Daisy Doughnut – Part Three of the Ratlet Trilogy - September 12, 2020
For some reason, when I think of our new ratlet – formerly Daisy Duke, now Daisy Doughnut – I sing this song in my head. (At least I hope I am singing this is my head.)
“Daisy, Daisy Doughnut – Queen of the Wild Frontier…” This from “Davey, Davey Crockett – King …”
Last Monday we drove a few blocks (as opposed to a few cities) to adopt Daisy D. My hubs wearing his Kale shirt, my daughter Anna with her beautiful purple and blue hair, Emma wearing her shirt as a dress, and me – carrying the ratlet carrier like it was a gift of the Magi – arrived at Maisy’s door on Monday afternoon. Maisy is the fosterer of Daisy and many other small companion animals. (Maisy is not her real name.)
Maisy took the small animal carrier and returned with Daisy who didn’t look perturbed in the least. She looked like she was ready for an adventure. Perhaps I should have brought Jasper who would want to roll her cage around like a log on a river.
I said to Maisy, “This is the biggest, fattest ratlet I have ever seen.” Maisy replied – I think a little hurt for Daisy’s sake – “No she’s not…” I replied something like, “No, I don’t mean this unkindly. She is adorable, but…”
We got in the car and we all started to laugh. Normally new ratlets cringe and try to hide in their carrier. Not Daisy. She was pushing her nose up against the top, and she was so large she could hardly turn around. She put me in mind of the 1970s Tim Bit (donut holes) mouse. But a much larger version. I’m not sure who suggested this but by the time we go home her name had changed from Daisy Duke to Daisy Doughnut.
Normally I insist that a new ratlet gets to rest and hide in her new environs on arrival. But not this time. She was already super social. We wrapped her up like a baby and passed her around. She was A OK with that. Eventually I insisted we put her in her cage and she looked at us as a Golden Retriever might. As in, “Why am I in a cage? I’m a lap-rat.”
I brought Daisy Doughnut’s cage over beside the ratlet apartment of Dandy, Lily and Violet. They sniffed each other and no one seemed too put out. At supper time, I switched their cages – all part of the introduction process. Everyone was chill. No, actually. Daisy was thrilled. She found all the bits of leftover treats that the trio had discarded.
The next day at lunch I let Daisy visit her new family. There was a lot of excitement. The other ratlets followed Daisy D around sniffing her. And every once in a while, Daisy would try to wash Lily and Violet – they are pretty tiny. And Daisy and Dandy would play fight for a few seconds – Dandy wanted to keep boss status. But that was it.
My hope was that Daisy Doughnut and Dandy would become a bonded paired. Dandy and Daisy-Spark (who sadly passed) were. But these two girls pretty much keep their own company, and Lily and Violet – who are sisters – are pretty much velcroed to each other. But Dandy has instead decided to pile in with Lily and Violet. And Daisy sleeps alone – on the top shelf – nose up against the bars. Waiting for her next adventure or meal.
There is something else I hadn’t planned on. In order to accommodate Daisy’s ampleness, I’ve had to greatly increase all the holes I cut in the play boxes. Head getting in, OK. Body getting in – not so much.
*****
A note about boxes. I collect interesting ones that will fit in the cages and that I can cut a variety of holes in. Ratlets love to explore and ratlets – other than Daisy – like to sleep somewhat hidden away. I rejig and replace-if-necessary the boxes in the Critter Nation apartment on Saturday or Sunday when I do a deep clean. And I do the same to the two play cages on Wednesday. Where do I get all these boxes? Our garbage room in our senior’s buildings. Where we have bins for boxes. It’s a little awkward when someone comes in and I’m halfway into a bin. But that may become a Sunshine Story on its own at some point.
*****
Back to Daisy. Rats love to run around on the floor and discover things. I am perfectly fine with Daisy doing that. I know that all I have to do is bring out some food and she’ll come a runnin’, but I suspect Dandy, Lily and Violet will hide. They will climb up under a couch or behind our washing machine. Ratlets, like hamsters and bunnies, love and need to chew on things. Our wiring could take a major hit and so could they.
