A little mischief
6 July 13
We’ve started a little mischief — of the four-legged variety. A group of rats can be called a mischief, and upon Brioni’s urging we’ve now welcomed these rodents into The Gifted Gypsy!
Brioni is our passionate animal-lover. A vegan since she was five years old, Brioni is passionate about all creatures — to the point where she says she would rather lice inhabit her hair than be exterminated!
When Brioni began asking for a pet last year, her heart was originally set on owning a chipmunk. Geographical and quarantine obstacles were explained, and then we worked through the various pet options that would suit our itinerant lifestyle and tiny home. Putting aside my trepidation, I suggested getting a rat. It helped that our beautiful friends in Northern NSW got rats too.
With our trip overseas to Indonesia, I managed to delay getting a rat until we were back in Australia. Even when we were in Bali, Brioni was counting the days to return to Perth — simply because she knew it meant her long-held wish would come true.
Now that we’re back in Australia, I had to follow up on my promise. We had to find a rat. So I started to research, and it turns out that rats really need a companion. So we had to get two rats!
We discussed the practicalities and decided that Aisha and Lana would share a rat and Brioni and Calista would share the other. That way we could have just two rats among four girls.
So we went rat-hunting. Our first stop was at the vibrant Erryn’s place. She, too, is passionate about animals and showed us her itty-bitty babies. We spoke for a while about care and needs, and Erryn’s beautiful energy encouraged us in this endeavour.
Next, at the Amberdawn Rattery, Jenny and Matthew showed us their young rats that were ready for new homes. They’re passionate about rats — in fact, everyone who has owned rats has only good things to say about them as pets — and let us take our time in choosing our two rats.
Except that Lana got a hold of a little rat who snuggled into her fuzzy jumper, and the two refused to be parted. How could I say yes to two and no to three?
Yes, so we’ve got three rats travelling with us. Calista hasn’t really shown an interest in getting her own rat, but if she does, I’ll follow up on it. At the moment she’s content to play with her sisters’ pets when she can.
We’re handling the rats quite a lot so they get used to our scent and energy. The girls are reading rat pamphlets and watching how-to videos on Youtube to learn how to train their pets, and I’m learning as much as they are!
It’s going to be interesting to see if anything changes in our travelling style or habits. There’s already a family in the U.S. who travel with rats (and other animals), so I know life with pets on the road — rats on the road — can work out well!
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1 · Matthew · 6 July 2013, 22:51
Looks like they’re settling in well. So glad to see them go to such a loving home :) Do get in touch if you have any questions, always happy to natter on endlessly about ratties. The instant bond between Lana and Cloud was very sweet. We’ve seen it happen before with adult people, but Jenny said that she’s never seen a rat adopt such a young human in all her years of breeding.
2 · Catherine Penwarn · 6 July 2013, 23:14
They are gorgeous Lauren, sure to be very loved!
3 · Maureen · 6 July 2013, 23:29
We had pet rats – or rather, my daughter Kate did – they were a huge success – even with our pet Burmese cat!
4 · Matthew · 6 July 2013, 23:39
Forgot to mention, Sita looks almost exactly like her daddy Ellis.
5 · Grace · 7 July 2013, 00:30
Rats are really wonderful pets and I am so glad to see someone doing all the proper research before taking them on :)
If you haven’t already come across it, http://www.fancyratsforum.co.uk/index.php is a really great resource and place to ask questions about your new furry friends!
6 · Beth · 7 July 2013, 02:24
I saw that first picture and thought, “Those are awfully cute but they can’t be real!” :) But even the real ones are cute…supposedly there has been one of such creatures living in my apartment – not so cute. Anyway, looks like your kiddos are enjoying them.
7 · Annie · 7 July 2013, 03:51
We had a rat in college who lived alternately on our shoulders or in a hamster ball or in a tiny cage (rarely). She cleaned up well in a tub of warm water and a tiny squeeze of baby shampoo. Keep their feet wiped or else they could irritate your girls’ skin with the traces of fecal mater they keep on their claws. They are very social creatures, and ours would give us kisses and nuzzle into our necks.
8 · nathalie · 7 July 2013, 04:42
They are so cute! such a great experience for little people to have their own responsibility looking after a pet. We just got Israel 2 guinea pigs and he loves them so much (well one of them, the other has become mine)!
9 · Matthew · 7 July 2013, 11:55
Annie: They spend more time cleaning themselves than most cats do, so unless they’ve fallen asleep in a puddle they don’t really need cleaning. It’s usually boys that do that though, girls are even more fastidious.
10 · suzy · 8 July 2013, 19:28
We’ve also had pet rats. They make fantastic pets! Very affectionate and inteligent and the females are very clean.
11 · Karen · 9 July 2013, 09:07
We love our rats – we are up to the last of our sixth pair. They have got my daughter through some very rough times as her constant companions.
12 · Hil · 11 July 2013, 01:46
I’m so glad to see you are back! I was in a drive through in Pennsylvania the other day, and I saw a car with your mandala bumper sticker! I was all excited! I so enjoy reading your adventures. You inspire me in so many ways. Love from Pa!
13 · Jen in NSW · 12 July 2013, 20:27
Rats are awesome pets. I think I have had close to a dozen now, usually in pairs or groups of 4. I think your daughters will have a great time and you will find that they will love to climb your hair and hide under the hair at the back of your neck. Very funny when people realise that you have a rat hiding in amongst the rat tails! If you still have rat tails?!
So glad to see you blogging again too. I hope your travels are happy, safe and as long as you want them to be.
Best wishes
Jen in NSW
14 · Sam Pearson · 18 July 2013, 12:24
Oh, they are just gorgeous. We are very attached to ours and when I heard you were getting one I was hoping you’d get three and you did. Perfect. I’ve learned loads through having ours, too. Inspired by our pet rats I got hold of the book Rats by Robert Sullivan which was an amazing read. I read parts of it out loud to my rat loving daughter and we were fascinated.