Salad!

One nice thing about summer is that it means we can easily get fresh vegetables for the girls, instead of having to buy whatever we can get at the grocery store. Our neighbor gave us a bunch of fresh spring greens, so we made a small salad for the girls.

Saké assesses the dinner options from above.

Sushi leans in for a tomato.

Sushi and Penelope

Penelope is a regular topic of this blog, but it's usually Saké and Penelope who are mentioned. However, Sushi has finally decided that Penelope isn't much of a threat and mainly just ignores her.

I like this video for a couple of reasons. Penelope is really into Sushi but Sushi seems unimpressed. Plus, Saké is watching everything from her nest upstairs, but Penn seems unaware that she's even there.

Teeth Update

Sushi's visit to the vet yesterday was pretty uneventful. She is at 245 grams, up from 221 grams 32 days ago. She's small but she's still growing slowly, and overall she looks pretty good.

Regardless of her teeth, she's adorable.

Back to the Vet

Sushi returns to the vet today to get her teeth trimmed. It's been 32 days since her last visit, which is the longest she's gone since we got her in December. I don't think she could make it much longer.

Upper incisors twist toward her left, lower incisors to her right.

A view of the upper incisors.

Such a sweet girl. I hate that she has to go through this so frequently.

Breakfast of Champions

This morning the girls enjoyed Apple Jacks. They each only get one because I'm pretty sure Apple Jacks are terrible for them, but they certainly get a lot of enjoyment out of them.

Saké puts down her Apple Jack and poses.

Photos or not, you can't resist the temptation of an Apple Jack for long.

Boxing

I know it's been said before, but sometimes all you need is a good box.

Saké and Sushi

Hello!

Sushi.

Sushi's Tusks

It's been almost three and a half weeks since Sushi's last teeth trimming.

Sushi enjoys a nut.

Already her upper incisors look like tusks.

Sushi and her terrible teeth.

Her upper teeth aren't as pressing of an issue (even though they look terrible), since they now grow outside her mouth. However, her lower incisors continue to grow into her right cheek, so we have to stay on top of them. I'll call the vet today and make her next appointment.

Box Rats

I love how easily entertained the girls are. They can play with anything.

Hiding

Sometimes all you need in life is an old packing tube.

Saké

Forts are Fun

I have mentioned before the girls' tendency to build forts. They pile lots of things at the front of their cage and then hide behind the structure, jumping out at whoever happens along.

The girls with their fort.

A closer look.

When it is a cat who happens by first, the girls generally jump out at it, usually startling it (and if Penelope is the cat in question, usually causing her to fall off the dresser). When it's Dave or I, they instead climb quickly over the fort to say hello.

Hiding isn't fun if it means you might miss out on a Cheerio!

Saké

I am such a sucker for a cute dumbo face.

Saké

A Near Miss

A couple of months ago I posted about Saké and Marty (bentorats.blogspot.com/2011/03/sake-and-marty.html). Marty is not a cat I want around the rats, and the girls seemed to agree for quite a while. Gradually though, they relaxed when he's around and happily, he ignores them most of the time.

Additionally, last month I shared the story of Annie, our Weeping Angel, who is so silent that I managed to kick all of our other pets out of the bedroom before letting the girls out to play while neglecting to notice that Annie was even in the room (bentorats.blogspot.com/2011/05/dont-blink.html).

As a result of that near fiasco, I am exceptionally paranoid now when I get the girls out. I double check under the bed, around corners, etc., to make sure that there are no cats or dogs waiting to have a close experience with Saké and Sushi.

But then this weekend, after 30 minutes of the girls running around and playing, I suddenly noticed Marty standing in the middle of the room. Marty is generally quite sleepy, and I'm not sure he even noticed his proximity to two small rats. I grabbed him quickly and put him in the hallway, and the girls probably never even knew he was there. For me though, this was unbelievable. How could I do that TWICE?

If anyone doesn't need easy access to rats...

Corn Pops!

If I have corn pops for breakfast, naturally the girls will also have corn pops. I'm sure none of us actually need corn pops, but they certainly are delicious!

Sushi ignores the camera in favor of a corn pop.

Saké pauses long enough to pose.

Interrupting Breakfast

Sushi usually ignores me when I take pictures, but Saké is more curious and has to check out what I'm doing. However, rice chex are a hard thing to push aside in favor of investigating.

A quick first picture captures Saké in mid-chex.

She keeps eating, but I love how focused she is on the camera.

Saké Poses

I love this picture of Saké hanging out in a storage bin:

Towel Time

The girls are remarkably easy to entertain. They like to burrow, so playtime can be as easy as putting them within reach of a laundry basket filled with towels.

Saké pokes her head out first.

Sushi finally makes an appearance. 

And So It Goes...

Raspberries!

Raspberries are my favorite fruit, so I was curious to see what the girls thought of them.

They showed no hesitation whatsoever.

Hiding

It turns out that shorts are a great place to hide.