I thought an alternative might be giving the ratlets “tub time” – the opportunity to run around in an empty tub. Dandy, Lily, and Violet immediately jumped out. Daisy stood there with her paws against the side of the tub as if to say, “You want me to do what!?” I’m currently looking for a rat-proof, foldable playpen. I could make my own. But I’m hoping someone (Hi Hubs!) will google “DIY Rat Play Pen” and surprise me. (Ha!) [Editor: LOL!]
*****
A friend of mine has asked if I’ll be bringing our ratlets to Arizona. The answer is “no” and not for the reasons you might think. You can bring ratlets to the States and back to Canada again as you would a hamster. There are no vaccination requirements; no need to get them vet-checked. Ratlets are very clean and normally free of communicable disease.
The challenge is that we fly. Southwest – our airline of choice - does not permit us to stow them in a carrier under our seat. And they would chew through the soft carrier anyways. And airlines that do transport ratlets in chew proof crates require a payment of $100 per pet per flight. Even I can do that math - $800 for a trip there and back.
But I’m not concerned. First of all, it’s going to be two years before we can go to Arizona. There has to be an effective vaccine that our health insurer recognizes. And I won’t fly until there is one. Yes, I could get covid and just have mild symptoms. But yes, I could also get covid and become a “long-hauler.” A person who never fully recovers. No joy in going to AZ if you can barely climb the steps up to the deck, let alone climb a mountain.
Secondly, and sadly, ratlets do not live that long. Two years maybe. They start developing mammary tumors about the 18 month period. These are benign but by two years their mobility can be impaired. No joy in being a ratlet if you struggle to get to the food dish and water bottle. Or if you can’t run around in your ratlet apartment or escape from the DIY play pen. And when that time comes, I will get each one humanely euthanized. I cannot bear suffering.
What happens if these are super-ratlets and live to be three? Or if a vaccine becomes available sooner? Or both? Well, we can only go out of country three months at a time. And I can buy a lot of great ratlet care for $800 – what it would cost to bring them with us. 😊
*****
Update: Today all four ratlets piled into an Amazon box together. It has large holes and lots of blanket pieces. And I have a new box for when it gets shabby – the one that came today bearing all their new ratlet toys. Ratlets themselves are free or low cost. But the hobby/addiction that comes with them? Pricey! 😊Eriesiers, Fort Erie
“Daisy, Daisy Doughnut – Queen of the Wild Frontier…” This from “Davey, Davey Crockett – King …”
Last Monday we drove a few blocks (as opposed to a few cities) to adopt Daisy D. My hubs wearing his Kale shirt, my daughter Anna with her beautiful purple and blue hair, Emma wearing her shirt as a dress, and me – carrying the ratlet carrier like it was a gift of the Magi – arrived at Maisy’s door on Monday afternoon. Maisy is the fosterer of Daisy and many other small companion animals. (Maisy is not her real name.)
Maisy took the small animal carrier and returned with Daisy who didn’t look perturbed in the least. She looked like she was ready for an adventure. Perhaps I should have brought Jasper who would want to roll her cage around like a log on a river.
I said to Maisy, “This is the biggest, fattest ratlet I have ever seen.” Maisy replied – I think a little hurt for Daisy’s sake – “No she’s not…” I replied something like, “No, I don’t mean this unkindly. She is adorable, but…”
We got in the car and we all started to laugh. Normally new ratlets cringe and try to hide in their carrier. Not Daisy. She was pushing her nose up against the top, and she was so large she could hardly turn around. She put me in mind of the 1970s Tim Bit (donut holes) mouse. But a much larger version. I’m not sure who suggested this but by the time we go home her name had changed from Daisy Duke to Daisy Doughnut.
Normally I insist that a new ratlet gets to rest and hide in her new environs on arrival. But not this time. She was already super social. We wrapped her up like a baby and passed her around. She was A OK with that. Eventually I insisted we put her in her cage and she looked at us as a Golden Retriever might. As in, “Why am I in a cage? I’m a lap-rat.”
I brought Daisy Doughnut’s cage over beside the ratlet apartment of Dandy, Lily and Violet. They sniffed each other and no one seemed too put out. At supper time, I switched their cages – all part of the introduction process. Everyone was chill. No, actually. Daisy was thrilled. She found all the bits of leftover treats that the trio had discarded.
