Sushi's Teeth Update

Sushi's appointment at the vet was uneventful - she is up to 221 grams, which is an increase of about 15 grams since last month. So she's still small but growing. If she gets much bigger though, she won't be able to fit under the bell jar.

A smaller Sushi fit easily under the bell jar.

No real news on her teeth. Dr. Nolan did say again that she is the worst case of malocclusion he has seen. She went under anesthetic and woke up again quickly, which made me feel better. She is now seven and a half months old, so at her next appointment she will be old enough for us to talk seriously about pulling her incisors completely. It's a tough call - there are risks involved, but it also means she won't be under anesthetic every month for the rest of her life, which carries a different set of risks.

Sushi with her sweetest face.

Back to the Vet

Sushi has an appointment for her teeth again this afternoon. It has been four weeks since her last visit. It's easy to keep an eye on her upper incisors, since they turn and grow outside of her mouth now, but I worry about her bottom ones. They still angle into her right cheek and it's hard to keep tabs on how long they are. I'll be relieved after she gets them all trimmed today.

Sushi's upper incisors poking out of her mouth.

Bananas!

Dave offered the girls a bit of banana this morning. Sushi took her piece to the back of the hammock out of sight, but Saké was more cooperative.

Sisters

Last night Sushi and Saké were playing on the bed while I cleaned their cage. They both wanted to hang out in a small box.

You can get a sense from this picture of just how different they are in size. Sushi is slowly getting bigger, but she is pretty stunted compared to Saké. Considering she was practically starving when we got her due to her teeth, it isn't surprising.

Odd Couple

Quickly checking in with my favorite odd couple, Saké and Penelope continue their relationship. Saké is always willing to play, but any activity depends on how quickly Penn gets bored (or falls off the dresser).

Saké is trying to get Penn's attention but Penn is focused on Sushi (upstairs).

Will Work for Food

One of the challenges of smart pets is keeping them occupied. I have started making small treat bags for the girls, requiring them to work a bit to get to their food.

Sushi checks out her first bag of treats (Cheerios and Lucky Charms).

Thus far I have only used paper towel and string, but I want to move up to more complicated options. The girls seem to enjoy the challenge of getting the food out, not to mention just having something different to do.

Sushi checks out the paper towel bag.

Saké uses the rope to get a closer look.

Saké prepares to grab a carrot. I love her tail wrapped around the rope to the left.

The opened treat bag.

The best thing about the treat bags is that because they are something different, the girls get really excited and silly.

Sushi flips upside down into the nest.

Pea Party

The girls had peas last night and as always, they enjoyed them. Saké sat in front of the dish like a normal rat, whereas Sushi preferred to suspend herself from the pipe above the dish.

Sushi prepares to grab more peas.

A single pea is barely visible in Sushi's mouth.

Eventually she realized that it was more effective to join her sister on the ground.

Sushi darts in from the side for another pea.

Within minutes, all that was left were the empty shells.

Pea carcasses.

By morning, even the shells were gone.

Play Time

Last night the girls' bin of storage stuff was sitting near the bed, so they jumped into it while playing.

Saké's face peeks out.

Sushi hides in the back.

Saké never misses an opportunity to say hello.

A Happy Update...and a Fort!

Earlier this month I posted information on the Weavers, an Alabaman family active in guinea pig and rat rescue who lost their house in the April storms that ripped the state apart (bentorats.blogspot.com/2011/05/perspective.html). The Weavers are slowly rebuilding their lives, and I was happy to read an update on their rebuilding efforts (along with great pictures of their surviving guinea pigs and dog.)

In other news, Saké is often rambunctious in the morning. Today she did everything she could to capture anyone's attention, including building a fort at the front of the cage.

Saké's fort

Unfortunately, no one was around to play with her. Usually Penelope sits at the cage and Saké uses the fort to hide and then jump out at Penelope (once startling her so much Penn fell off the side of the dresser). This morning though, only Parker (first introduced at bentorats.blogspot.com/2011/03/rest-of-crew-pt-1.html) was around, and while he was watching closely from the ground, he knows he isn't allowed to get to close to the girls. Saké finally gave up and headed up to bed, but not before using some bedding to spin their nest a full 180 degrees. Sushi was asleep inside and seemed a bit confused when she suddenly awoke after the spin, facing the opposite direction.

I'm sure Sushi will make up for it tonight though, when she's wide awake and Saké is trying to sleep.

Blueberries for Breakfast

The girls had their usual morning blueberries today. Sushi is usually asleep by the time we get up in the morning, so she barely opened her eyes to crawl out and get her's. She immediately took it back to the nest.

Sushi prefers breakfast in bed.

On the other hand, Saké was wide awake and waiting her for blueberry.

Saké eats her blueberry surrounded by the remnants of dinner.

