Books

I rarely see my computer's desktop because of the amount of things I always have open. On the rare occasions when I do though, I'm greeted with this:

I've had this picture as my background for so long that I don't remember where it came from, but I love it and it makes me smile every time I see it.

All of this makes me think I need to do a photo shoot with Sushi and Saké on our bookshelves.

Sushi Plays

Lately I have been reading the fourth book in the Song of Fire and Ice series, A Feast for Crows. Because that book is nearly impossilbe to put down, I've spent hours reading instead of doing other things. In order to feel like I'm still accomplishing something, I've been letting the rats out while I read, so they can get their exercise. This means that I lay on the bed and read and they use me as a springboard, jumping off my shoulders onto the bed, climbing back up, jumping again, etc. They've gotten a lot of exercise while I have been reading a nearly 1000 page book.

Sushi contemplates her next move.

Stretching

This was after she climbed on the book and knocked it out of my hands.

Sushi looks cute but she's pure trouble.

Clean Cage, Fancy Rats

The bottom level is freshly cleaned - and Saké is checking it out.

It occurred to me last night that one of the ways in which I can really tell how much Saké and Sushi's personalities have developed is when we clean their cage. We clean their cage every couple of days, and this is usually a ten minute job where we empty everything out, spray it down with diluted bleach, and then put in clean towels, litter, etc.

If both Dave and I are around, one of us will hold the girls while the other cleans. If only one of us is there though, we usually clean the cage with the girls in it. Since they have two levels, this hasn't been an issue until recently.

When they were really young, I didn't like cleaning the cage with the rats in it because they were not only jumpy but also small and fast. I was worried they'd shoot out of the cage and disappear before we had any idea where they went. Eventually they became more comfortable with us, and we could clean each level of their cage without any concern that they would try to escape. Both Sushi and Saké were still a bit nervous when their cage is emptied, so they would stay on whatever floor that we weren't cleaning, making it easy to quickly empty things out, clean, and replace everything.

But recently this has changed.

Neither Sushi nor Saké mind anymore when we empty out their cage and begin cleaning - in fact, they want to come in for a closer look. This would be fine if we weren't spraying diluted bleach in there - and I don't think either one of them needs to walk through that. So now if we clean with them in the cage, we spend part of the time either covering the trap door between levels, keeping them where they belong, or we  have to continually chase them out of the part of the cage we're cleaning.

I like that this means they have become comfortable not only with Dave and I, but with their life in general.

Rats!

This blog has been quiet due to immense busy-ness on my part but the rats are good. We've learned that they don't like squash but that zucchini is okay. They have gotten more skilled with their morning blueberries and are no longer turning themselves or their cage blue. And Saké managed to stare down Penelope the other morning, causing Penelope to actually move backward away from her.

Regular blog behavior and pictures of adorable rats will resume tomorrow.

Saké Stays Up Late

Sushi and Saké have pretty different schedules - they are both active all night long, but Sushi wakes up in the evening long before Saké. Not surprisingly, Sushi is usually asleep by the time we wake up in the morning, while Saké is still pretty active. Normally this works out okay, but this morning Saké had other plans.

I heard a strange noise from the cage and saw that Saké was tearing at the bottom of their nest. I'm not sure what she was trying to do but she seemed very determined.

The problem though, was that poor Sushi was in the nest, wrapped up in bedding, and trying to sleep. That all changed when Saké pushed her body under Sushi, flipping Sushi over backwards and out of the nest!

Sushi headed downstairs to the hammock and Saké continued tearing up the bottom of their nest. I guess that's a benefit of being twice the size of your sister - you get your way!

Saké the terror.

Saké

I know I've said this before, but Saké really has the sweetest face.

Sushi: A Modest Rat

I love this picture of Dave and Sushi:

I think Sushi looks like she's doing her sweetest Princess Diana pose.

Such cuteness.