# Meet Loui Rubert Jefferson the Third



## iLuffLoui

Loui for short :]

He is my baby cakes :]
He is my first rat, advice would be helpful.
I plan on saving up for a much bigger cage,
and hopefully a playmate for him soon.
I play with him 20-30 minutes (at least) everyday.
I just got him Thursday. July 31 2008, and he already
seems very attached to me.
He comes out whenever I open the cage door and responds
to his name.
he will even sit on my shoulder already!
I dont know much about rats, but I did buy a book on owning one.
Which I read every night. 
Im half way through now and have learned lots!
Any comments or suggestions feel free to share! : D


----------



## SamAnthrax

Hi welcome to the ratforum!!! Have fun!  make sure to read all the stickies


----------



## Hallie-Mae

Anyway, you have a lovely little siamese boy  !! Good luck getting him a friend, and make sure to do a fair bit of reasearch - especially about bedding, cage size, diet, etc etc  Have fun with L.R.J. III :lol:


----------



## SamAnthrax

So thats a siamese? I always get confused with the siamese and himalayan. He is so adorable though.


----------



## Hallie-Mae

Oooh yeah, sorry for this big long boring explanation but I like defining the differences between himis and smeezies...
Himalayans have white bodies, with no staining. They have points that don't extend past the eyes (red eyes ), ankles, elbows and rump.
Siamese rats, I guess they're just heavier in shading, with points that "leak out" more.

Here's some help with the determination :lol:
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg223/rockabilly_rats/puggydrawing.jpg (R.I.P. )
http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg223/rockabilly_rats/Img_3202-1.jpg and http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/gg223/rockabilly_rats/step.png


Oh wait actually that boy could be Himi, now that I look at the photo up close... Hmm :?


----------



## SamAnthrax

Aw your first boy looks like a big squishy lover sooo cute. Sorry he passed.


----------



## Hallie-Mae

Aww thank you  She's wasn't male though, just one fat cow of a doe 8O Died young too, of pneumonia, whilst we were on holiday... Her sister still misses her :? 
I'm guilty of never having had the pleasure to own males


----------



## iLuffLoui

Ive always had female hamsters,
But I enjoy my male rat very much.
It says in the book im reading that females 
are more curious and cant sit still very long,
and males are more like lap rats. :]

I do eventually hope to breed too!


----------



## Hallie-Mae

I'd love to own males because I'd like something to cuddle, but I don't have enough room, time or money to own both males and females  
And if I had an accidental litter, I don't think I could handle the stress (and depression if the mum dies in labour, or the bubs get cannibalised etc etc). Also, again I can't risk it with my lack of money and time and space 
I would love to breed a litter one day though, but then the guilt of breeding a litter when there's already so many rats in rescue centers waiting to be adopted really would hang over my shoulders.


----------



## iLuffLoui

Breeding any animal can always leave to complications.
But I think your right about the rescue rats, and I plan on
buying one very soon :]
Once I save up for another cage, because I want a Female also.


----------



## Hallie-Mae

Yeah I think my next girls will definately be rescues :3 I already have six at the moment though, I wish I had room and money for a bigger cage... Like that new Ferret Nation by Savic, omfg 8O Dream cage !

But for you there's always the opportunity of neutering your males so you can keep males and female(s) together, right  ?


----------



## Stace87

iLuffLoui said:


> Once I save up for another cage, because I want a Female also.


Just the one female? Not two so she has a friend?


----------



## SamAnthrax

I had females for a bit, rescued four rats, three females one male, all three females were preggo

I had 18 babies! I kept two of the boys and found homes for the rest except the daddy.

So thats How I have my boys Tommy, Pono, and Wiggles, then I rescued Toby.

I love them all even though Wiggles is a HUGE headache. 

They're all still pretty young. Tommy is probably only six months. So their still not the laziest rats, all have a lot of energy. I can't wait til they're cuddle buddies.


----------



## Hallie-Mae

Woah eighteen babies 8O !! How on Earth did you handle that :lol: ??


----------



## iLuffLoui

Mmm woah thats a lot!
And of course a friend.
And thats the cage im saving up for! :]
Loui will love it with his new companion.


