Peas!

You might not think that the humble pea could become the cutest vegetable in the world when combined with rats, but this video proves otherwise:

Peas!

Whenever we give the girls peas as part of their daily vegetables, they make a complete mess. They grab the peas, squeeze out the inside and eat it, and discard the shells.

Saké returns for more peas.

They both eat them as quickly as they can, although Saké is faster - she eats about three peas for every one that Sushi eats.

Sushi grabs another one.

Eventually, once they've eaten the delicious insides of every single pea, they'll eat the slightly harder casing. They go back and check every discarded shell, making sure it's empty, before they start eating the outsides.

Sushi holds onto a pea.

And a closer look at Sushi's pea holding little paws:

Adorable!

Water Rats

A while ago I posted about our efforts to introduce the girls to water. Since that initial introduction, we've continued working on it once a week or so. Overall, both Saké and Sushi seem unimpressed. They are not averse to walking through the pan of water but haven't paid much attention to the water itself.

Saké and Sushi's first time playing in water.

Last night we had a real breakthrough. The water was deep enough that their toys floated and for the first time the girls actually seemed to notice the water. Sushi pushed the toys around a bit and Saké actually spent some time holding onto them with her paws, pushing them under the water, and in general just starting to play.

They aren't swimming yet, but I'm glad to see they are finally showing some interest in playing in the water. Someday maybe they'll get to this:

Saké and Penelope

We woke up the other morning to a pretty entertaining sight. Not only was Penelope sitting by the rat cage and she and Saké engaging in their usual antics (Penn putting her paws up on the cage front, Saké grabbing hold of them, etc.) but Saké was taking things a bit further. She moved some of her toys into the corner of the cage where Penn was sitting and it sort of looked like a makeshift fort. Then she moved a big chunk of cotton bedding over to where Penn was and began stuffing it through the bars of the cage. She spread it out  enough that it completely obscured the view of her behind it.

Penn went to bat at the bedding, and at that precise moment, Saké pulled it out of the way and jumped at Penn instead. It was as though we were watching Lucy pull the football away from Linus. Needless to say, Penn was a bit startled. After a few moments, Saké pushed the bedding back into place, Penn went to grab it, and again, Saké pulled it away and jumped straight at Penn!

I'm sure there are a lot of theories out there as to which species is smarter, rats or cats. I think I'm pretty sure of the answer.

Saké: smarter than a cat!

Everybody Loves Sushi

There was a fair amount of excitement when we walked into the vet clinic on Friday. We learned that Sushi has become one of their two favorite rat patients - the other being a tiny male named Billy Rubin. That might be one of the best names I've heard!

It doesn't surprise me that Sushi has become a favorite. She's quite the charmer!

Sushi needs a tiny walking stick and cap for when she goes exploring.

Contemplating a jump to the floor...

Sushi's Vet Appointment

Sushi's most recent visit to the vet on Friday was uneventful. She was 180 grams, which is about the same weight she was at last month. She is so tiny - completely healthy and a good weight for her size, but still tiny for a nearly six month old rat. We need to weigh Saké so we have something to compare against. I think Saké is probably at least 30% bigger.

Her teeth are beginning to spread in her mouth, as evidenced by the fact that her upper incisors are now growing outside her mouth. We talked to the doctor more about having her incisors pulled. We need to wait until she's older and they see just how her teeth are changing as she grows, but I still think we're going to end up doing it. Overall it should improve her quality of life and avoid the risk of frequent anesthetizing.

She's such a very sweet rat. We want her to have the best possible life.

Rat on the move!

Sushi uses Dave as a gymnastic apparatus.

Back to the Vet

Sushi is back to the vet this morning to get her teeth trimmed. We're going to try to do it without anesthetic first, which I don't think will be successful. She's so tiny and wiggly that I think it would be hard even if her teeth were only mildly crooked. I can't imagine it being successful with the degree of malocclusion she has. It is worth a try though; less risk to her and much cheaper overall.

I'm also curious to see how much she weighs. Her last visit was three and a half weeks ago and she was 181 grams. She is five and a half months old now and I do not think she has put on much weight in the last few weeks. She seems very healthy and her weight is good for her size, but she's overall very tiny.

She's cute though. You can't debate that.