# The baby gets a name. (EXTREMELY PICTURE HEAVY)



## unlikelyfather (Sep 11, 2012)

My baby's been with me for a week and a half now. He's a bit behind the curve (he's at a 15 day old stage but is likely in his 20s for day count). His eyes have been open for a few days, which means I've given him a name. I ordered his cage (3 levels with room for 2 rats) tonight and it'll be here by next week (7/16ths of an inch for spacing between bars). 

All of this means that it's _officially_ time to introduce you to him, and to the name that I've been (in my head) calling him since Day 2.

(Note: If the pictures in this post in some way are against the rules because of how many there are or their size, let me know.)

Ladies & other gentlemen, I'd like you to meet...









































RASPUTIN







































His name was chosen from the historical mystery that remains to be Grigori Rasputin. 
It seemed to be a very fitting name. He's here, about half a day after his eyes began to open.










*"Dad. No more photos, I'm trying to eat."*










He still reminds me of a bulldog when he does this.












The next day, a total blur of fur I was barely able to capture on film:
























































​That's my boy. I think I've done an all right job for a first time father.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Ra Ra Rapsutin, Lover of the Russian Queen!


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## unlikelyfather (Sep 11, 2012)

cagedbirdsinging said:


> Ra Ra Rapsutin, Lover of the Russian Queen!


That was the exact thing that my best friend said when I told him the name. I swear.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Can't blame him! It's too catchy! Love the name.


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## unlikelyfather (Sep 11, 2012)

Now I need to try and come up with a name for any potential cagemate that doesn't make "Rasputin" sound silly.


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

unlikelyfather said:


> Now I need to try and come up with a name for any potential cagemate that doesn't make "Rasputin" sound silly.


Rostov, obviously!


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## Eden10 (Aug 11, 2012)

What amazing pictures! Love the name and can't wait to see more as he grows, what a handsome ratty!


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

He's such a sweet looking boy, definitely behind the curve, but with you at his side fighting the good fight with him, he'll catch up slowly, especially now that solid foods are being introduced 

<3


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## unlikelyfather (Sep 11, 2012)

lilspaz68 said:


> He's such a sweet looking boy, definitely behind the curve, but with you at his side fighting the good fight with him, he'll catch up slowly, especially now that solid foods are being introduced
> 
> <3


Yeah, since I've had him for 13 days and he was about 7 days old when I got him - he's definitely behind. 

Luckily, since his eyes have opened he's made leaps and bounds for progress and is bouncing around at a 15 to 17 day mark, today. Hopefully this means the post-eye-opening growth spurt will catch him up easily. I feel like his stunting was coming from how much his eyes needed to develop and how long that took.


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## RatzRUs (Feb 5, 2012)

Very sweet.


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## Smilebud (Jul 31, 2012)

Aaawww! He is growing so fast, I'll admit, I've been following his progress through your blogs. Good job on keeping him safe and happy.


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## unlikelyfather (Sep 11, 2012)

Smilebud said:


> Aaawww! He is growing so fast, I'll admit, I've been following his progress through your blogs. Good job on keeping him safe and happy.


Weeks make all the difference for a young rat, I suppose.  Thanks for following him. I'm kind of surprised that people have been.


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## Stubbylove (Sep 5, 2012)

I have been following him too!! I love your post about how he's doing and the pictures r great!! Love it and what a great name!


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


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## IOVERATS (Aug 25, 2012)

Well done! You've done an amazing job! I'm sure he will be fine, and his name is amazing! Good luck with the introductions and I hope the cage is good  These pictures are great! Thanks again, I was wondering when we would be hearing from him again, as I followed his story on here and was interested to hear about his progress


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## gal5150 (Aug 14, 2012)

Awww, I LOVE the name! Totally suits him! Looks like he's doing GREAT! Congrats!


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## Poodlepalooza (Aug 9, 2012)

Such a cute lil fella! You've done a great job with him!!! Look forward to more pics!


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## Jfaye92 (Mar 16, 2012)

Aww such a strong sweet boy. You did an awesome job as well. Way to beat the odds i think Rasputin is a very very fitting name.


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## unlikelyfather (Sep 11, 2012)

Stubbylove said:


> I have been following him too!! I love your post about how he's doing and the pictures r great!! Love it and what a great name!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


Thank you. I'll try to keep everyone updated about him. Sometimes taking care of him gets in the way because he hasn't been moved from the syringe to drinking out of a bowl yet.




IOVERATS said:


> Well done! You've done an amazing job! I'm sure he will be fine, and his name is amazing! Good luck with the introductions and I hope the cage is good These pictures are great! Thanks again, I was wondering when we would be hearing from him again, as I followed his story on here and was interested to hear about his progress


I'm going to need the luck with introductions. I haven't picked a cagemate out for him just yet, I will when the cage arrives and I'm able to have space free for quarantine. Unfortunately I'm limited to pet stores in order to get a friend for him in time.




gal5150 said:


> Awww, I LOVE the name! Totally suits him! Looks like he's doing GREAT! Congrats!


