. I haven't heard a single sneeze from them, and they are very curious lil babies. 

I really love these boys already. And i'm so glad i was able to save them. I just wish i would have been able to save them all....oh well, at least i'll know that i made a difference in these boys lives. They went from being "nothing", to a home where they will be loved, played with, fed well, and treasured for their entire lives. 

[zoocrew26]

^wow, could i have used anymore emoticons?? LOL^

Oh geez...so i felt someone grooming my finger, and i peeked in, and the blaze boy was sleeping and the minky boy was sitting there looking VERY guilty and he looked like he was saying "ooopsies...i's gots busted." and then when i put my robe back over him, i felt him grooming me again. But every time i peek, he stops lol. He's such a dork.  (But a very very cute dork.  )

[cerulean.blue]

Awww, they're cuties. You should name them after stars because of the shooting star. http://www.naic.edu/~gibson/starnames/starnames.html

[Ratlovingkippy06]

 the funny thing is we were picking up these babies and i picked mine and she picked hers because i am making a younger group of four but we somehow picked the same rats just different marking and my were female. I was being good, i looked at mice early because i wanted female because my 3 year old and 2 year old mice had just died a few weeks ago but i decided against it. I am happy with my 2 girls they are very sweet and healthy. They are staying on a different level, it is the best i can do right now.

[zoocrew26]

the funny thing is we were picking up these babies and i picked mine and she picked hers because i am making a younger group of four but we somehow picked the same rats just different marking and my were female.

Yah, it was weird! I totally didn't even realize it until we were in another aisle, and i was looking at her new girls and i was just like "wait a minute...we have the same ones!!" I guess she had pointed it out earlier, but i didn't catch on. We have alot of rats that look alike though, so it's kind of cool. 

[zoocrew26]

More pics!! They are such sweethearts! Very friendly and very sweet! And they're cuddlers, too!  They have such great personalities, and they are so trusting, which is surprising considering the conditions they were in before...

They still don't have names!! Help?   

"Oh hai! Are yous gonna take me out and pway wiff me?"


"I's a vewy calm boy."


"And I have a vewy big smile. See?"


"I's tryin to fit!"


"Mommy says i've gots da cutest face. She keeps kissin my nose. Is ok though, i don't mind.  "


"Mommy! My feets are danglin!"


"I was tryin to gets down. But mommy says i gots cute feet, so she took a picture."


"I lyke to climb all over her hand. 'Specially when she's tryin to gets pictures."


"And i lykes to play peekaboo, too!"


Here's both of the boys in their temporary cage! They're such monkeys lol. It looks like the cage is tipping, but it's not; the camera was just at a weird angle.

[Ratlover57]

how cutie and that last pic almost lookes like they are both waveing bye.

[zoocrew26]

how cutie and that last pic almost lookes like they are both waveing bye.

haha it does look like they are both waving! I totally didn't notice that before!! Ack, that just makes them even cuter!!!  Hahaha....

[Keltikka]

Congrats They are beautiful little monkeys!!!!
How about "Josiah" for the dove hoody and "Emory" for the blazed capped boy? Those are the names that came to me when I saw the pics.

[Mousie452]

Since you're such a sucker, how about some sucker names? Lolly, Charms, Mr. Owl, Tom Medric (inventor of tootsie pops), Paul Winchell (voice of mr owl), Bernardi (narrator to the tootsie pop commercial), Spangler (maker of dum-dums), Slo Poke, Saf T Pop.

[xanterra]

Awww congrats on your new boys!

[zoocrew26]

They have names now! Lyric and Brayden! I posted another thread with a slideshow of them, so i wouldn't have like a million pics on here lol. Go lookie!! 

They are such friendly boys! Whenever i walk into the room, they pop out of their little house, and start racing all over, trying to get my attention. When i talk to them or pet them, they brux, and they love love love to groom me! They are very bossy about grooming me, lol. Silly me for thinking that my fingers belonged to me. They very persistently will grab my fingers, and groom away until they feel i am clean enough. 

They WERE cuddlers, but now they decided that it's MUCH more fun to explore me and race around and dive down my shirt! They're such devils. But i love 'em anyways! 

Their fur is still thin and dull, but they have hearty apetites and are thoroughly enjoying their change in diet! They are now on Harlan Teklad, and they look forward to their mix of veggie and chicken baby food every night.

I love these little rugrats.