----------



## Hallie-Mae

Grrr curse you D: I've had my eye on those cages since they were released, I'm sooo so so upset that I can't get one xD
I really need a job !
Maybe if I do well with my GCSE results, and also ask for it as an extremely early christmas / birthday present combo, and offer to do the housework for the next three years.... :lol:


----------



## SamAnthrax

I don't know how I handled it actually, I found homes for all of them, except the three moms a three of the baby girls I rehomed to one person who was going to find homes for them. 

I love my boys, except for the marking thing, they pee everywhere ugh


----------



## iLuffLoui

Lol im only fourteen but plan on working
at McDonalds during the school year.
I get a well payed allowence andhave 50 dollars already.
Im sure if I do extra chores i'll get up to the price uber fast!
:]
Im also writing a letter that my mom is going to take to work
talking about why I would like to raise money for Loui to get
a better cage and companion.
Im sure I will earn some cash there too...
Also selling things you dont need works!

Im selling my 13 foot trampoline with a net
for 100 dollars on craigs list, once I get the
time to get off my butt and put it on there :3


----------



## Hallie-Mae

My girls also pee everywhere 8O


----------



## Hallie-Mae

Awwh I don't get allowance at all, my family's pretty poor and my mum's out of work so ATM we don't have much money at all (I have no idea what I'm going to do for the dress code when it comes to college in september, cos I have no money to buy formal clothes). 

As for selling things I don't need.... We've been poor all our life really so I was never allowed / never had the money / never wanted to buy anything that I "didn't need" :lol:

But then I have college in september, and get Â£30 EMA a week IF I'M ON TIME. Which I know I never will be, because my best friend is inconsiderate and selfish, and told me "I'm not getting EMA, so we can be late all we like". I can't exactly tell her I don't want to walk with her because we're best friends and I don't talk back to people, naturally. So great, what little amount of money I have to live off, I won't get due to her selfishness.

(any comments on the money issue with the friend please take to pms or start another thread~twitch)


----------



## iLuffLoui

Oh well im sorry to hear that.
Well im not sure then but you seem
to be getting along just fine with what you have.
:]
And loui has only peed once to mark his terriotory.
And I wiped it up with a klenex right away.
So the smells still there just not the pee :]


----------



## Hallie-Mae

iLuffLoui said:


> Oh well im sorry to hear that.
> Well im not sure then but you seem
> to be getting along just fine with what you have.
> :]


:lol: I suppose I'm doing okay, thanks to some sacrifices...
For example I have to go with no glass in the windows in my bedroom


----------



## beanieboo-rattles

I think hes a Himilayan personally.

By the way..Did you get him from a pet store ?

You shouldnt breed from any rat that you do not know the lineage for , for atleast 5 generations. 

So that rules out pet store rats..Feeder tank rats...rescued rats..

Also talk of intentional breeding here is striclty moderated and frowned apon.


----------



## Hallie-Mae

I thought he might be smeezie cos the point extends below his nose which I don't think usually happens in himis  ?


----------



## beanieboo-rattles

ive got two himi girls one of them has a point extending over the nose but i have her lineage and she was from a proffesional breeder so im going to trust the jusdgement that shes himi


----------



## Kathleen

I like your boy's name, lol. Very creative. He's cute too. I'm glad to hear you're getting him a friend. In the meantime, I'd up that 20-30 minutes to a few hours a day so he gets at least some companionship and socialization.

And I strongly urge you to reconsider breeding. Even if you find quality parents, why breed when there's so many rats in need of rescuing? Take a look around the "Accidental Litters" forum to see why many rat lovers are against intentional breeding.


----------



## iLuffLoui

I would but im a fourteen year old girl. I have a life to live.
Some days I do end up spending up to 2 hours with him :]


----------



## Kathleen

I think all of us here have lives to live but we still make time for our rats.  But that's good.


----------



## beanieboo-rattles

If you dnt have time to properly care for and socialise youre rat..why do you have one ?


----------



## twitch

its not that she doesn't have time for him. she's new, just got him a few days ago and is adjusting her schedule. at least this is what i have garnered from what she has said. i make as much time as i can for my rats as well, but that doesn't mean they get the same ammount every day as not everyday has the same requirements on me and the rest of responibilites. so fo the time being please refrain from questioning the purpose of rat ownership. this is a new owner still in the very midst of learning all there is she needs to know to get her feet wet in being able to enjoy her rat to the utmost. 

also, i have gone through the rest of the thread and deleted everything not related to OT. it seems the discussion on work is over anyway, so its just clutter in the way of of the new owner and helpful information on rat ownership


----------

