# "Is this water sanitary? It looks questionable to me..."



## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

Ten points to anyone that gets the reference.

Now, onto the rat.
I gave Gus Gus and Bartok's breeder a cage I bought for $80 completely free (I didn't need it anymore) and in turn she offered me free rats. At the time, I didn't need or want any more, but my family and I made a decision to add a little boy to the family and so yesterday I picked out Tantor.










I picked him because when all three of the available boys were put on the floor, he climbed into my lap and into my hand and then stayed on my shoulder for a good 15 minutes while I chatted with the breeder and her kids, even while the kids were being noisy and well... kids. He never freaked out and stayed on my shoulder.










He's about four weeks old and he and his two brothers were sort of "leftover" since all of the siblings were picked because of color and ear type. Ironically, the breeder said these three had the best personalities, but people apparently are very picky about their rat's appearance.  I used to be... but now ear type, color, and markings are just a rat's traits; they don't make them any more or less appealing to me now.
This picture shows exactly how small he is next to a piece of pasta.










He's stinkin' cute and so extremely tiny. I don't even remember Gus Gus and Bartok being this small!

Anyways, he's a black capped standard ear. He's actually Gus Gus and Bartok's half brother! I know rats might not care, but I think it's awesome to have actual siblings in my Mischief! So far, he is the most hyper rat I've ever had... ever. He seriously runs around his cage crazily and almost looks like he's having seizures. XD Then he'll climb up the cage and just scoot all around the sides. He's nuts! lol! But then he crashes and sleeps very solidly. He fell asleep in a box in his cage and I picked the box up and set it on top of his cage and he just stayed in it, snoozing.

So here's some pictures of him as well as pictures of his meetings with Big Brother Bartok (who he will be living with soon).


































Tantor is certainly a burrower. He is always burrowing under boxes, paper towels, and of course the bedding... When introduced to Bartok, he decided he could burrow under him as well. He kept getting under him. It was so funny! All in all, the two of them were fine together when I had them out on my couch, closer supervised with my hands on them most of the time to insure Bartok wouldn't smush the poor tiny Tantor.

When I went to the breeder yesterday with my heart set on getting a baby boy, I really didn't expect them to be so tiny... Do y'all think I should let him get bigger before putting him in with Bartok permanently, even if they're getting along fine? Tantor will be getting lots of lovin' from me and my sister (who is absolutely in love with the baby boy), so hopefully he won't be too lonely before he's with Bartok. Plus, I'm keeping his cage right up next to Bartok's so they can see each other (as seen in one of the above pictures).

He's just so tiny... Do you think Bartok could hurt him accidentally? I've never introduced such a tiny baby to an adult. Cricket and Meeko were already big enough to hold their own when I introduced them and even pinned the bigger boys a lot at first. This baby is about the size of a large mouse, maybe about the same size as Bartok's head! Should I be worried about anything? Don't worry; I'm not going to just throw the baby into Bartok's cage. They'll spend a lot of time on my couch being introduced before anything permanent happens.

Also, has anyone else noticed that standard eared rats tend to be smaller than dumbo? Gus Gus, Bartok, and Cricket are all dumbos and are HUGE but Meeko, my only "fully grown" (about four-five months) standard eared male is really small; a bit more than half the size of Bartok, I'd say. And now this baby seems a lot smaller than Gus Gus and Bartok were at that age... Is this just my rats or is it ear type related? I can't judge properly for females since Eevee is my only female dumbo and is still pretty small, but seems to be growing still. Plus, I have two "imitation dwarf" girls and one "normal" sized female (all three are standard eared), so I have no real idea what the average size for a female is anyways.

Okay, this post is too long.. All in all... This is Tantor! He's tiny!


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## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

If Bartok is being a gentlemen they are good to stay together.
TANTOR IS SO CUTE!! SQUEEE!!!
Standards are generally smaller than dumbos, it's true. Don't know why, though... 
He does look right for a 4 week old. They grow fast! You won't believe how big he gets and how quickly!


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

Tantor! I will laugh if he ends up being a germaphobe ;D Now I want to go watch Tarzan again just for that scene.

