# Flash, Ruby, Lily and Lulu



## olddeadpig (Jan 6, 2010)

Hi to anyone who's been following the tale of my lovely Flash on the Health forum - two threads there under "Prolapsed Eyeball" and "Flash's ear canal surgery". There's enough links to photos of her unfortunate health situation on those threads, and be warned some of the links are quite gory. 

However let's have a look at her, and also her cagemates Ruby (her sister) and Lily and Lulu (another pair of sisters) - I can't downsize my jpegs enough to get them on this post, but please look at the link below and say hi to my lovelies!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/olddeadpig/sets/72157623322601148/

There's a photo of Flash in there when she was very young that's just too cute for words. 

Hope you enjoy the photos!


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## Jaguar (Nov 15, 2009)

You can just put the images in your post, using the BBC image code.

Cute girls ya got there, Ruby is HUGE!


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## nertnie (Jan 4, 2010)

Adorable!! They're all beauties! What do you feed them??? GiNORmous snooglie bellies!!


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## AMJ087 (Aug 27, 2008)

They are so precious!


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## olddeadpig (Jan 6, 2010)

Thanks guys! Ruby and Flash are actually 3 months younger than Lily and Lulu, but overtook them in size within a few months. They all have the same diet - basic diet of permanent access to Burgess SupaRat (all-in-one rat-specific nuggets) with fresh kale and blueberries (occasionally grapes instead) every other day (I found if I gave them fresh food every day they would get a touch of diarrhoea). I probably give them too many treats in addition though. 

Ruby and Flash are from a line of enormous rats - there is a buck somewhere in their recent ancestry who weighed over 3 pounds. I didn't believe such a thing could exist until I visited this breeder and met some of her other rats who were all huge. Ruby and Flash seemed so tiny when we picked them up at 6 weeks that it seemed impossible they could get so big!

I know some of you have been following Flash's health problems elsewhere. She's still going just fine at present, losing weight a bit, and her tumour is clearly growing although thankfully not very fast, but she's still eating, drinking and running about and interacting with her buddies, who are treating her completely normally. I get her out for a snuggle every evening and she just flops on my arm now looking cute (or ravaged, depending on which side she presents!), whereas she used to get restless after a few minutes before she was ill, so I can tell she's slowing down. I think she may last another week or two, but I won't let her suffer if she suddenly goes downhill (I have dispensation from my employer to take a half-day holiday without notice if she needs to see the vet to say goodbye). I will try once again to get some photos included in one of my posts instead of just a link, once she makes the unwanted move to the Over the Rainbow Bridge section (I don't know where that phrase comes from! Anyone know?!).


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## nertnie (Jan 4, 2010)

You've made your girls so much a part of our lives, I think we'll all feel a loss. Sending our love to your girls! <3 And a little extra snoogling to Flash.


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## olddeadpig (Jan 6, 2010)

Thanks Nertnie, it's been very good for me knowing that a few fellow rattie maniacs are out there who care! Flash is still going great guns. I can see her lump is getting bigger, but slowly - she's on metacam an the vet thinks there may be some evidence of metacam slowing the progress of tumours, although unproven as yet. She is still running around, eating and drinking as normal despite her teeth now being quite misaligned (her poor head really is wonky now), and she usually seems to have at least one playmate or sleeping buddy all the time - the other girls are being really good to her. I think she might last another week or two, but you never know. As long as she seems happy she can stick around as long as she wants!


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## nertnie (Jan 4, 2010)

Its amazing. They'll in our lives for barely more than the blink of an eye.. yet they touch our hearts down to the very core. 

Heh. My name is Trish.. and I'm a rattie maniac.


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## olddeadpig (Jan 6, 2010)

Down to three girls now. Flash was taken to the vet to say goodbye 2 days ago after a brave fight. I cried for her and I miss her lovely wonky head. The remaining three are getting extra treats. I will be getting a pair of new kittens to perk them up in a few weeks time and will post pics when they arrive. It will take at least two kits to even try to fill the hole left by my lovely Flash.


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## nertnie (Jan 4, 2010)

<3 ~hugs~ to you and yours.


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## jmskitten04 (Feb 11, 2010)

sorry to hear.  

but she as well loved! ^_^


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## LisaLQ (Oct 14, 2007)

olddeadpig said:


> Ruby and Flash are from a line of enormous rats - there is a buck somewhere in their recent ancestry who weighed over 3 pounds. I didn't believe such a thing could exist until I visited this breeder and met some of her other rats who were all huge.


Being someone who visits this breeder regularly, I can assure you this is not true. There are no 3lb rats in her lines, and her rats are nowhere near the proportions your girls have got to. In Lily and Lulu's line weight is an issue, something I raise with every owner, telling them to avoid overfeeding and that nuggets should not be fed under any circumstances (not only are they more likely to make your rat obese, they are also thought to raise the risks of mammary cancer). But that is my line, I can assure you that Kathy's rats have never reached 3lbs - she regularly tells me off for letting mine get too big, she doesn't like obese rats.

It's very sad to read this, because what you've done is put all the blame on their breeder, when in fact they've just been overfed (something all of us do sometimes when we love our pets a little too much, it's not a crime). Even rats with a genetic predisposition to obesity can only get fat if their owners overfeed them.

I do hope you'll take our advice and start feeding them a better (and smaller!) diet, if you ever need any help feel free to call.


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## Rattrix (Mar 31, 2010)

You what?..

Ive also visited this breeder on countless occasions.. I have never once seen an even moderately 'outsized' rat there.. 

I have had millions (ok not millions... but lots!) of rats from Kathy.. both bred by herself or rescues she has fostered and passed to me... none of them have been obese when they were with her, nor when they came to me, nor did they become so after living with me..

I can only surmise from this that you are kidding yourself and it is your feeding regime and diet that is causing the problem. For the sake of your rats... please stop, feed a more appropriate diet and make fat rats work for their food if at all possible (it IS if you get devious and a bit mean... give them food that needs 'unwrapping' or climbing for etc etc).


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## KateR (Apr 1, 2010)

Rattrix said:


> You what?..
> 
> Ive also visited this breeder on countless occasions.. I have never once seen an even moderately 'outsized' rat there..
> 
> ...


seconded, all of it.


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## Jammyrat (Apr 1, 2010)

KateR said:


> Rattrix said:
> 
> 
> > You what?..
> ...


I would like to say i totally agree with the 2 Ladies above, i have met many many rats bred by this breeder (Also have judged them aswell)and they have all been of a normal size so to state this breeder's rats are all huge is just a down right Lie and to be honest is quite disgusting !!

Why not instead get some help with getting the weight down on your others and stopping your kittens from going the same way.


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