Rattie Showcase: Rebecca and Jasper

I am very excited to present May's Rattie Showcase! Today we interview Facebook famous fluffy fluff ball, Jasper and his human, Rebecca Cornford! I always wish to snuggle this teddy bear whenever I see his handsome face on my Facebook wall. In this interview, Rebecca will share with us the story of how they met and how she fell in love with rats. Without further to do, let us dive into the interview!

Jasper is so adorable, how did you two meet?

We first met in January 2015 when I went into a pet store that was run by my local breeder, Fugly Rats. Jasper was in the shop in a cage with some other rats (he wasn’t for sale, he was just for people to meet!). I fell in love with him straight away – he climbed onto my shoulder and I stroked his soft, fluffy fur. The breeder Sharon said she would be breeding him, so I asked to be put on the list for some of his babies. She responded that if I wanted, I could have Jasper’s dad Duke. Duke had just retired from breeding and Jasper was taking over.

And so I got Duke! He was the most wonderful rat I’ve ever met. He was my heart rat. He was the friendliest, loveliest rat in the world. I used to sleep with my face pressed into his fluffy fur.
At the beginning of October, Duke passed away. I went to the pet store to tell Sharon, and ask to be put on the list for some babies, so that I could have some of Duke’s descendants. She said that I could have Jasper if I wanted – he’d had one litter but had since refused to breed. Duke’s line was going to be continued through Duke’s daughter/Jasper’s sister Jasmin.

And so I got Jasper! But we didn’t get off to a good start. I expected him to be just like Duke, but things went very wrong. I got him home and the smell of my other rats (particularly my alpha boy Munch) sent Jasper into a hormonal rage. He bit me so many times! It wasn’t his fault though. I had him neutered, and over the next few months whilst his hormones were calming down we would often go and sit in the garden together – he was much calmer when he couldn’t smell Munch.

Gradually Jasper’s hormones dropped and he calmed down. Now he is just like his daddy Duke! He’s a wonderful cuddly boy and he would never bite me.

In February I decided that it was time to try to introduce him to other rats. I was worried that he’d still be aggressive but he’s been fantastic. I got some babies in March and I did very careful introductions, but he’s been so good. He now lives with 3 babies and he’s so happy. Since living with the babies, he’s more affectionate with me too.



How old is he and how did you choose the name Jasper?

Jasper is 1 year and 7 months old – he was born on 25th September 2014. He was called Jasper by the breeder, which is why his name doesn’t really fit with the names of my other boys.

He's not fat, just fluffy! What are his favorite treats?

Well…. He is a bit fat. That’s due to being neutered. When I got him he was solid muscle – I’d never met such a sturdy well-built rat before! His dad Duke was muscly too, but Jasper was like a body-builder! But after he was neutered he lost all the muscle and he became very squishy.  He loves pasta with peas and sweetcorn. He also loves banana chips. But his favourite treats are things he can lick from my fingers – he especially loves raspberry sauce.

Bananas

What is his favorite past time?

He loves cleaning himself. He spends hours grooming his fur, particularly on his belly.

Jasper's spectacular coat!
He is a Rex rattie, meaning he has a curly coat. 

He is really fluffy, how does his mommy maintain his coat? What kind of coat does he have?


He has a rex coat. But he’s a very curly rex, just like his daddy Duke was. Duke actually won a few awards at rat shows because of his beautiful coat. Jasper’s fur is so incredibly soft and his fur smells so good! I don’t do anything to maintain his fur because he’s such a clean rat he does it all himself. I occasionally give his tail a wipe, but other than that he keeps himself so clean.

Every Rattie has a naughty side, any funny stories about Jasper causing trouble to his mummy?

Jasper is actually a very good boy, he’s so well behaved and doesn’t cause any trouble. But the babies he’s now living with have been teaching him things like how to use the wheel (he used to just ignore it) and how to climb the cage bars (he never used to climb). He tried to follow one of the babies and climbed the bars but then he got stuck and couldn’t work out how to get down. I had to rescue him! If he’d just let go he would have fallen into a hammock anyway, but he was just clinging on with a confused look on his face.

