# Adopted two boys yesterday.



## Run Computers (Oct 14, 2012)

Hi everyone.

I picked up two wonderful boys yesterday. Many thanks to Jaguar for letting me adopt these two handsome bucks. They had a rough life before Jaguar rescued them, but she brought them back to health and happiness.
One is a PEW, and one is a brownish/gray mink dumbo. I have named my dumbo, “Byte”, as in computing,ie: “gigabyte”. 
I named my PEW, “Data”…as in the Star Trek character. Data (from Star Trek) is very pale white and has weird colored eyes. Similar to my rat!
I work in the computer industry, and I love Star Trek, so I naturally named my pets after my two passions.
Data








My PEW is tilty, but he gets along great. He climbs, eats, grooms and does all the other rattie things you would expect, just fine. 
He had an ear infection from the owners that Jaguar rescued him from, and the tilt is unfortunately permanent. All-in-all, I’d say it doesn’t affect him adversely to a large degree. He is the more curious of the two, and is a little braver than Byte. He found the food and water bottle first, and was happily munching away.

My dumbo is shyer than Data, and a little skittish. He is a gorgeous rat, and seems to like his new home.

I watched them for hours last night, as they explored and scent marked every inch of the cage. It was pure joy to have rats again, and to see them enjoying their new home. Before I introduced them to the cage, I rubbed one of their old fleece scraps all over everything, to spread their scent, and that helped. They comfort each other a lot, and run back to each other when they are unsure.

They have a cage full of hammocks, hidey huts, tubes, etc… with all kind of nesting material, and they decide to sleep in the litter box! Never can tell what a rat will like best about their cage. I'm sure that will change in time though.
I am going to let them acclimate to the new surroundings for a while before I start the trust-training. If there is anything I’ve learned about these critters, it is that patience pays off in the long run.

I haven’t had rats for over 20 years, and I have to say I missed having them. I forgot how much joy they bring me.

Here’s a few pictures.

My ratties, Data and Byte.









Cage decorated, before adding rats.











Thanks for reading.


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

AW, Data is adorable 

Oh and so is Byte, but I love albinos 

They are both cute


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## skottiesgerl (Oct 3, 2012)

Sooo glad they found a good home soo cute... love the cage


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

What handsome boys! That looks like such a super fun cage to run around in, too! Great job!


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## marcp1956 (Oct 12, 2012)

Where did you get the cage? I am in the market for a good cage.


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

Ahh spoiled boys - a whole DCN to themselves!! ;D


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## marcp1956 (Oct 12, 2012)

Is this a double critter nation? DCN? Who did you order it from, and how did it arrive?


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## Run Computers (Oct 14, 2012)

marcp1956 said:


> Is this a double critter nation? DCN? Who did you order it from, and how did it arrive?


Yes it is a double Critter Nation. I bought it at petsmart, here in town. They have those and the singles at petsmart and on amazon.com too, or amazon.ca if you are in Canada.
Very good cage, and easy to assemble.


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## Run Computers (Oct 14, 2012)

BTW, the boys are doing great! They are getting more relaxed and friendly. They even like my chihuahua (she pokes her head in the rats' cage whenever I have it open).

They now sleep in a home-made hut I made for them. Data has dragged most of the nesting material and fleece scraps in the hut, and has made up a nice little home. I can tell that Data is dominant. Even with his head tilt, he is still the boss over Byte.


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## TachisMom (Oct 17, 2012)

What lucky little ones!


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## skottiesgerl (Oct 3, 2012)

That is my next cage..... It is on my list for santa;D;D (hint hint to my wonderful "santa" )....I love the set up, I have that green ferret hammock myself and Kozmo now spends allot of time in it. I can't wait for a set up like yours. I love it


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## Run Computers (Oct 14, 2012)

Yes they are great cages. When I was young my dad and I made a cage. It was as big as a CN, but far less pretty.

All that room and my rats tend to hang out in the bottom most of the time.

You can lock the ramp closed to deny access between levels, so yesterday, when I was cleaning the bottom, I had both of them locked up top. I decided to leave them up there for a few hours... hoping they would spread their scent and realize that there is more to life than just living in the basement


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## Cupcake&Candy (Jun 5, 2012)

Love the names. I used to have 2 cats named Tiberius & Geordi.  My husband used to have 2 turkeys named Spock & Tuvok.;D


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## Run Computers (Oct 14, 2012)

Cupcake&Candy said:


> Love the names. I used to have 2 cats named Tiberius & Geordi.  My husband used to have 2 turkeys named Spock & Tuvok.;D


Ahh another trekkie!


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## Three B's Mom (Apr 18, 2012)

I want that cage for my girls more than anything! Hopefully by next spring I'll be able to get it.


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## CapnKennedy (Sep 30, 2012)

I'm having a fit over your cage! Its so cool! And your boys! They're both very cute little guys and I love Byte's name XD


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## Run Computers (Oct 14, 2012)

CapnKennedy said:


> I'm having a fit over your cage! Its so cool! And your boys! They're both very cute little guys and I love Byte's name XD


Thanks! They have rearranged and made a mess out of most of the cage, so it doesn't look like it did pre-rat. They seem to like it though. I keep cleaning it up, and the next morning there is food everywhere and shredded paper. They spread most of the litter box contents around and there are chew marks in everything


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## marcp1956 (Oct 12, 2012)

Yep, good healthy rats.


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## Run Computers (Oct 14, 2012)

Took some new pics of the boys and made a sig out of it.
They are hard to photograph. Most of the photos were blurry action shots.


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## Run Computers (Oct 14, 2012)

Happy Halloween!

Here are my boys investigating a halloween "mummy rat" I found at the thrift store. (no worries, I didn't leave it in the cage for them to chew..just long enough to take the picture) 

Oh, and I found that playboy design fleece at the thrift store too.


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