He's very excitable, food crazy. I see all of it as a good sign.




Poodlepalooza said:


> Such a cute lil fella! You've done a great job with him!!! Look forward to more pics!


Hopefully I'll be able to get some up before the cage gets here but if not, then I'll get more pics up of him in his new cage for everyone.




Jfaye92 said:


> Aww such a strong sweet boy. You did an awesome job as well. Way to beat the odds i think Rasputin is a very very fitting name.


I don't feel ready to uncross my fingers about the odds but I just feel so good about how this has come along.


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## Rat lover (Dec 28, 2011)

AWWWWWW! Reminds me of my little Sheebah when she was that age! He is lovely may i add! ;D


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## unlikelyfather (Sep 11, 2012)

Rat lover said:


> AWWWWWW! Reminds me of my little Sheebah when she was that age! He is lovely may i add! ;D


Thank you very much!  Raising him has been quite the adventure.. And I think I'm actually through the easy part


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

He is adorable. 

If you get him a friend from a pet store try to find a pet store that breeds their own rats, or gets it Only from small breeders (Typically people who breed feeders will get too many at once and will give them to a pet store to be sold as pet, typically they do it with the pretty ones or really nice ones), not the big pet mills. Or if you only have a big pet store chain in your area make sure that they take good care of their rats and other animals.


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## Flora (Aug 30, 2012)

So glad he is going better! he is super sweet!


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## achackysac (Sep 11, 2012)

I know I'm late to reply to this, but YAAAY!!! Im so excited that he's doing well and has a name  congrats!


Sent from my iPhone using PG Free


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## PurpleGirl (Oct 12, 2012)

Oh he's so lovely!


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## Cupcake&Candy (Jun 5, 2012)

Such a precious kiddo. Good job, Dad! I really love that name - it'll fit him even better when he's a big mushy laprat.


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## unlikelyfather (Sep 11, 2012)

Oh boy. Ras is so much bigger than any of you know, right now. I've been meaning to get around to an update, and since this post has been bumped I think I'll just add to it.


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## unlikelyfather (Sep 11, 2012)

Well puberty's onset has finally delivered itself unto us. It's supposed to set in at roughly 5-6 weeks of age, or so the internet tells me. I expected more than I've seen so far, but what I've been handed is more than enough/acceptable, haha. 

Rasputin has a new sheen to his coat that seems to be a product of puberty, or more correctly, of buck grease. There's no orange tint or buildup just yet. 

He still allows himself to be picked up and handled and come into contact with humans, yet his overall sensitivity has increased markedly in the past two days. He's more nervous about sounds, and it would seem to be due to the introduction of testosterone. Jitters, I'm sure.

The play fighting and the power grooming have started picking up in habit, but most remarkable are two odd developments: 



He seems to be attracted to my hair in a way that causes him to powerfully groom/maul it. This also applies to the back of my neck and may have to do with my smell or grease, but it's hard to tell. I also shower every day. Maybe he just hates my shampoo.
He squeaks. A lot. He'll be crawling through my hoodie and squeak if it presses around him any amount, regardless of whether it hurts. He also squeaks when play-fighting. They're not agitated squeaks, they seem to be "hey! leave me alone!" noises, noises of protest and maybe fear.
 
For his own sake I'm looking into neutering him because he's amped up - but so far I have not seen hide nor hair of hormonal aggression. He's just a hyper active, bouncy little weirdo who gets more nervous in daylight than he used to.


I'm sure nobody here cares about that, though. You all just want pictures. Once again... Lots of pictures, hope this isn't too big or breaking the rules somehow.










As you can see, he's been moved into his big cage and is quite enjoying the space if I'm good at reading that little face by now. This photo was taken after his first successful full night in it.

What I should say, though, is that that little face is shouting loud and clear: 

"This is where I thought the food would be. Food?"


This, a few days later, just to document the subtle shift in facial features from a more youthful face to a more adult appearance:











Then today I managed to capture some time with the elusive young gentleman:









He wasn't too sure about the whole idea of being out during sunlight, though.










I managed to convince him to let everyone get a proper peek at what he'd turned into.










He was still a little reluctant.
Also, this is the only hammock he likes despite having two to choose from.










He's still curious any time he sees the camera, only as a teenager-going-on-young-adult he's a little better at looking coy this time.










Still not too thrilled with playing model.










Or with fingers, especially when the dogs are barking.










But he knows cheek and ear rubs mean everything works out in the end.
​


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## skottiesgerl (Oct 3, 2012)

omg too cute.. love it... <3


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Ugh... he is so CUTE!


