The Boys...

I have to post this picture. It is the cutest thing. So, for all of yesterday and the better part of today, Rex (the charcoal) simply would not leave the green igloo. I was hard pressed to find away to get him out of it. Thanks to the brilliant discovery that he LOVES Cheerios, I finally coaxed Rex out of the igloo and he has spent little time in there since about 3 this afternoon. On the other hand, he has taken to staying in Cody's sleep spot now. They've had a few scuffles some of which have caused Cody to let out some squeaks (the only noises either of them have made I might add). However, I don't think that Rex has caused any real damage to Cody, and Cody doesn't really seem to mind that much. He can fight back anyway.
So tonight, I got Rex all riled up so that he was running all over his cage like a maniac. A few more days, and he'll probably be more than willing to come out of the cage which is good. I don't want them to be afraid to come out of the cage. At any rate, Rex took some food up to the top level of the tube hammock and was eating it while Cody was in the lower part. I decided to pull out the camera and take some pictures because it was really cute to see the boys all stacked up like that. So a took a couple of pictures of the both of them, then, I went to take some pictures of just Cody. Well, Rex just had to come over to see what was going on...i.e. he couldn't just be left out. So here is the result:

They are finally home...

I went and picked up Cody and Rex yesterday at about 3. They are so tiny and very shy! In fact, Rex (the charcoal one) is just unbelievably shy. They both got in the bonding pouch this morning and neither freaked out too much. Cody (the Himalayan) did try to make a run for it, but I caught him. I think it scared both of us pretty bad because he was more tentative to leave the pouch after that. I'll keep working with them, though. I'm hoping to have them more comfortable in the pouch by the end of today. I'm only taking them out in it for about 20 minutes at a time. I may go longer, but it depends more on them.
Cody is definitely more outgoing and adventurous. He is also a climber. I just watched him climb from the middle full level all the way up to the tube hammock that is hanging from the top of the cage. His eyes are definitely red, but they aren't that jarring once you get used to them. He is so cute anyway.
I'm trying to figure out which kind of treats they like. Right now, they've both tried the Ratatouille biscuits and like those. I've also got grapes, dried apricot and raisins to try next. I need to find one that they will do anything to get. It will definitely help get them out of the cage...
I took some pictures today as well. We'll see how well they come out. If some are good enough, I'll post them.

Update

Well, sometime tomorrow or Tuesday I'll be bringing my boys home :D I can't wait! I still don't have any new pictures of them, but once they get settled in and used to me, I'll try and take some myself. I'm so excited. Tired right now, though. I've spent all weekend getting my new apartment set up. I think I have most of the important furniture in or ordered. Can't wait to get my bed and dining table! I have some work to do tonight, and then I'll probably be going to bed...early :)

My Baby Boys!

I am now the proud mommy of two little rattie boys. I finally got to pick mine out. I'll post the pictures from Keith's websites. The pictures are the baby pictures. Keith is going to update them so as soon as he does, I'll post their new pictures. One is a charcoal rex dumbo who looks like a Russian Blue, and the other is a Himalayan rex dumbo who just looks white right now. His points won't come in until he is a little older, but they are absolutely adorable, and they are now mine!!!
Here are the pictures. These were taken when the boys were about 9-10 days old:

Pictures Courtesy of Keith Worstell at Carolina Blue Rattery

Baby Pictures!

I talked to Keith this weekend. Pictures of the babies are up on his website: baby pictures
Only one of the babies died. There are 6 girls and 5 boys. 2 of the 6 girls and 4 of the 5 boys are rex coat. 2 of the 6 girls and 1 of the 5 boys is Himalayan, and 2 of the 5 boys are Siamese. 1 girl is black, and the rest of the babies are charcoal (3 girls, 2 boys).
I get to pick out my ratties sometime early next week. I'm so excited. My parents have already chimed in on which babies they like. We'll see. Fingers crossed that I can pick out two boys.
I just can't wait two more weeks to go get my babies and bring them home!

National Champs!!

Well, it's official. The tar heels are national champions. It's crazy. It didn't hit me until yesterday afternoon that this is really it. The homecoming for the team was when it finally dawned on me that my time here is numbered, only 4 1/2 weeks left. It's scary. I'm just glad I get to spend the summer up here.
As for rats, no news. I've been trying to get in touch with Keith, but I think he must be busy. His website has also reverted back to the old version, so there aren't any updates about rats online right now either. Maybe soon he'll have some preliminary pictures. We'll see.
Not much else going on. I'm trying really hard to get work done, but I'm steadily falling further into the senioritis mentality. Fortunately, I'm nowhere near failing any classes :P
Alright, back to work...

Here's the deal...

It sounds like I won't be picking rats until they are about 3 weeks old. Hopefully I can get two boys. I told Keith I preferred boys but that if the girls were all that were left I would take two girls. We'll see what happens. The babies should be showing their colors more now. I'll let you know the spread once I can talk to Keith about it :) Not much else going on.
Oh, well, there is that little thing about the Tar Heels going to the NCAA championship game. I'm so excited!! The game is tomorrow, and hopefully we will win. That would make for a great ending to senior year :D

The lowdown so far...

I talked to Keith on Tuesday. It sounds like there are 8 girls and 4 boys. 3 of the girls and 2 od the boys appear to be Siamese/Himalayan. The rest are black. That's exciting because I'd really like one black and one Siamese/Himalayan. It looks like I may end up getting girls, depending on what the people before me pick. If I get girls, I'll need to figure out the cost for getting them spayed. It sounds like spaying the females is really important for preventing mammary tumors. Unspayed females have a 70% chance of getting mammary tumors when they are older. Spayed females only have a 4% chance. It'll be nice that I'm staying in Chapel Hill this summer, so I can take the rats to the vet here in Chapel Hill who took such great care of Petey. If I get boys, I won't worry about getting them neutered becuase there aren't really any health benefits. Hopefully I can get two boys, but if not, I do have two girls' names picked out: Panya and Krysa. Panya is the Swahili word for rat. Krysa is the Czech word for rat. The word is the same in Russian, just spelled with an "i" instead of a "y". I think the name looks prettier when it's spelled with a "y". At any rate, in about a week or so, I should be able to pick the rats I want, and then I'll know whether I'm getting boys or girls. Also, with staying in Chapel Hill, it reduces some of the stress of moving out because I can move the rats to my new apartment before checking out of Ram Village. I'll keep you all posted and put up pictures as soon as I get them.