About THE RATS

JACK and ALEC

Jack and Alec were born in February 2021 and we acquired them on 13 April 2021.

Jack’s a ‘Berkshire’ rat as he has predominantly chocolate-coloured fur and white underside, while Alec’s a ‘Roan’ due to the arrangement of his grey and white striped markings. It’s believed the grey will fade with time and he’ll appear more white in old age.

Continuing the theme of naming rats after 1990s Coronation Street characters (see Derek, below), Jack’s named after Jack Duckworth and Alec’s named after Alec Gilroy.

Ronnie (2018-2020) and Derek (2018-2021)

   

Ronnie (left) and Derek (right) were Pink-Eyed White (Albino) rats, born in December 2018. We acquired them on 30 January 2019.

Sadly, Ronnie passed away on 28th October 2020 and Derek on 9th April 2021. Both were suffering from complications due to respiratory illnesses, something which is common among rats and especially as they get older. Ronnie had to be put to sleep by the vet, but Derek passed away comfortably and naturally in the company of his humans.

They were wonderful, funny, loving rats and will be missed. There are plenty of memories, photos and videos of them on this website and they’ll never be forgotten.

It was clear from the start that Derek was a bit shyer than Ronnie, so he was named after the shy, dithering 1990s Coronation Street character Derek Wilton. Ronnie was named after a few energetic and entertaining Ronnies – Ronnie Corbett, Ronnie Barker… and of course BBC local radio’s Ronnie Barbour.    

Derek had a slightly darker coloured coat than Ronnie, but apart from that, there wasn’t much difference in their appearance.

Ronnie was a bit more adventurous and livelier than Derek when they were young, but Derek quickly came out of his shell, possibly after seeing Ronnie trying new things first. Derek was more agile and climbed the inside of the cage in a more elegant way than Ronnie, who always seemed slightly clumsy! 

In later life, they naturally slowed down a bit and Derek became more fond of cuddles and ‘shoulder surfing’.