When I first got him and he was still hormonal, he wrecked the arm of my sofa. There was one spot where my alpha boy Munch used to sit and Jasper ripped that spot on the sofa apart. He started digging at it with his hands and then ripped all the fabric off.


How many ratties do you own? Who are Jasper's siblings?

I have 8 boys including Jasper. Jasper lives with Splodgy, Sausage and Spud, who are all under 15 weeks. Then in a separate cage I have Muffin, Burger, Moomin and Womble.
I do actually know some of Jasper’s biological siblings. My friend Carly owns Jasper’s brother and litter-mate Bear, who is a blue rex. And Jasper’s brother and litter-mate Ashi has his own facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ashitherat

Jasper is always sticking out his tongue! What's on his mind?

Jasper has the happiest face! So he must be always thinking about happy things, like cuddles and yogies. He loves to lick me and nibble me, he’s a very mouthy rat. One time he was on my desk and suddenly I spotted him licking my table lamp!

"Why do lamps taste so good? Yummy..."

Tell me more about the mommy behind the rattie?

My main interests (other than rats of course!) are roller derby and photography. I’m a total amateur in terms of photography and I’m very lucky to have a rat like Jasper who is such a good model.
I was a teacher for 10 years (teaching Philosophy and Sociology at a college), but I’ve recently gone back to studying. I’m now at university doing a degree in Ecology and Conservation.

How did you find about rats? How did they make their way into your heart?

I’d never even considered owning rats, but then I started dating someone who had rats and I fell in love with the rats (Heathcliff and Boo Ratley) straight away. When we broke up I missed the rats and got some of my own. I later ended up adopting my ex’s rats too!

Any rats that especially stole your heart?

I’ve had 2 heart rats. The first one was Pie. He was a beautiful dumbo roan (husky). He’d been alone in the pet store for months after they’d sold all his littermates. He was so wonderful. He was the cleanest rat ever (even cleaner than Jasper!) and he spent hours licking his tail clean. He used to spend hours grooming my hands too. Unfortunately, he got a Zymbal’s gland tumour that progressed quickly and I had to have him put to sleep.

My second heart rat was Jasper’s dad Duke. After him I’m not sure I’ll ever have another heart rat. I love all of my boys so much but there was something so special about Duke.

Jasper's Dad, Duke. 

Your pictures are of amazing quality! What's your set up? How do you get him to pose so well?

I use a Canon 5D with a 50mm lens. Then I set everything up on a small, low table, using fleece as a backdrop.

Jasper’s just naturally photogenic! It takes no effort to get him to sit still and smile at the camera. I just use lots of treats!

"I am ready for my close up!" Jasper is a born model!

When you look at Jasper it is really hard not to fall in love with him. However, we get those not rat folks who disagree with pet rats. How have you dealt with the rat stigma?

I actually haven’t experienced much anti-rat feeling from anyone. There are a few people that I work with who don’t like rats and I showed one a photo of Jasper wearing a hat and she said “oh actually, he’s quite cute!”.

My parents weren’t rat lovers at first but they like them now too. When I got babies recently to live with Jasper, my mum was very keen to meet the babies.

Any tips for new rat owners out there?

Do lots of research! When I first met my ex’s rats, I knew absolutely nothing – my ex was keeping them separately in tiny cages on pine sawdust and I had no idea that was bad for them. When I decided to get my own rats I read everything I could find and was shocked to find that how they were being kept was not healthy for them. I learned all about what food to feed them and what to avoid and all about the common illnesses that rats get so that I could spot the symptoms.

Special thanks for Rebecca and Jasper for participating in this month's Rattie Showcase! I look forward to seeing their photos on Facebook. Show them some love by leaving a comment below! Tune in next month for another Rattie interview.