Settling In

We bought the girls a new nest a while ago (see http://bentorats.blogspot.com/2011/10/new-nest.html) and they have been pretty steadfastly ignoring it. Recently though that changed and the girls began spending more time altering the new nest to their liking.

Renovating the new nest

One of my favorite things about the above picture is that the towel in the nest is actually the liner for the top floor of the cage. Evidently someone thought they needed more bedding in the nest. Any guesses as to who is responsible?

Trouble

Here is another shot of the culprit:

Saké the trickster.

Sometimes I wonder what Sushi thinks of all of this.

Hightailing

The other night I let the girls out for their first serious play time since their Great Escape (read about it at bentorats.blogspot.com/2011/09/tired-rat.html).

I put the girls on the bed and expected to just sit and read for a while while they played. Saké climbed next to me and started quietly grooming herself. Sushi had other plans.

Sushi has a destination in mind...

She immediately headed to the foot of the bed and by the time I took this picture and put my camera down, she had made it to the trunk at the foot of the bed and was sliding down the bedframe to the floor. Evidently she didn't do all of the exploring she wanted to do the other night when she hid inside our box spring. Fortunately this time I caught her before she made it to the floor.

Tired Rat

This is a tired rat:

Saké

You might wonder how a rat who spends hours each day sleeping could be so tired that she just collapses in her wine box.

Because she spent an hour exploring the bedroom and avoiding capture.

Yes, the rats escaped last night.

They were on the bed while  I was cleaning their cage, which is normal. I noticed Saké hanging off the footboard and looking at the floor, but I didn't worry too much. I wasn't even concerned when I saw her slip onto the floor and disappear under the bed. She has been on the floor before and normally walks right over when you call her. I also wasn't concerned when I saw Sushi follow her sister a few minutes later.

I should have been concerned.

What I didn't realize is that there was a hole in the cloth covering the bottom of our bed's box spring. Unfortunately, Sushi realized it.

An hour later, both rats were safely returned to their cage, where they had a very quiet night. The box spring will never be the same.