Saturday, August 11, 2012 To krittermom and my other friends at Renderosity! Here are my 3 "stooges", photographed today. All are 7 weeks old to the day! They've developed a bit since my last posting. I've given them names, but I don't think they know their names yet, nor understand what those strange sounds from my mouth are. Whitey is due to his white fur, Blackie is due to his black fur, and Beige is due to....do I have to say it again? :) Whitey seems to be the leader/alpha male. He's often with Beige, who is the scaredy-cat (er, scardey-rat) of the three. Beige is often sitting in his hide, but has been coming out the last 2 days and even eating on the cage shelf in my presence (provided I'm not wearing ANY clothes). Whitey is thus often in the same hide. To get the photo of Beige, I had to dump Whitey out and get Beige to get back in (not much of a problem, considering his disposition). Ain't I cruel? :) Blackie is often alone, usually sitting on the cage shelf. He's very calm, lets me stroke him through the bars of the cage, even when eating. He hasn't tried tasting my fingers like the other two have (no, no blood shed, but a good nip which is a bit "Ouch!" and a fright). Blackie lets me pick him up without wiggling on his part. BUT, WATCH OUT after dinner! Man, does he go wild, chasing after his cage mates and pinning Whitey on his back against the floor! The first time I saw this I wondered if Blackie was having a seizure. After some 10 to 15 minutes of this, he settles down on the shelf and is back to his calm demeanour. Blackie is also a break-out artist - he's gotten himself out of the cage THREE times! Each attempt by me to block further escape was foiled. I finally caught him wedged between the cage and bathroom wall. When I tried to take him, he slipped between the bars, back onto the shelf! He had found a way to wiggle his head, then body between the bars. He understood this was a no-no, so it hasn't recurred. He's also a bit larger now. I haven't had much time with my little fellows due to work. But, they are sure individuals, each with his own character! Yesterday I introduced them to Cornflakes - they GORGED themselves (just like little kids), and today they won't touch it. A few days back it was corn, now it's peas. I assume they've never tasted these food items before. Interestingly, they make a hole in the corn or pea and eat out the inside, leaving a clean eaten empty shell! Blackie even lines up the empty shells in a row! Try figuring that one out! I cleaned their cage today, washing every bit of it. I had put them in a large transparent plastic box. They went wild, wondering where they where and what was happening. Then they settled down and looked at what I was doing. On returning to a super clean cage, they went wild again since they didn't recognize the cage. Well, they've eaten a bit and are now lazying in their hides (lower 1/3 of 1 1/2 liter milk cartons). To my friends who got a bit put off by my last posting - EEK! RATS! - I totally agree with you when it comes to wild rats. They are nothing to play with! My meeting a Paris sewer rat in 1969 was quite frightening. I do hope this post will sit a bit better with you! :)