Rats-

In April 2009 we took a rat from Pets at home adoption, they claimed she was fine, but we knew she had mites which had to be treated. She was called Mia and 12 months old, she sadly passed away in the September, but managed to get her some friends from a rescue down in Surrey! There were no rescues with female rats up here. A friend was comimg up to Dundee from Surrey on the train. We met her at the station and took the 2 girls home, they were 12 months old to. We called the girls Karly and Fliss. Sadly we also lost Fliss in September 2009, but Karly is still with us. Karly was very lonely, so in October 2009, we adopted 2 more girls from Pet at Home, again they had untreated mites and 18 months old. We called one Ashley and the other Una, and they have settled in well.

I have to admit, I never realised rats were such wonderful characters.

We were asked to take in Polly by Nykhola from Cossitted Critters so she could have some female company. Polly had been found as a stray outside the local PDSA along with her friend. Sadly her friend died and she was left without a friend. We lost Una shortly after Polly's arrival, so it is nice that Ashley still has a friend.

Sadly, in September 2010,  Ashley passed away due to a pituitary tumour which left Polly alone. We cantacted the New Arc and they had just taken in a 2 year old girl they hasn't even had time to assess. We collected her, called her Agnes but she had a severe respiratory problems, we did treat her for it but she died a few days later. The New Arc also had 4 younger girls so we took them home and called them Lucy, Luna, Greta and Eliza, they are lovely girls who we hope to bond with Polly soon. At the same time we heard about 2 neutered boys, they were neutered because they were fighting and one still had some wounds that were taking a while to heal. They are called Wart and Merlin and we hope to bond all the rats together so that they have a happy, social life. Polly now has cancer which has spread into her lymph nodes. She is happy at the moment but we will not operate again on any lumps and when she is in distress we will have her PTS. At the moment she is very happy in a group of 5 and they are all sitting waiting for their yoghurt drop in the morning. Sadly, Polly was PTS on Friday the 17th of June 2011.

We also have Wart and Merlin, 2 castrated boy rats, the owner didn't have time for them any more and they had fought leaving wart with some severe injuries. The owner neutered both of them, but although Wart's injuries healed his skin has been damaged and the hair will not grow back. They are happily living together now in a explorer cage and like the girls are out waiting for their yoghurt drop in the morning.

In mid July 2011, we welcomed 2 female dumbo rats into the family, who we have called Anna and Emma, we think they are about 1 year old. These girls were bought for a young child, who was too young to handle them, so they are very timid, they are also a bit stunted in growth. Over the next few weeks we plan to work on their confidence and then intorduce them to the other 4 girls.

Mouse-

We were also asked to take in a mouse who had been dumped in September 2010. He was found in a garden by 2 boys, their father guessed who the mouse belonged to, some students, and confronted them. He took the cage tha the mouse lived in and decided to rehome it. We said we would take it and went to collect it. It was a lovely golden coloured male, who we decided to call Murray. His cage was tiny, I was horrified that things that size are sold to keep animals in. We all rant about battery hens, but some of these cages are no better and we keep them in our own homes. We bought him a bigger cage the next weekend and the wee man was delighted, his little wheel squeaked away the whole night and he loves running through his tubes. Recently Murry have developed a lump in his groin and has taken to running in circles. We ahve tried to treat this but he is no better, however he is not in any distress and is still eating well. He has a huge cage which he enjoys running around in, and although we know there is little we can do for him, we will keep him confortable for as log as possible.

Chinchillas

We also took in 2 male chinchillas in mid june 2011. The boys owners were moving abroad and the plans for a new home had fallen through. The owners contacted us on the Wednesday and were leaving on the Friday. We agreed to take them and the were dropped off on the Friday morning, before the owner drove down to Glasgow for their flight!

The boys are lovely- Tyler is a beige ( who is 5) and Minstrel is chocolate brown (who is 3), they are starting to gain confidence with us and Tyler now lets me rub his chin, Minstrel is very nearly letting me give him a stroke. We have also ordered them some huge cages from John Hopewell, who has been very helpful, and by the next time I update I hope that they will be living in luxury!

Chinchillas have special requirements, because they cannot get wet and must be kept in temeratures below 24 degrees centigrade- if they get too hot they can suffer from heat stroke and die.

African Pygmy Hedgehog

Whirlygig arrived mid june 2011 too, she was aged 15 weeks and we were her third home already. She is beautiful to look at but I have to admit I see no point in having one as a pet and they should not be bought just for novelty. She curls in a ball and hisses when you try to handle her, I know some hedgehogs are fine but she is obviously scared. She is nocturnal so I usually only see her if I am up late, and if I disturb her she freezes. Hedgehogs can live to about 6 years old but they need to be kept in temperatures above 24 degrees centigrade, so not the easiest pet to cater for.