Ah, Rats!

Charlie and Daisy

We have two new additions to our family. They arrived on Tuesday, July 21st! The boys had been promised a little pet if they did certain things and had certain behaviors. The day finally arrived (and actually, we got them two days early because we found these two that we liked and the pet store lady said they could always get sold as feeder rats. Eeek! So we bought them early!).

Initially, we were going to get hermit crabs, but after reading all that was involved with them, I kind of prompted the boys to get rats. My step-brother had one growing up and I liked it. I had also read that they make really good pets, are smart and social, and you can teach them tricks. This sounded more like something the boys would like. Charlie mainly wanted a hermit crab because of their pretty colored shells, anyway. Once I explained to him that he can't really play with a hermit crab but you can with a rat, he was pretty much sold.

We are really happy with the rats so far. They are even pretty cute! We got two females and named them Roxy and Daisy. Roxy is Jack's and Daisy is Chalrie's. Daisy has a little more gray on her face than Roxy does.

Last night while I was gone running, Doug texted to say that Charlie was really being nice to Daisy and Daisy was hanging out on Charlie's shoulder. Jack needs a little supervision. He tends to be a little rough, but then again, he's still only three!

When we bought them, the lady at the pet store told us that they shouldn't be handled much for the first week, so they can adjust. The boys have had some trouble following these directions, but we're trying. We have had fun feeding them brocolli, bananas, and grapes. They can pretty much eat most fruits and veggies. We even fed them popcorn, which is a staple in this house.

Roxy
Charlie and Daisy again!