Update on the Maurice situation:

He spent the night in the warm box! Just like I wanted him to.

He's deeply, deeply asleep, little hands curled up, nose whiffing as he dreams.

In the shadows to his left you can just make out the beautiful dark brown eye and face of Frankie, keeping a close watch on me.

You never know. I might produce a treat, or decide to clean the cage and undo all the hard work she's been doing with newspaper scraps.

#RatsOfMastadon #ratstodon #rats #PetsOfMastodon

Poor Jadzia the #PetRat has a dodgy ticker and despite medications, her fluid retention is intense today. It sucks but it's also insanely cute and she seems happy enough. She's giving me chinchilla vibes
#RatsOfMastadon

Might be time for a vet visit to reevaluate her medication!

Morning snuggles with the furbabies... I've finished a coffee and want another, but I don't want to disturb their immense cuteness!
#PetRat #RatsOfMastadon

Jadzia the #PetRat looking for me at my computer desk while I'm at work because I forgot to close the door on the bridge between the cage and my desk... Quite acrobatic despite having a dicky heart!
#RatsOfMastadon

How can you tell that winter is coming to House Zumbador?

1) Frankie has been stuffing the rat beds so full of newspaper scraps there's not much room in there for rats. Newspapers are excellent insulation and we don't have central heating so this is very sensible of her.

2) The aloes are starting to flower!

3) I'm wearing shoes.

#CyclingLife #RatsOfMastadon #rats #today #CapeTown

#Today the #rats got to know the wet dig box. That's a big plastic bin with some damp soil and dried grass.

I plan to grow things in the bin, and hope that they'll enjoy digging through it all.

Rats are super cautious so for today all they did was inspect it. Lots of peering and sniffing happened.

I put a pillow inside the bin so they could get into it without having to jump down, and Nicodemus and Jasper both ventured inside.

Rats NEVER go into any space without ensuring that they have an exit route. You know how a cat will pause in a door before going out? Rats will dash through a door, turn round, dash back, turn round, and dash out again. Always checking if they can go back to safety before they go on.

As before, Frankie was the first to investigate the alien object (that's her, the cute brown rat peering down into the bin in the photo).

#PetsOfMastadon #RatsOfMastadon

Jadzia and Sato the #PetRats wondering why I insist on hovering over them with my camera while they try to sleep in adorable balls.
#RatsOfMastadon

Sitting at my desk, I heard a thump on the floor beside me... Looking down I saw Sato the #PetRat on the floor. I guess I didn't notice her waiting for me to put my arm out and she tried jumping, but missed! Silly 🐀

Scooped her up and she seemed fine, wanted a treat and then settled into my jumper to sleep.
#RatsOfMastadon