The next day at lunch I let Daisy visit her new family. There was a lot of excitement. The other ratlets followed Daisy D around sniffing her. And every once in a while, Daisy would try to wash Lily and Violet – they are pretty tiny. And Daisy and Dandy would play fight for a few seconds – Dandy wanted to keep boss status. But that was it.
My hope was that Daisy Doughnut and Dandy would become a bonded paired. Dandy and Daisy-Spark (who sadly passed) were. But these two girls pretty much keep their own company, and Lily and Violet – who are sisters – are pretty much velcroed to each other. But Dandy has instead decided to pile in with Lily and Violet. And Daisy sleeps alone – on the top shelf – nose up against the bars. Waiting for her next adventure or meal.
There is something else I hadn’t planned on. In order to accommodate Daisy’s ampleness, I’ve had to greatly increase all the holes I cut in the play boxes. Head getting in, OK. Body getting in – not so much.
*****
A note about boxes. I collect interesting ones that will fit in the cages and that I can cut a variety of holes in. Ratlets love to explore and ratlets – other than Daisy – like to sleep somewhat hidden away. I rejig and replace-if-necessary the boxes in the Critter Nation apartment on Saturday or Sunday when I do a deep clean. And I do the same to the two play cages on Wednesday. Where do I get all these boxes? Our garbage room in our senior’s buildings. Where we have bins for boxes. It’s a little awkward when someone comes in and I’m halfway into a bin. But that may become a Sunshine Story on its own at some point.
*****
Back to Daisy. Rats love to run around on the floor and discover things. I am perfectly fine with Daisy doing that. I know that all I have to do is bring out some food and she’ll come a runnin’, but I suspect Dandy, Lily and Violet will hide. They will climb up under a couch or behind our washing machine. Ratlets, like hamsters and bunnies, love and need to chew on things. Our wiring could take a major hit and so could they.
I thought an alternative might be giving the ratlets “tub time” – the opportunity to run around in an empty tub. Dandy, Lily, and Violet immediately jumped out. Daisy stood there with her paws against the side of the tub as if to say, “You want me to do what!?” I’m currently looking for a rat-proof, foldable playpen. I could make my own. But I’m hoping someone (Hi Hubs!) will google “DIY Rat Play Pen” and surprise me. (Ha!) [Editor: LOL!]
*****
A friend of mine has asked if I’ll be bringing our ratlets to Arizona. The answer is “no” and not for the reasons you might think. You can bring ratlets to the States and back to Canada again as you would a hamster. There are no vaccination requirements; no need to get them vet-checked. Ratlets are very clean and normally free of communicable disease.
The challenge is that we fly. Southwest – our airline of choice - does not permit us to stow them in a carrier under our seat. And they would chew through the soft carrier anyways. And airlines that do transport ratlets in chew proof crates require a payment of $100 per pet per flight. Even I can do that math - $800 for a trip there and back.
But I’m not concerned. First of all, it’s going to be two years before we can go to Arizona. There has to be an effective vaccine that our health insurer recognizes. And I won’t fly until there is one. Yes, I could get covid and just have mild symptoms. But yes, I could also get covid and become a “long-hauler.” A person who never fully recovers. No joy in going to AZ if you can barely climb the steps up to the deck, let alone climb a mountain.
Secondly, and sadly, ratlets do not live that long. Two years maybe. They start developing mammary tumors about the 18 month period. These are benign but by two years their mobility can be impaired. No joy in being a ratlet if you struggle to get to the food dish and water bottle. Or if you can’t run around in your ratlet apartment or escape from the DIY play pen. And when that time comes, I will get each one humanely euthanized. I cannot bear suffering.
What happens if these are super-ratlets and live to be three? Or if a vaccine becomes available sooner? Or both? Well, we can only go out of country three months at a time. And I can buy a lot of great ratlet care for $800 – what it would cost to bring them with us. 😊
*****
Update: Today all four ratlets piled into an Amazon box together. It has large holes and lots of blanket pieces. And I have a new box for when it gets shabby – the one that came today bearing all their new ratlet toys. Ratlets themselves are free or low cost. But the hobby/addiction that comes with them? Pricey! 😊Eriesiers, Fort Erie