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maychorianSo as you may imagine, I've spent the last few days trying to bond with my new ratties. It's pretty amazing how quickly it's going, actually. Especially since I'm used to mice, which take a very long time to tame. (With good reason, though. I mean, EVERYTHING is after them. I mean, literally, EVERYTHING. They are the ultimate prey animal.) The time is definitely worth it, but the process is very different.
These ratties are young, too, adolescents in the rat world, so they're very playful. We can have little hand wrestling sessions and I don't worry about hurting them. They're like little puppies and kittens that will never get as big as adult cats and dogs. Well, I can play roughly with Wallace. Sebastian is still a little more nervous, and limits his interaction with me as much as possible. That's okay, though. Wallace more than makes up for it. He reminds me a lot of Astara, especially in his frequent and aggressive sessions of "rodentistry." Astara used to do that a lot.
I'm currently sitting on my couch at home, with their cage on the floor a few inches away, the lid off (currently a ten-gallon tank, until I can afford to get a nice wire cage. It's fine for now as they're quite small). Wallace will jump on the side of the tank, run around the edges, then come over to the couch and climb all over me and the cushions, then go back to the cage. Last night he did this in circles going around and around, but tonight he's spending more time on the couch, thoroughly exploring. He's getting more comfortable with me and his new home. It's so funny to watch him run around. Sebastian isn't nearly so confident, but last night he didn't even climb up to top of the cage on his own (I had to pick him up to spend time with him), and already tonight he's made several rounds of the couch. Definitely progress.
Wallace is also climbing all over the keyboard of my laptop (like, right this second), so I have to watch out for "rat-like typing". My mice aren't heavy enough to press the keys, so that's another difference. Earlier tonight I was watching episodes of Torchwood and Supernatural on the computer, and Wallace messed it up several times, walking on the keys, making it pause or stop or change aspect or suddenly start playing slowly (I have no idea how he did that or how to fix it--I finally just closed the media player and opened it again). I couldn't be mad, though. He was just s'darn cute, sitting there on my keyboard carefully grooming his little nose and whiskers.
I've also been messing with him by playing rat vocalizations from this web page, peeps and squeaks and chirrups. Wallace always perks up with interest and starts running around the couch, sniffing around. He probably thinks there's another rat around here somewhere, but no, it's just me. Sorry, baby. I'm a jerk.
Well, must go. I think Wallace is trying to climb into my pocket. The problem is that I don't actually have a pocket on this skirt.
These ratties are young, too, adolescents in the rat world, so they're very playful. We can have little hand wrestling sessions and I don't worry about hurting them. They're like little puppies and kittens that will never get as big as adult cats and dogs. Well, I can play roughly with Wallace. Sebastian is still a little more nervous, and limits his interaction with me as much as possible. That's okay, though. Wallace more than makes up for it. He reminds me a lot of Astara, especially in his frequent and aggressive sessions of "rodentistry." Astara used to do that a lot.
I'm currently sitting on my couch at home, with their cage on the floor a few inches away, the lid off (currently a ten-gallon tank, until I can afford to get a nice wire cage. It's fine for now as they're quite small). Wallace will jump on the side of the tank, run around the edges, then come over to the couch and climb all over me and the cushions, then go back to the cage. Last night he did this in circles going around and around, but tonight he's spending more time on the couch, thoroughly exploring. He's getting more comfortable with me and his new home. It's so funny to watch him run around. Sebastian isn't nearly so confident, but last night he didn't even climb up to top of the cage on his own (I had to pick him up to spend time with him), and already tonight he's made several rounds of the couch. Definitely progress.
Wallace is also climbing all over the keyboard of my laptop (like, right this second), so I have to watch out for "rat-like typing". My mice aren't heavy enough to press the keys, so that's another difference. Earlier tonight I was watching episodes of Torchwood and Supernatural on the computer, and Wallace messed it up several times, walking on the keys, making it pause or stop or change aspect or suddenly start playing slowly (I have no idea how he did that or how to fix it--I finally just closed the media player and opened it again). I couldn't be mad, though. He was just s'darn cute, sitting there on my keyboard carefully grooming his little nose and whiskers.
I've also been messing with him by playing rat vocalizations from this web page, peeps and squeaks and chirrups. Wallace always perks up with interest and starts running around the couch, sniffing around. He probably thinks there's another rat around here somewhere, but no, it's just me. Sorry, baby. I'm a jerk.
Well, must go. I think Wallace is trying to climb into my pocket. The problem is that I don't actually have a pocket on this skirt.