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## YellowSpork (Jul 7, 2012)

Awwww, he's growing up so nicely! Adorable! x3


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## marcp1956 (Oct 12, 2012)

Just found this thread. Amazing story. I would like to read the beginning. I assume you started posting about Ras, before you named him on another thread?? If so could you post a link? I am enjoying the story and the pictures. It reads like a good novel. Well done! You are doing a good job with the little guy. I sounds like he has quite the personality.


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## unlikelyfather (Sep 11, 2012)

marcp1956 said:


> Just found this thread. Amazing story. I would like to read the beginning. I assume you started posting about Ras, before you named him on another thread?? If so could you post a link? I am enjoying the story and the pictures. It reads like a good novel. Well done! You are doing a good job with the little guy. I sounds like he has quite the personality.


You might find my blogs interesting, then. I posted a bunch in the beginning, you're right. Then after I realized people were keeping track I started copying the posts and moving them to my blog. So most of the story is in there, which should make it easier on you. Thanks for the novel compliment, I'm actually an unpublished author and that means a lot to me.


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## Smilebud (Jul 31, 2012)

That first new cage picture made me ''awww!' out loud. I love reading about Ras, so you better keep up the blogs.  After you nueter him, are you going to get him a girlfriend? Does he eat more as a wild rat? Is he loud at night? I want to know more!!


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## unlikelyfather (Sep 11, 2012)

Smilebud said:


> That first new cage picture made me ''awww!' out loud. I love reading about Ras, so you better keep up the blogs.  After you nueter him, are you going to get him a girlfriend? Does he eat more as a wild rat? Is he loud at night? I want to know more!!




I'll try to answer all questions to the best of my ability, but as Ras is only the second rat I've ever owned I don't have much in the way of comparison. So bear with me, haha.

​

I've considered getting him a cagemate, and am still in the process of considering it, but as it looks likely that he has missed the socialization window it may be safer just to avoid doing so. I'm home and he spends a great deal of time right next to me or right on top of me, so I wouldn't say he's bored, lonely, and miserable just yet. However, because I do believe in trying there's a good chance that in the future I will be getting him a girlfriend. I will say this, I'm leaning toward getting a female cage companion because I think his territorial instincts will take a backseat to mating instincts, which may make him less inclined to want to hurt a female.
I have no idea. I will say that he stashes food just like any rat, and he has a hunger drive that I don't think most rats do. Whereas a domestic rat may sit and politely eat from your fingers, allowing you to take the food away, Rasputin will go into an all out war frenzy with you in order to dominate and control the food source. It's obvious that this is a survival tactic. He's very prepared to tug of war over food - another reason that getting him a cagemate may not be fair. I'm certain he'd hoard the food. An option, I suppose, is to get a female and keep her separately but (after quarantine) allow their cages to be close by.
I'm borderline nocturnal, at this point, and always have been a night person. If by "loud at night" you mean, "does he clang and bang and cause a ruckus and run up and down every corner of his cage??" - then yes. Absolutely. He also does this in the evening and in the late afternoon. He's always looking for an escape even if he's checked every corner of his cage already.

To tell you the truth, I was actually thinking of opening a thread in General Rat or somewhere, based around my experiences with hand rearing and socializing a wild rat, and in turn letting folks ask or submit their own wild rat experiences. We don't have too many WTR facts on this board and what we do have is fairly buried. Maybe between the few of us who've taken it on, we can prepare others who'd end up in the same situation. It was just a thought, I may start working on it somewhere.


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## LightningWolf (Jun 8, 2012)

Actually rats by nature (Yes even in the wild) live in colonies of both males and females. However only the Alpha mates normally. That's why males fight over who is alpha even if there are no females around.

Actually since he looks like a wood rat getting him a domestic friend might be a bad idea, rats typically don't get along with other species even if it's a Rattas species (Rat species). Plus I don't know if wood rats have a different colony make up or if they even live in colonies (Not all Rat species live in Colonies, some live solitary). So I would be wary of getting him a domestic rat friend.


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## unlikelyfather (Sep 11, 2012)

LightningWolf said:


> Actually since he looks like a wood rat getting him a domestic friend might be a bad idea, rats typically don't get along with other species even if it's a Rattas species (Rat species). Plus I don't know if wood rats have a different colony make up or if they even live in colonies (Not all Rat species live in Colonies, some live solitary). So I would be wary of getting him a domestic rat friend.


He's Rattus Norvegicus. That's the species we have inhabiting our garage. We don't have pack/wood rats in the area.


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## marcp1956 (Oct 12, 2012)

Your blog is a good read, thank you. I think neutering him is a must, and your idea of putting a female rat in a cage next to him is a great idea. If they only had wire between them they could sleep together. That would be a good sign that putting them in the same cage at some time may be possible. From what I have read it would be better to put the female in the males cage (if that time comes) than the other way around. I have never mixed domestic and wild rats so I really don't know what I'm talking about, but it seems like it makes sense.  If putting them in the same cage is a poor idea, at least having company next to him may be wise. Don't know about disease problems though??


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