Lots of new things.

I feel like I had a lot of stuff to write, but I'm pretty sure I've forgotten most of it by now.
oh well!
I've just been really lazy about updating.

remember when I was praising the tropical rat mix that they were eating?
well, we had to stop giving it to them. Nixon started getting protein scabs from eating too much of the food. we had to go back to giving them pellets.
we still have a big bag of the mix and I've heard it's a good supplement on top of the lab blocks, but I'm really uneasy about feeding the mix to them, because of the scabs she got. at first we thought she might have had fur mites, but since Garbo wasn't any itchier than normal nor did she have scabs, we had to look for other answers. that's when I came across a rat site that mentioned that sunflower seeds and seed mixes are high in fat and protein and can make a rat itch and scab when fed too often with these food items. she's been eating the pellets for probably about 2 weeks or 2 and a half, and most of her scabs are gone. other than that, little Nippers is fine!

water training has been good. I read that rats that will enjoy swimming won't shy around a bowl of water, which definitely applies to Garbo, who seems to enjoy dipping her head under water. it also mentioned that rats that aren't quite as fond of water will nervously fish for treats underwater with their hands, which applies to Nixon, who will immediately shake off any water she might have gotten on her face.
I saw a plastic container outside the other day that made me think about purchasing one for the rats, so that when it gets really hot I can fill it up with water and have them go swimming :) well, Garbo at least. not sure if I can get Nixon to swim, and I'm obviously not going to force her into it.

I feel like they've both grown a bit too. they're turning 1 this summer! aww. my babies are growing up. yet they're so full of energy and there are no signs of calming down! although female rats like to play and explore throughout their whole lives, I did notice that there is one place outside of the cage where they don't mind laying down for a bit: the bookcase. on days when I don't have time to fully let them out, or sometimes just as a "supplement" to our hour long playtime, I like to let them explore the bookcase. it has always been a favorite of our girls since it's high up. the other day I saw Nixon lay down in there, so I decided to put a wash cloth in the corner of the bookcase for the ratties to rest on. Garbo has taken a liking to the cloth and will immediately go lay down on it. Nixon just likes to cuddle with it and chew/suck on it :D Nixon also found a new favorite toy in the bookcase: a small batman figurine. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw her dangle batman from the edge of the bookcase. poor batman. being tortured by a rat must be a punch to the ego :P

the ladies are super social. Garbo is even fine with daddy Robert picking her up and giving her a ride on his shoulder :) in fact, I was a little surprised with how well she behaved the other week when we had a friend over! Nixon is okay with guests. she does her normal thing when we have people over and doesn't really care. she doesn't want to actually hang out with strangers, but she's fine in her cage and will come to the cage door to say hello. Garbo, however, has always hated strangers. she would freeze up in a corner and stay there until the danger was over. the other week, we had a friend over and Garbo was being completely normal. she actually let our friend pet her and she took a treat from him. instead of being frozen in a corner, she'd do what she'd normally do. she was being active and social! she deserved many treats for being such a good girl. both of the rats demonstrated their catlike playing to our friend, which was another good sign. good job ratties!

the girls have also learned a couple of new tricks. they've learned to give mommy a kiss and to climb up my leg. they're a little nervous about the leg trick, so we're still practicing on that one.

I would post some video and some new pictures but I feel like this entry is kinda long as it is. surprisingly enough, I seemed to have remembered a lot of the things I was planning on writing.

later!