All of my dumbos have always been smaller then my standard boys. Granite Soda's a fatso, Storm had hypothyroidism which probably made him a bit smaller, Niko was the runt of the litter, and Bentley and Liam are younger then Soda so they haven't gotten as fat/chubby as him (though I think Bentley might beat Soda in that department soon )

As for him moving in with the big boys, if they're doing fine I don't seem an issue with it. I've had rats introduced that young and be just fine.


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## Muttlycrew (Dec 21, 2012)

Awwwee. I love Tantor! He's so cute! (And I love Tarzan the movie ;D) he looks the right size for his age and though Bartok COULD hurt him, I think they'll likely be fine. Congrats on the new ratty! 


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## silvermist (Apr 23, 2013)

the quote is from "Signs" right? That's what popped into my head when I read it.. PS.. CUTE ratties!!!


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## Hanksk (May 11, 2013)

Okay. First of all AMAZING names. They are such cute boys. And the title is Tarzan. I automatically read it in voice.


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

Everyone who guessed Tarzan is correct.  The quote is from the elephant Tantor, who this baby is named after. I name all my boys after Disney or Disney-ish characters.

Boy, this baby is all over the place! I'm seriously afraid he's having seizures or something when he gets excited. His head turns every which way, like he's possessed or something, and he moves jerkily. I'm working on getting video of it, but he mostly does it out of the cage and I need both hands to make sure he doesn't get off my couch when he's loose, so filming is hard.

Great news! I was afraid I'd never get Gus Gus and Bartok back together after Bartok was separated from Gus Gus and Meeko while he healed from the injury, but yesterday Meeko left a bite mark on Gus Gus's back. Because of Cricket's attack in Bartok, I now have a no tolerance policy for injuries when a rat displays any aggressive behavior and Meeko was starting to puff up and box with Gus Gus more than I was comfortable with. Therefore, I sat down with Gus Gus and Bartok and said "Hey, you're brothers; get along or else..." and they did! They spent last night and all day today together with no incidents, even though in the past they both were aggressive towards each other when I was attempting to introduce them again. So poor Meeko is alone while I try to figure out whether or not he's having hormonal aggression like his brother Cricket. He's not aggressive towards me, though, so I'll do all I can to ensure Meeko has a happy home with me and try to get him introduced with Gus Gus, Bartok, and eventually Tantor so I'll have a four male rat cage again!

Anyways, just now, I got Gus Gus and Bartok out on the couch with Tantor. He's such a hyper bunny and loves annoying he larger rats. I feel badly that he is alone so much... so I am hitting the introductions hard. He won't be big enough for the CN for a little while though. He's already grown quite a bit since I got him on the 9th, but not enough. The cage as several spots that he could squeeze through and get stuck beneath the pan. I know he'll love the CN, though, because he LOVES to burrow and the pans I have are VERY deep. Tantor and I play hide and seek when I go to get him out of his cage. He'll be hiding under a box or papertowel, or simply buried in the bedding and I'll guess where he is. However, sometimes he'll stick his nose out so he loses, haha.

Tantor has to be one of my quickest socialized rats ever. It's the third day and he already knows that when he's scared, my hoodie is the place to hide. When I stick me hand in his cage, he'll climb up my arm before I can even try to grab him. He's such a hyper little sweetie! I've seriously never had such a hyper rat... and I have FOUR GIRLS! lol. Afterwards, though, he crashes and is OUT. Nothing can wake him up. Right now, he's just curled up in the shelf ready to fall asleep.

He's just so much fun! I really needed him, I think. This whole Cricket thing, and now Meeko, was getting me down and depressed. Little Tantor sure has cheered me out and given me a reason to care about my rats again. Cricket had about convinced me that after my babies were gone, I'd just give it up... but I can't. I love my ratties and believe they are my perfect pets. They've helped me in so many ways.

