[Holly]

Good News!

I got the go-ahead to bring one more rat into our lives here, and I think that it will really enrich everyone's life - not only will I love having another baby around the house, but, (with proper introduction, of course,) I think that Gus will really enjoy having a "brother," to share ratty things with.

I'm not worried about being the "odd man out" because I'm human; so far, Gus accepts me as someone who has all of the good qualities of a rat. In his eyes, I'm an "honorary rat." Conversely, I attribute all of the good qualities that humans have to Gus, but I wouldn't go so far as to call him an "honorary human," because, when you're a rat, well...human is kind of an insult, eh?

So Augustus, the new brother, and I are going to have a lot of shared playtime together, AND, the two rats will have each other for company 24/7, which will be even happier for them.

Even though it's technically not necessary, I'm looking into a bigger cage for them. (I was actually looking into a bigger cage for Gus, because even though his is 3-story, I wanted him to have a little bit of roaming around room. PLUS, the cage I have now is difficult for me to take apart and clean. Ideally, I should be able to handle all of the "rat cage stuff" on my own. I just wound up with one that is difficult to snap together/apart.)

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So, now we get to the part where I ask for your "help."

Here is who I would like to get for Gus' little brother:

* A MALE

* Someone as young as possible. Gus was born on Jan. 1, 2007, and came into my care at 5 weeks. I like to get to know my rats when they are babies.

* A Double-Rex Dumbo Ears (Fur sheds/changes all the time??? Curly whiskers? Is this right?)

* Someone who ~needs~ a good home. There are so many rats needing homes, and since I'm a home needing a rat, I'd like to match up with one who isn't just someone at the local pet store.

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I live in San Diego, CA, and can travel in and around the SD area, but not up to Los Angeles, or anything.

I had brought this up before when I was just thinking about it, and it seemed that there were plenty of knowledgable people here, who were ready, willing, and able to put "Mr. New Baby Boy Rat" in my home as soon as I was ready.

I'm ready. Can you help Gus and Me to find the right baby boy for us?

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P.S. I do know about how to introduce new rats to one another, so don't worry. Thanks in advance for all of your help. This is so exciting! Getting a new rat is like having a new baby!

 

[Poppyseed]

Forgive my geographical ignorance... but I know if any of these are far away a ratty train could probably be set up if you make an account with goosemoose and speak your desire to home a ratty:

http://www.goosemoose.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,118/forum,rat/topic,4023026.0

You can also post a thread in the main adoption area:
http://www.goosemoose.com/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,118/forum,rat/board,5.0

And here are rats from Petfinder:
http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=8318420
http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=8306705

And there are rats at animal shelters in SD;
http://www.sddac.com/pet_details.asp?RowNum=13
http://www.sddac.com/pet_details.asp?RowNum=38

And there are many at those shelters without pics.

Sadly, I havn't found any double rexes. Finding a young baby double rex in need is going to be really hard as they are in high demand. I know they are awesome and all but I would like to plug that albinos and black selfs tend to be more in high need for a good home, and easier to find babies to adopt. I would love to see another ratty go to your home regardless goodluck!

 

[Holly]

Thank you for the links!!

Do you think that Gus will have any problems adjusting to a baby brother, or do you think that he will just love to have another playmate around? (I will do the introductions properly, of course, and slowly, but I don't want Gus to feel as though the new guy is stealing his mommy.)

I'm not insisting on a dumbo double-rex; it's just a starting point. I've seen pix of some, and thought that they were cute.

Of course, of all of the pix I've seen on here, I haven't seen ONE rat that was not cute!

 

[Poppyseed]

I know. I went and looked a couple of pages further on petfinder and saw the saddest looking rat, it made me want to cry. His eyes were two different sizes and he had no ears from what the pic told me T_T He didn't look happy and looked too genetically deformed. If he indeed was happy I wanted to take him in and love him like crazy but he's on the other side of the country. He's a fair distance from you as well.

I can't look at petfinder near my area, and looking on goosemoose in my area is deadly enough. I can't take any more rats in, I have enough animals and am trying to abstain from adopting more ratties until I have only two again. Hopefully that will be many years from now.

 

[chrisstrikeagain]

Holly, you are just the best rat owner. I tink Gus is still young enough to adjust nicely. and if your so fond of him. he must be the greatest.

 

[Holly]

Thanks so much, you guys! I love my pets dearly - they are my "babies." And right now, the most important thing to me is to keep Gus happy. If bringing him a friend would make him happy, then that's what I want to do, now that I have the go-ahead. But I don't want to make him feel as though his Mommy's been taken away from him.

I bought a beautiful, HUGE cage today, and am setting it up with nifty stuff. I either wanted Gus to have a bigger house, ~or,~ I wanted two guys to have plenty of room. Either way, this will be ample. So, I'm happy playing with all of the "toys" tonight.

 

[OnlyOno]

my double-rex is always mostly bald. sometimes she appears slightly darker when she grows in a new coat, but she's always nakie again in a couple days. to be honest, i love her nakie-ness cuz she's so soft and warm and is never smelly. you're the best rat-mommy i'm sure gus would love a little brother too. good luck with your ratty search!

 

[Holly]

Thanks! I think that hairless is very, very cute! (For some reason, my mom is even more afraid of hairless rats than of other rats...go figure! They're pink and cute! )

 

[twitch]

my hairless has had the opposite affect on people. my boyfriend's mother really doesn't like rats at all but she'll pet and feed sweetipie. she even held her a couple times for a few seconds. her reasoning? "sweeti isn't a real rat... not really..." meh! i figure whatever works. with a bit of time i know sweeti will have converted another to wonderful world of ratdom!

i can't help you find another rat from way up here in canada that poppy hasn't already done. but i wish you the best of luck finding the right boy and i know Gus will be happy with him too. he'll probably be so busy playing with the new boy that he won't have time to realize he's sharing you now.

 

[Holly]

Thanks, Twitch! I'm taking it slow, and checking things out around here to see who's available. I'll let folks know if/when someone new moves in!

 

[Holly]

I'm having a hard time getting into the "goosemoose" site - password problems, etc.

I think that I would like to adopt someone who is a little bit "different." A dumbo would be good. A hairless would be good. An agouti would be good. That creamy/fawn color would be good. A rex with curly hair and whiskers would be good.

So far, I haven't hooked up with "Mr. Right." I'm still looking. I wanted to let you know that, if you find someone that you think might be "Mr. Right," please hook us up. I'm not in a hurry...I don't need to have "Mr. Right Now." :lol:

Thanks again for all of the help!

 

[chrisstrikeagain]

keep lookin. he'll find you.

 

[Holly]

Grrrr. I've just spent some time trying to convince "goosemoose" to let me get in there, but it just isn't working out.

I wonder, would any of you who have an account there be willing to post ~for~ me, in the "want to adopt" section? It's kind of the "long way around," but right now, I'm out of ideas...and I think that goosemoose might be able to help me and Gus find a new friend.

If anyone would like to post for me, here are the basics, again:

I'm looking for:

1. A MALE
2. Baby/Younger Teen
3. Something unusual, like dumbo ears or a rex coat
4. Someone who needs a home
5. I live in San Diego

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Meanwhile, I'll keep up the search around here. Many thanks in advance to all of you who are helping me with this!

 

[Holly]

Gus now has a little brother! Hooray!

I am going to post about who he is, and how it came to be, in the "Meet My Rat" forum.

Thanks to everyone for your help!