# Serena-t and her rats



## Serena-t (Jul 17, 2012)

Hello, 

here I wanna introduce my rats: 

*1. The female-eunuch-pack:*
- Yelena & Natalya: Agouti berkshire; 2 half-wild female sisters, now 2 3/4 years, I got from an animal shelter. They both are snappish when I try to take and lift them (why I try to avoid this or use chain-link gloves). But Yelena is very gentle for a half-wild, she comes to me when I let them out of their cage in the evening and even climbs up to my shoulder. 
- Igor & Kirill: 2 Albino brothers, now 2 1/4 years old, an both having mycoplasmose without any antibiotika working anymore, so they are constantly breath a litte stetorously. 
- Jeanne: Agouti berkshire; she's 1 3/4 years and the 3. half-wild in the pack; I got her from bad keeping conditions and although she lives here since she's 10-12 weeks old, she keeps still running, when she get's sight of me (so I see her not a lot) 
- Joséphine & Rani: 2 huskys; Joséphine is as well from badd keeping conditions and I fetched her for Jeanne (to have a rat in her age in the pack); few days after a friend of mine told me she had a rat for mediation and if I would take her additionally - that was Rani (2 months older that Jeanne & Joséphine)

*2. The crazy bucks:*
All four of the are very lively and when let out in the evening they really like running and jumping and playing.
- Tom & Jerry: 8 months, Black hooded & Agouti hooded; from an accidential litter 
- Silvester (his name meaning "New Years's Eve"): 7 months, Agouti berkshire; he was found by a friend of mine at New Years's Eve at her staircase, where someone had abandoned him 
- Klex: 7 months old, Albino; a person's cat brought her in from outdoor and he was nearly was starved and died of thirst. The cat owner saved him and searched for an good home for him, so he got to me.

*3. The scary five:*
- Toka & Jack: Siam & Black hooded; 1 year+4 month and 9 month; they come from a person who couldn't keep them anymore because she moved house. The 2 where very frightened when I tried to integrate them to the other 4. 
So I decided to try with nearly babies and 3 young moved in here: 
- Hugo & Eric: Beige berkshire & Beige husky, 12 weeks old; a person owning reptiles bought the parents as food, but bought too many rats, they grew to big for being food and unfortunately the 2 remaining where male and female, so they got 12 babies. A friend and I fetched them from there, searched new homes for them and Hugo & Eric stayed here. 
- Godric: Black hooded Dumbo, 14 weeks; he's from an animal shelter and a friend made me notice him "hey you have with Huog and Eric 2 young bucks and he's so alone there, won't you take him?" - and I agreed. 

Perhaps one days I'll make it to integrate all 9 bucks together in one pack.


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## binkyhoo (Sep 28, 2008)

Wow, thats alot of rats. Pictures please. Welcom to the forum.


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## Serena-t (Jul 17, 2012)

Hello, 

I'd be glad to be again at maximum 10-12 rats. 

But with the introduction of the 4 and 2 bucks failing that goal skipped again. (Otherwise I would have been at 13 - thereoff the 4 very old ones. Would've been perfect!) 
I thought about giving away Toka and Jack, but I knew they were afraid as well at an introduction at the previous owner's and it failed there, too.
I feared they'd act the same at a new owner's and therefore either come back to me or are passed to another one. I felt sorry for the two bucks and I couldn't bear the thought they're passed around only for being frighthened of other adult rats. 
So I decided that they're allowed to stay. 
And because 2 rats aren't a pack and they needed at least one more with them, I had to organize some further pack mates for them. Otherwise there was the risk that one day one of them would be alone and that's worst: A single, alone (and then for sure old) buck being frightened of other rats - so nearly no chance to give him company again. That's not what they deserved. 

This is one of my rules here: No rat ever alone when it is avoidable in some way. 
Even to vet visits I take the ill one and 1-2 mates - the only exception is putting one to sleep or when the rat has to stay for an OP. 


Here some pics: 

*The females pack and how they live*

It's a domicile called "unidome" - I like it for good cleaning and it cannot be eaten away. 




























Yelena 
She's tatooed in her right ears because I took 5 of these half-wild sisters from the animal shelter - all of them being Agouti berkshire and when they were young they looked pretty similar. So I asked my vet if its not possible to tattoo rats and she told me it is. 
They got a short anesthesia, a sign - mostly the beginning letter of their name - was scratched in the ear, tattoo painting was rubbed in it and by then the rat was nearly awake again. Really a short process. 
But better than using food coloring or other non-permanent markings, I would have had to renew regularly. Every catching and touching is extreme stress for the half-wildes. 









Natalya
The only half-wild without tattoo. 









Kirill, Igor, Joséphine and in the back Rani
(and even Alexej - R.I.P. - behind the others)
Previously they were 5 Albinos so I told my vet when they were neutered and in anesthesia anyway, to tattoo them as well. 









Jeanne 










*The 4 bucks*



















Klex, Silvester, Tom & Jerry 










*The 5 bucks*

Currently living in that cage, but they'll get an unidome in some weeks, too.









Eric & Hugo









Godric









Toka and in the back Jack 










Wow, what a long posting. 
Hopefully not with too many mistakes, though I'm not a native speaker.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Your English is just fine!

It's nice to meet you and your rats!

I particularly love the female domicile. Did you craft it yourself? Out of a bookshelf, perhaps? I adore it!


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## Serena-t (Jul 17, 2012)

Hello, 

no, that domiciles can be bought here in Germany. 
A German rat keeper developed it. 
It's aluminium plate and colors are powder coating. Really resistant!

Here's the homepage: http://www.kaskadendom.de/ 
Unfortunately the page is all German, but perhaps you wanna look anyway and they only seem to deliver in Germany. 
It's really a great invention that kind of domicile. 
They're very expensive when bought new, but I was lucky to get them all second hand from others (for about 1/4 of the new price  ).


Or do you mean the playing area of the females? 
The barrier is made of medium density fiberboard, connected with piano hinge. 
1 meter (39.4 inches) high since one of my half-wilds jumped over the 80 cm (31.5 inches) off the cuff.  
That's the only way I can give my half-wilds time out of cage - when they can go back on their own. 

The bucks have they daily playing area in another part of my flat. They cannot go alone and I bring them there and back home every evening. 
Normally first the 4 bucks for 1-2 hours, afterwards the 5 in the same area.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

I have a translator built in to my web browser. Browsing international sites is no problem!

Thanks for the link!


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