Don't Blink

Last night the rats and I inadvertently had a scary experience. I needed to clean their cage, so I did the usual routine: kicked the dogs and cats out of the bedroom and put the rats on the bed. Normally they run around and play while I deal with their cage.

However, instead of playing last night, or even running to the trunk at the foot of the bed, where there is always piled up laundry in which to burrow, they ran to the head of the bed, where they promptly climbed behind the pillows. Every once in a while I'd glance over and just see their tiny faces sticking out, eyes wide and staring.

I assumed they were just not in the mood to play and kept cleaning their cage.

Several minutes later, I heard a noise and turned around, expecting to see the rats climbing on the bed frame or doing something else that was noisy. Instead I was shocked to see our dog Annie (first introduced in bentorats.blogspot.com/2011/03/rest-of-crew-pt-1.html) sitting in the corner of the room on her bed. Her bed which is framed on one side by the bed itself and on another side by the trunk at the foot of the bed. The trunk where the rats play.

Annie is a huge dog. I am 5'6" and if she sits next to me on the couch, she is taller than me. She also possesses a magnificent tongue, which is probably bigger than either Sushi or Saké.

Annie the Weeping Angel.

For the Doctor Who fans, we call Annie our weeping angel, due to her uncanny ability to show up places without our realization. She's huge and lumbering, yet she can move silently and surprise you when you least expect it. Thus it isn't too surprising that I managed to kick our other two dogs plus one of our cats out of the bedroom without even noticing that giant Annie was also in the room.

I may not have noticed her, but Sushi and Saké certainly did.

Once I realized Annie was there, I immediately took her out of the room. She wasn't paying any attention to the rats and probably wouldn't have bothered them anyway, but obviously that wasn't an option I was going to entertain.

Within moments of Annie's exit, Saké was back to normal, exploring and playing on the bed as usual. Sushi was not quite as comfortable. She hunkered down under a pillow, turned to the wall, and began grooming furiously. Dave sat on the bed with her for about ten minutes and she didn't relax a bit. We put her back in her cage, deciding she'd calm down once she was back in her own safe environment. She climbed immediately in the nest and after a while finally came out and was her usual self.

So, the lesson here: perhaps instead of the Bento Box we should have built the girls a Tardis. They would be no match for the weeping angels.

Morning Light

I think this makes Saké look like she's bathed in sunshine.

Sushi and Saké Try Cucumber

The girls had a bit of cucumber in with their vegetables last night. Sushi was unimpressed.

Eventually she knocked her piece off the log and wandered off. I don't think she ever actually tried it.

Sake was more enthused.

Hanging onto her piece.

Wasting no time eating.

Of course, once Saké realized I was sticking around with the camera, she had to investigate.

Leaning in for a closer look.

Breakfast

The girls enjoyed Rice Chex for a breakfast snack this morning. Sushi was far more cooperative for pictures than Saké.

Sushi hangs onto her single Rice Chex.

A bit of Rice Chex hangs out of Saké's mouth.

Perspective

Having horses, dogs, cats, and rats, I often contemplate what I would do in various types of disasters to keep everyone safe. It is never a happy thing to think about.

Yesterday I read an amazing story full of sadness and remarkable moments about the Weavers, a family active in rodent rescue. Marsha Weaver is the woman behind The Cozy Cavy, creating all sorts of hammocks and other greatness for rodents of all types.

The Weavers live in Alabama and recently suffered devastation of the highest order in the recent tornados that went through there. You can read their story here - prepare to be sad but also amazed and astounded at the resilience of people and rodents alike.

Breakfast Blueberries

The girls enjoyed their blueberries this morning:

Sushi eats her blueberry in the nest.

Saké is surrounded by blueberry stains.

Cereal

Most cereals are easy (and delicious) treats to keep on hand for the rats. We try to avoid the sugary ones (although I'll admit that they both love Cinnamon Toast Crunch) - Cheerios is a favorite.

This week we have Rice Chex and both girls have been enjoying it immensely.

Saké hangs onto a piece of Rice Chex.

Look at her little paws!

Her paws are almost as good as hands.

Sushi's Teeth

Sushi went to the vet on Friday. She's actually gained weight - she's at 206 grams! She weighed 180 grams at her last two appointments, so I'm glad to see she's finally getting a little bigger. She's still so tiny.

Her teeth trimming was uneventful, which is good. She woke up faster than usual from the anesthetic, which is a relief. The last couple of visits she kept taking longer and longer to wake up.

We talked to the vet again about pulling her incisors. He still thinks that is the way to go for her and we are looking at doing it when she's at 8 months. She just turned six months, so only a couple more months  to wait. I have mixed feelings about this, but I think that it is probably going to give her a better (and safer) quality of life.