hello there.

the ratties are out and about right now, eating dried blueberries.
looks like Garbo is about to surprise me by jumping on my back (well, she just changed her mind and crawled under our blanket instead.)

the girls have survived the hot days very well!
we've had two smaller fans pointed at the cage and at night we usually open the windows to let the cool air in. on friday, we went to LA so the ratties were left alone for the entire day, but before we left, I had frozen a bottle of water that I stuck in their cage, as an "air conditioner". the ratties were super happy to see mommy again after a long day alone, when we got back home :) Nixon wouldn't stop licking my hands and I got so many rattie kisses from the girls.

Nixon's scabs are even better now. the problem is though that once she gets rid of a scab, it seems like she gets another one. instead of having several scabs at once, she'll only have one at a time, but they go away really quick. I'm still convinced that it has nothing to do with mites or the like, but more so an allergy or some kind of nutritional issue. I really can't afford taking her to the vet right now, though, as summers are really tough for me financially, and especially now that I've got my registration coming up tomorrow. I'm thinking she must still somehow come in contact with the seed mix. I'm sure they have a stash of it somewhere in the bedroom still that I just haven't found. but like I said, she's not really scabbing that much anymore. and she does seem a lot less itchy.

speaking of Nixon, she has stopped doing tricks. I think it's because of the treats I've been giving: dried blueberries. she's never been a big fan of those. Garbo, however, will spin around and give kisses in exchange for a blueberry. Robert just called and he was wondering what kind of treats we should get them. I'm hoping maybe he'll bring home something that qualifies as a good rat snack :)

Garbo has calmed down a little. she'll actually take naps in the bookcase now! I can't believe she'll actually stay still! and she wants to be pet while she's laying down. now if only I could get Nixon to stay still for more than two seconds, I'd be really happy. any advice on that?

I feel like in the past few months we've bonded even more. I remember when we first got the rats and I felt like they didn't like me at all. obviously they just hadn't learned to trust me yet, and I definitely didn't trust two little rats running around my apartment. but it's completely different now. I know exactly what they want from their "gestures" and they will let me know if they need something from me. they'll come up to me and they like it when I carry them around. Garbo has gotten a lot better with Robert too, and won't struggle when Robert picks her up.

now it's time for ratties to go back in the cage. they've been out and about for two hours now and I've got some cleaning to do. can't have the ratties running around when you're cleaning!