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.

Rattie Etsie Finds

Etsy is a cool place to find niche crafts. Here are some cool rat related finds that are on my wishlist for the future.

Hamburger Rat Costume

CHEESEBURGER RAT BACKPACK!
Omg. I'm done. This is amazing. Also comes in pizza flavor.

By custommadebybethany

Pastel Blue Berkshire Rat Plushie

Cute and fuzzy blue rattie plushie. It looks like Dewey!

By Morumoto

The TaRat - The Rat Tarot - Full Size Tarot Deck

Watercolor rat themed tarot cards. I have no idea how to tarot, but they look super cool.

By bluedogrose

Rat Heart - Cute Fancy Rat Vinyl Stickers x2

Very cute rattie art made into a sticker heart. Pannya has a bunch of different rat designs to decorate your supplies. 

By pannya

Crocheted Amigurumi Rat

Made to order crocheted cuteness!

By LaurasPixiePatch

That't it for this week's Etsy finds! 

Tickle Relishing Rats: Current Research Show that Rats Enjoy a Good Tickle

Did you know that rats enjoy a good tickle? My saimese rat, Teddy would enjoy play-wrestling with my hand. I would flip him on his back and rubbed his belly. He would run away, as if I would chase him, and hop back for more. He was the first rat to do this so it was quite entertaining. Teddy enjoyed our play-wresting and research shows that rats enjoy ticking and actually laugh! Read more to learn about rats and there ability to laugh and play!

Rattie Showcase: Lauren and the Daily Life of Pa Yu Chi Mi

Happy (late) Rat Day! Let's celebrate by getting to know Lauren and her adorable mischief of 4 ratties: Patchi, Yuki, ChiChi, and Yumi. You may recognize these cuties from the Facebook Community page The Daily Life of Pa Yu Mi Chi . Whenever I see them on my Facebook wall, I can't help but to stop and awwwwwwww at these wide eyed lovelies.

Ballsy love: Boy Rats with Big Hearts

Boy rats (Bucks) are known for their large hearts. They make huge cuddle puddles and prefer to sleep on your lap than explore like their female counterparts (Does). They are also known for their large balls.

It seems that when it comes to choosing a gender for pet rats, rat balls can be a deciding factor. When I brought home my first pair of bucks my roommate noticed their large genitals and asked,"Is that its butt?" Her eyes widened in surprise when I told her it was his family jewels. When I asked another rat owner why she chose girls over boys she stated that the balls were a turn off.  In my opinion, they aren't that large. Maybe an inch and a half long, but that's an inch an a half more to love. When rat boys are juveniles the rat to nut sack ratio is small, but I assure you they grow into their genitals and you'll hardly notice it.

When you get passed the balls, you'll see how amazing bucks are as snuggle buddies. My Dewey, big blue dumbo male sweetie, will walk up to me and place his head onto my hand for attention. I pet him until he falls asleep. I am currently fostering a female rat, and she doesn't show much interest in me. When I pick her up for pets, she will quickly scuttle away. Definitely something I never experienced with my boys.

Courtesy of Carole Merando Littlefield

If you feel compelled to get rid of ratballs you have the option of neutering the poor male. Neutering, or castration, is the surgical removal of a male animal's testicles (testes). Neutering can serve to reduce male aggression because the testes is what produces sex hormones that control sexual and aggressive behavior. Males can get hormonal. I have one lil male who can be a little aggro, but I am holding off neutering to see if he will grow out of it when he is past his juvenile stage. I'll keep you posted on this. Another valid reason to neuter would be if you want to house males with females. Males need the snip snip if you don't want any unplanned litters. However, I feel that neutering for aesthetics is highly unnecessary and is too much trouble for the buck than it is worth.