Every few days I leave a few pieces of card – from packaging or toilet roll tubes – outside Ronnie and Derek’s house because they like using it for bedding.
Watch Derek pulling the card, piece by piece, into their house! He also starts nibbling one of the pieces – presumably he felt it needed downsizing slightly.
Ronnie and Derek had a wash in the bath. Ronnie didn’t mind too much but Derek wasn’t keen, squeaking whenever he was touched. He was fine afterwards though and enjoyed a good scratch!
Some recent photos of Ronnie and Derek resting, sleeping and (apparently) praying!
Click thumbnails to enlarge. More photos on the Photos page.
Watch Ronnie and Derek enjoying a carrot nibble stick and the remains of a chicken bone.
The carrot nibble stick was bought from Tesco and they enjoy it a lot. The packaging says it should be an occasional treat despite coming with a plastic hook to hang it with, so I hang it in their cage just for short periods. Ronnie and Derek also have a honey nibble stick, bought from Carrefour during a Calais day trip, which permanently hangs in their cage as they’re not massively keen and so only nibble on it occasionally.
Click thumbnails to enlarge. More photos on the Photos page.
This info has been added to the Care page.
Rats enjoy eating herbs and I bought a mint plant which Ronnie and Derek were interested to explore. Ronnie ate some mint but wasn’t very impressed, but Derek loves it and had a good time searching through the leaves and picking some to eat. Watch the videos and photos below!
Click thumbnails to enlarge. More photos on the Photos page.
This morning, Ronnie was feeling alert while Derek was the opposite…
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The video below shows an example of Ronnie and Derek play fighting. Read more about this on the Habits page.
Ronnie and Derek enjoyed investigating a ‘rabbit pie’ ornament. They probably think it’d be a tasty pie, but are having second thoughts now they’ve seen the rabbit popping out!
Click thumbnails to enlarge. More photos on the Photos page.
Some small pieces of concrete and a brick have been added to Ronnie and Derek’s cage, in places where they walk the most, to help wear down their nails (see images below – click to enlarge). Using something like sandpaper as a floor covering for this is not suitable as the rats could graze their feet and get infections.
This info has been added to the Care page.
Here are some photos of Ronnie and Derek enthusing over the pizza crust (see earlier post).
Click thumbnails to enlarge. More photos on the Photos page.
All content hosted on this website, including text and visual materials, is Copyright © David Watts 2019 - 2026. It cannot be reproduced in any form without the prior permission of the copyright holder. All information provided on this website is based on experience of caring for our pet rats. Whilst the information will hopefully be useful to those interested in caring for rats, it must not be treated as a defintive care guide. If in doubt regarding the health and well-being of your rat(s), be safe by contacting your vet.
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