It is one of my rat, Sayuri "The Chubby Face"'s birthday next week. She is going to be 1 year old, which is equivalent of 30 years old in human age, on 20th of  March.

She came to live with us as a youth, and to keep company to my aging rats Miyuki & Fuyume, who are no longer with us. At the time, Miyuki had developped her first tumour and I realised that Fuyume would eventually be left on her own and feel lonely. I wanted to bring home a cheerful baby before the old rats become too weak to handle her, and I knew there was a little pale rat sitting in the petshop display for a while. And that was Sayuri.

  

Sayuri means "Little lilly" in Japanese, was a very active and unusually tame little rat. From day one she loved being handled. However, Fuyume was not too keen on her for first 2 weeks. If Sayuri approached anywhere near Fuyume, she would fluff up and would shooo her away. Fuyume didn't even let Sayuri in her nesting box., by barricading the enterance with her big bum.

Miyuki was little more sympathetic towards the newby, and as Sayuri slept on her own in a sparate nest, Miyuki would come and curl up next to her. It took almost two weeks to socialise new Sayuri with two adults rats. It involved quarentene, scent familiarising, bedding swap, cage swap, socialising in a neutral zone, feeding together, and caging together!

Sayuri had no probelm welcoming two new rats after Miyuki & Fuyume passed away. She loved having company of her own age and size where she can play wrestling and hide and seek. She has never been ill (touch wood!) and she always have been pleasent and tame loving ratty. She is the smartest out of all three. She comes running to me as soon as we call her name! She might get a small bite on a cake for her birthday!

   

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  Found a hole to chew on the sofa cover!

  Did somebody say CAKE?

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