[Elliriyanna]

 

[jamesReid]

Here are a couple of mine... Hector, Robin & Whiskers...

LOVE MY BOYS!!!!!!!

 

[Vladina]

Aww, great pictures so far everyone! Such cuties! I love that picture of Hector snuggling inside Tonya's shirt, against her neck. Mmmm, warm cuddles for Hector, he looks SO comfy in there!

 

[lilspaz68]

RTR Percy is an old sick man, who never had friends because of fear aggression...my Frida finally accepted him and he is sooo happy!

RTR Waco and Jill loving each other (same story as Percy, minus the illness all his life) the days before I had them pts at the vets.

6 day old brothers

Zeus and Inca (Inca has 3 legs and an attitude, she's fear aggressive with other rats so seeing Zeus in her cage and her letting him in there was amazing! I am still working on intro's but so far they only have Out time together.

Marsky, my sick very big halfie boy

And Naira on Loki (before she left us)

 

[Vladina]

Oh Lilspaz, what beautiful pictures of your babies all cuddling and loving each other. And of course the lil bubs with no fur yet, still cuddling. Sigh! :heart: So precious, all your bubbies!

 

[Vladina]

By the way, Marsky stole my heart. I am such a softie for agouti colored rats. He looks so sweet....

 

[lilspaz68]

By the way, Marsky stole my heart. I am such a softie for agouti colored rats. He looks so sweet....

he is half-wild, half domestic...but he is very sweet...I socialized him and his brother so much when they were babies, that they don't have a choice. Java is a bit more uneven and nervous, but Marsky is my 680 gram pudding pop.

 

[Vladina]

Aww, I love that! Your 680 gram pudding pop! And he IS a sweetie! Makes me want to just nuzzle him right up to my face and give him lovies. :heart:

 

[Storyseeker]

I love all these kids!!! They're ALL pudding pops. I love the shirt diving and foots up Hector. The Naria and Loki picture also got an audible 'aww' out of me. Ellirianna, I love your little silvery cream babies against that blue blankie. Little rat angels.

I haven't had a chance to take any new ratty pictures this fall, or even post much, because Cub Scout Season has started with a vengeance, and we're new den leaders. But here's an old favorite of mine:

Nothing like a naked rat burrito with full unfurled dumbo ears.

 

[Elliriyanna]

LOL Ratty pile up. Everyones pictures are SO cute

Lilspaz ... how did you end up with a half wild? Your girl escape or something? Just curious.

 

[lilspaz68]

LOL Ratty pile up. Everyones pictures are SO cute

Lilspaz ... how did you end up with a half wild? Your girl escape or something? Just curious.

Took in a preggy girl, owners told me she had escaped for a week...knew what that meant. The owner was going to offer these babies up for adoption like they were domestics...ugh.

Been through this before...I know how much work they are, but at least these 2 were born at my home so I could socialize from birth.

 

[Elliriyanna]

I'm guessing they are a lot more work since they lack the selective breeding that makes domestic rats what they are?

 

[lilspaz68]

I'm guessing they are a lot more work since they lack the selective breeding that makes domestic rats what they are?

They are usually more work and care and understanding than most people and even most rescuers can handle. They often cannot be tamed enough to handle or let out of their cage without them escaping, etc. I had to buy Havahart traps for my original halfies and they often made me bleed regularly.

The original crews died badly as well, tumours, CHF, pulmonary abscesses...which is why I laugh when people start discussing (again) about adding the wild rat genes back into our domestic rats, saying it will make them healthier. Its like the world's worst idea. Wild rats rarely survive to a year and that is before most issues will show up. I have talked to other halfie owners and most of them did not die well.

 

[Elliriyanna]

You do need to add genetic variety but in this case wild rats sound like a bad idea ... maybe very well bred rats would be I dont know an obviously better choice

 

[Storyseeker]

I'd say 'genetic variety' if the variety has been proven to be sound. That's hard with our fast breeding carpet butts. Wild or domesticated, other than the Cute Gene there's a lot of unknown bad junk floating around in our babies back grounds.

 

[Vladina]

Storyseeker, good to see you back! LOVE the picture of Melon and Skinner in the hammock together..that is a classic photo already, in my opinion! You are right, ALL ratty babies are pudding pops, too true.

By the way, Jimmie (JamesReid user name) is new to the forum and he just adopted a pair of boy brothers to keep his sweet Hector company, if you have seen his posts. Jimmie was asking for tips on safely doing intros between Hector and the two new brothers. I told him you would have tons of great advice and tips on intros as you have been through this big time with all your boys. If you happen to be on the forum today, I bet he would love to get some tips from you. :thumbsup:

 

[jamesReid]

You bet I would.. I am going to put up some videos tonight so you all can see whats going on...

 

[Storyseeker]

PM me any time James. I am not an expert, but I'll share my experience.

In fact, if you're up for some rambling reading, here's the thread where I first announce getting new rats, all the way through weeks long difficult introductions to final integration.


http://www.paw-talk.net/forums/f16/ggmr-naked-58068.html

 

[VanillaRat]

Great pictures everyone.

It's late and I need to sleep,but here are a couple of cuddle pictures for now.

Banjo cuddling into me.

Buddy & Jolly (formally Kiefer & Sutherland...my "failed" fosters).

 

[lilspaz68]

Awww they are beautiful!!!