as I mentioned before I got the rat book for christmas and it's been very useful since it helps me understand the ratties a little better :)
I've only had dogs and cats before (and a couple of frogs too but you don't really play or cuddle with them) and those two are easy species to read and interact with but I've felt kinda lost with the rats from time to time. I think being educated about your pets is important. it makes both you and your pets happier and strengthens the bond between pet and owner. one thing I learned about the rats that got me kind of confused before was the whole thing about bruxing (grinding the teeth together). it could mean three different things so depending on the context of the situation you can pick up what the rat is trying to tell you. like today Nixon was playing with a ball for a while and it seemed like she was having a good time rolling the ball around and gnawing on it so she started grinding her teeth together. I can't really imagine her being stressed about playing with the ball so I can assume that she was enjoying the playtime :)

the rats have a cup on the "upstairs" platform and they never slept in it before. the other day after cleaning their cage I decided to put their blankets in the cup so they could pull them out later but instead the rats thought it was a bed. later I discovered that they did in fact pull out the blankets but still kept sleeping in the cup. right now they're piled on top of each other in the cup and it's just so adorable :D

the rats also have a hammock that came home with them after their two week "vacation" at Jamie & Eric's house and they seem to love it :)

Garbo has been really nice lately. she actually comes back from behind the couch on her own. so does Nixon so I actually let them go there now. when they're behind the couch I usually just sit down and read a book or watch tv until the ratties are ready to hang out. if they go back in the cage by themselves without me having to force them in there I give them a treat.

I know I've said before that our rats are potty trained. well...they WERE. before we went on our vacation they started knocking over the litter box or moving it with their hands. they used to go to the litter box before and hardly ever went to the bathroom elsewhere in the cage. I've heard that rats don't usually pee in their litter boxes but ours would do that too. now they haven't touched the litter box but they both pooped in front of it. both of them almost went in the box but apparently it wasn't good enough for the ladies. I guess I'll have to potty train them again and probably move the box to a different corner :/

I guess that's it for today.
I feel like I should post more pictures but the light in our living room is horrible. even during the day. and our rats are so active and fast that it's really hard to get any good pictures of them. aaaand I'm actually a little weird about using the flash. my flash has nearly blinded many people. imagine what it would do to a small rat!