Rampaging Rodents Reports continues

He is given a stern lecture!!! "Thats a No no... very dangerous.." He looks very inocently at me, as if to say "Hi there mama got any treats"... I think ill end up grey by the time they are 1 year old... They have just turned 5 months on the 22nd of January...

The other day I had sat down with my dinner which had some corn cobs on the plate.. the boys were no where in site, so I thought ill quickly dash to the kitchen and get a drink, on returning, i saw one corn cob dissappear under the sofa and one dissapearing into my room.... I wonder who the culprits are???? Hmmmm could it be Rufus and Reuben...

both boys are thouroughly enjoying their hammocks and currently when they are out and about, my PJ draw and my Bed... I found both of them in there yesterday, with Rufus leaning up against one corner all four feet in the air, and grooming his underside... on opening the draw after calling them, he looks up with a slight smile "Hi mama", Reuben is in there as well, looking nice and snugly curled up next to Rufus, semi snoozing.... he looks up and "Oh its only you, got any treats?" and goes back to sleep.

Well it had to happen didnt it... Last night when watching the T V, my Rufus was nonchallantly wandering near the TV table which has boxes blocking the underneath part where the wires are..

You may have read in the 1st page of the reports how he had attempted to jump onto the table but landed inside one of the boxes instead!!!

Reuben on the other hand is getting more use to being with me, he now sits on either my lap or shoulder for his treats or corn, peas or what ever the going treat is at that point in time.

All was well last night with the boys free ranging... they were having a lovely time... romping in Mamas PJ draw and on Mamas bed. Occasionaly coming to see if there were any treats on the offering.. Reuben saw I was eating some vegimite sandwiches the other night and decided he wated a piece of the action. so he sat on my shoulder and snatched a piece of bread i was putting in my mouth.

He would then scamper off and nibble on his "treasure" and then come back for more.... After I had finished he could still smell the goodies on my breath so was trying to get hold of it, several times he nipped my mouth thinking I would cough up what i was eating. Even though it had gone...

Last night they were running around having a whale of a time rummaging through what ever they could find and occasionaly comming to see Mama and have a little scritch, and hoping for a treat... when it was time for back in the cage, Rufus as always was nice and easy to get hold of... Reuben on the other hand was another story.

Originaly he was under the lounge, and I thought i could get him into one of the tubes to go into the cage, but no.... it was a 5 minute chase around the lounge, then he disappeared... Obvious place to look, the bedroom... Sure enough there he was sitting on the suit case under the bed... on pulling he case out he dashed off under the bed side tables..... then it was dash into the wardrobe, then into under the tables, then under the bed, then into the wardrobe, then behind the glory box, then no sight of him at all.

so i shut the door to the bedroom thinking that if he was in the lounge thats the only place he could go... and if he was in the bedroom thats the only place he could go... so on searching the lounge again, no sight so he must still be lurking in the bedroom.

In i go, closing the door behind me, and there is Reuben sitting nicely on top of his old nursery cage, under my desk, after a few minutes trying to get hold of him, he was a very slippery little critter... he managed to slip between my knees and out over my feet and under the bed again. so we go from the bed to the side tables to the wardrobe to the glory box, then he zipps into the bathroom.. AH HA!!! Now Ive got you... Mama closes the door, and corners him behind the toilet bowl... he makes a dash for it and not realising ive shut the door head first full throttle into the door, Mama pounces and Reuben is caught, and taken to the cage with kisses and scritches....

Well last night everything was quiet for the first hour or so of the boys free range time... then Rufus decided he wants up on the TV table, about 5 times in the space of half an hour i had to take him off and tell him "NO!!! thats of limits" -- by which he takes it as, "Please try again." Each time i took him off, i would either put him on the lounge or under it and tell him to find Reuben, so he would scuttle off, next thing, up on the table again... sheesh.. after about the 5th time taking him off the table,

Fortunately when it was bed time Reuben had gone in for his dinner, i had not yet put it in so took the oportunity of closing the door while he was there, went to get Rufus from my bedroom put him in the cage with Reuben.. and told them I was going to get their din dins, of a Googie (egg).. as soon as the egg went into their bowl... it was pounced on by both boys with much glee in their eyes!!!!

Im sure that Reuben is the alfa male, as ive seen him pinning Rufus down, so obviously they are plotting and planning their next moves...

Reuben found out what is behind the wood panel which i use to block the Kitchen off so they cant get in.. Now he has several times tried to jump onto the box i have holding the board inplace. Ill have to see how I can get a door or something there.. Time to Hire a Hubby... http://www.hireahubby.com.au/ Ive had Jason around a few times to do some work, and he does good work, so maybe ill see if he can quote me on putting in a swing door that can latch. That should keep them out if I can get it high enough.

They boys had a lovely time as always on the weekend with their free range time. Reuben is getting better at letting me pick him up unless i take him anywhere near the cage, then its a different story.

They seem to like playing hide and seek. They hide, and Mama tries to seek them out... I allway wall them and tell them im trying to find them and they seem to scuttle about under the covers of my bed... until now they have not chewed on the covers, but they seem to start doing that now. So I went out and got them a cat bed that is made of foam so they can chew on that. Ill put a t-shirt over it to make it a bit dark for them. It will be an old shirt, so that it will not matter if they decide to munch on it...

They may be going on their 2nd outing. (1st was to the vet in January). This one will be to a workshop run by the WESTOZ Rat Fanciers..http://ausrfs.org.au/wa/ Lena and Don are putting a workshop for basic rat care..

Ill have to tell my friend from church when she phones as she was asking about ratties too.. so that may be a good intro to them to find out more...

I discovered that both boys have been getting into the Hort couture

they have been making some interesting alterations on my PJ's. As well as interior fashion design...

I could not find them the other day and started calling out "Where are my boys, where did my Rufus and Reuben go...Where are you."' I feld a something on my foot, and on looking down, Rufus was there with his little hands reaching up to me. "Here i am Mama".... I gave him a scritch and a treat and then proceeded to try and locate Reuben.

I sat down for a while , continuing to call Reuben, and all of a sudden on my back I felt a little tap.. "Here I am Mama"... so both boys found, gave him a treat, and a scritch, and i cold get on with my TV .watching...

they sure are making a huge difference to me A lot of people dont realise how interactive they can be, and how much fun it can be watching their antics.. If you can put up with the naughtiness of the rats and the cleaning of the cage, they make great pets..

both lads love their Hammocks (picture of the type of hammocks they have can be found... http://www.dapper.com.au/hammocks.htm If your looking for a gift for someone who is Rattie Mad Try one of Robyns Calendars http://www.dapper.com.au/calendar.htm or posters... http://www.dapper.com.au/prints.htm. She has some very cute little furry friends...

the other day when I put them in for bed time, they both raced up the side of the cage and Rufus did a belly flop onto the corner hammock. I could almost hear him. "aahhhhhhh, I won he he he "

they both look so cute curled up together in the big pocket hammock, somtimes after ive put them back in after free range time, Rufus hangs over the side of the hammock watching the TV with me...