These girls came to us on 1/8/2023 due to a change in their owner’s housing status.
Fostered by Silke in Malden, MA.
ADOPTED!
#2023005N, “Mary”, Rat, Black and White, Hooded, Standard Ears/Standard Coat, Female, DOB: 11/12/2021, Spayed/Neutered?: No
#2023004N, “Sarah”, Rat, Black and White, Hooded, Standard Ears/Standard Coat, Female, DOB: 11/12/2021, Spayed/Neutered?: No
#2023003N, “Winifred”, Rat, Black and White, Hooded , Standard Ears/Standard Coat, Female, DOB: 11/12/2021, Spayed/Neutered?: No
UPDATE 3/25/2023:
“We are two and half months into fostering, and trust is constantly growing.
Yesterday Sarah climbed on my shoulder by herself – no treats involved. Just 2 weeks ago, I had to trick her into coming on my arm and shoulder, and when she realized where she was, she tried to escape back down to the floor right away. Yesterday she was so comfortable that she climbed up on my shoulder and we walked into the sunroom together. (They have not been allowed in the sunroom, bc we are limiting the free roam area to two rooms.) She loved sniffing the new smells. I set her back in the cage, and she immediately climbed back on my shoulder. I could almost hear her say “Please, can we go there again?”
The other two will climb on me too, but only if there are threats involved.
Winifred lets me pet her while she is munching on treats, but Sarah and Mary do not dothat. Neither of the three likes to be picked up … and we are not forcing this.
Mary is still the shyest of the three but even she will come over on the sofa for a treat.
All three love to play in the pool and in the big old cardboard box that the new vacuum came in. They are very good climbers – up the side of the DCN or the bookshelves. (Mary seems to – at times – self identify as a monkey when she climbs up the trunk of the potted palm tree.) It is a pleasure watching them dash thru the living and dining room and just enjoy life.
We are working on ‘spin’ … Sarah is making real progress. Winifred is making some progress, but she is easily distracted. Mary is still getting rewarded for climbing on my lap, we have not started on ‘spin’ yet.
They are also VERY good at returning to the DCN when bouncy time is over. Between 8:00 and 8:30 in the morning, and at around 10:00 in the evening. They just go back in by themselves. I never had to chase any of them down to get them back inside.
While they like chewing on all kinds of things in general, they do not seem to chew on the house. They have not chewed furniture or cables. Maybe the occasional inquisitive chew on a book, but nothing serious.
Their favorite foods are sushi, cucumbers, brown rice, peas, baby lettuce mix, … and coconut chips.”
UPDATE 2/8/2023:
“We are slowly making progress.
Sarah plays with our hands a little.
Winifred started to use my hand and arm as a bridge.
We pick up Sarah and Winifred every now and then and give them treats, but they really do not like it. However, they do not run away and hide when we put them back down.
Mary is still very skittish. We have not tried to pick her up, because we don’t want to destroy the little bit of trust that is there.
They all come out of the cage to roam on the sofa, and explore limits.
We have extended the roaming area by adding the table and a laundry basket. (The laundry basket is a big hit)
They love their cage and will go in and out frequently. All three do climb over and on us when we are on the sofa.
They have very distinct personalities:
Sarah is outgoing. She is the nest builder. She will not rest until all the pieces of paper (that I spread out over the sofa) have been transported into the DCN, and incorporated in the nest. She is smart – she is the one who figured out the foraging ball. Also, she’s the boss. She likes to explore, but not as much as Winifred.
Winifred is the #1 explorer and foodie. She is the only one (so far) who has figured out how to climb on top of the DCN. She does have a hard time climbing down back into the cage, which I am using to teach her to take advantage of my arm. (it works – she now climbs on me to get to places.)
Mary is also an explorer – on the inside – but in actuality she is way too scared. She watches where the others go and seems to think “How did they get there? It is so dangerous.” That said, she was watching Winifred last night as Wini used my leg to get onto the table, and she followed. Mary is the only one who doesn’t care for milk foam (during our breakfast-latte-sharing-sofa-roaming-routine). She does like to nap in one of Althea’s hammocks though (the others don’t seem to care for hammocks much) Also, Mary nips when you encroach on her personal space. Depending on how stressed she is by that, she can pinch hard, but she has never broken skin. She also gives very gentle hello-nips.
All three are very polite and will give you the obligatory nose-2-nose rat greeting once you extend your nose. If you are lucky, Sarah will follow up with giving you a facial.
I believe if they get adopted into an existing trusting mischief they will learn to trust quickly.”
Mary
Sarah
Winifred
All Together
From left: Mary, Winifred, Sarah