Anyways, I'm going to work on seeing if I can put Tantor in a cage with Gus Gus and Bartok for a while. I'm really worried about Tantor not getting all the rat-rat socialization he needs at this age. He loves to wrestle with my hand, but I know he needs an actual rat to learn from, but I'm afraid to leave little Tantor loose on the couch or too long because he gets so hyper and out of control. He even burrowed into a hole in the sheet covering the couch (to protect it from urine) and I nearly lost him. XD

I took pictures of Gus Gus, Bartok, and Tantor all together a few minutes ago. Once they're on my computer, I'll post them here.  It was pretty cute! I'd've gotten more pics, but like I said, I need two hands to rein in Tantor. XD Seriously, I think he's possessed. Seriously.


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

With the head spazzy. Does he twist his head side to side (or somewhat like that) Then start spazzing out/popcorning? That's normal. All of my boys do it, Especially Niko. It just means that they want to play and are hyper. Plus it's really funny, especially when they run back to you to start wrestling with your hand, or when you get them spazzed out enough they start playing with the closet rat to them.


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

Yep, that's what he does. XD I still say he's possessed, though. He's my demon rat... He's pretty sweet for a demon, though.

He's some pictures I took yesterday of him with Gus Gus, Bartok, and one of him with Meeko.











































Here he is in my sleeve. He's my little sleeve rat that loves climbing into my sleeves and sleeping. ^_^


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## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

SUCH CUTE PICS!!! I love how well GusGus and Bartok are getting on with him!


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

They seem to really like him! I put Tantor in Gus Gus and Bartok's cage for a few minutes today and Tantor had a blast! He ran around crazily, jumped on the big boys, and even wrestled with Gus Gus a little. Poor Tantor didn't stand a chance, though, and Gus Gus had him pinned. The baby was squeaking and Gus Gus seemed to be smushing him, so I decided to break it up. This little rat is such a demon! He found several places in the boys cage to get stuck in. 

Right now, Tantor is sleeping beside Gus Gus and it's so cute!









Tantor is already getting bigger! I hope he calms down as he grows. XD


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

Here's a quick update on my rat situation. Cricket found a new home and Meeko is currently alone while I try to reintroduce him to the other boys. My girls now have a double critter nation. Tantor spends all day with Gus Gus and Bartok but is still too small to live in the critter nation at night. I came home today to find him stuck behind the pan... again. So Tantor spends nights in my small spare cage and probably will for another week or so. He loves his big brothers!
Now, enough chit chat. Time for pictures.
(some of the pictures of Tantor were taken a while ago. He has grown a lot.)



















































And now... to end it with as much cuteness as possible... feast your eyes on the adorableness that is Tantor and Gus Gus.


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## Lightning (May 24, 2013)

Aww, last picture is priceless.  
Such a little fella. <3


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

Brotherly Love <33

Sorry for going off topic, but... That's the new Eevee evolution in your avatar and Eevee in your signature! One of my girls is named Eevee and my sister is obsessed with Pokemon. ^_^ Eevee is my favorite Pokemon (and its evolutions)!


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## Rumy91989 (Dec 31, 2012)

That pic of Tantor and GusGus is insanely cute! I live the side by side DCNs! If I had the time to dedicate to 3 or 4 more rats I would totally do the doube double CN! Love it!


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## FallDeere (Sep 29, 2011)

Here's a picture of Tantor taken just a few minutes ago.  He has black spots on his back and belly. His belly spots are adorable <33 but impossible to get a picture of lol. 










Tantor is officially living with Gus Gus and Bartok now! He spent his first night with them last night and lived to tell about it, so he'll be with them permanently now.

Also, since Meeko is having some hormonal aggression, I am considering neutering him. He might not be able to live with the boys, even neutered, because Gus Gus and Bartok are terrified of him, but he might be able to live with my girls.  Poor Gus Gus and Bartok freak out when I put them in the top DCN unit, which is where Meeko lives, even when Meeko is not there... I don't want to stress them out if I don't have to. My boys have had enough stress in their lives.  But I want all my rats to have a double critter nation to live in. It makes me sad to keep Gus Gus, Bartok, and Tantor in a single unit and Meeko is so lonely... So when I have more money, I'm going to contact a vet and ask about getting him neutered. Until then, Meeko enjoys watching TV with me in the evenings. ^_^


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