Algernon
is a mink roberts and was born on 26th May 1998, after only having girls having
a boy was a pleasant change, Algie is so soppy and big I just cannot hold him
without smothering him in cuddles, he is very good but after a while he realises that he
is missing out on his play time and his brother is having all the fun, he always runs to
the cage to sniff my hands especially after I have been holding the girls this always
reminds me of a frustrated teenager especially as he is now 8 months old and in rat terms
he is a teenager. Algie is a lovely boy and so pretty I recommend owning boys to anyone
especially if you have one the same temperament as Algie and his brother.
Ferdy
is a Cinnamon Berkshire and was also born on May 26th 1998 and is Algie’s
brother he is not as big as Algie but still a lot bigger than the girls, he is also the
same as his brother in temperament, so soppy and cuddly but will not let me kiss him for
so long because he is the explorer and knows that too many kisses and cuddles takes up to
much of his play time. Ferdy is quite clever when I put my hand in his cage after I have
been cuddling the girls, he cannot be bothered to come down from his shelf so he grabs my
finger between his paws and pulls my hand over to his shelf so he can sniff my hand, like
his brother he also acts like a frustrated teenager.
Gabby
is the sister to Algie and Ferdy she was born May 26th and is also like Algie a mink
robert she is very fast and has no fear of heights, she is first to do anything and has to
be let out of the cage first and especially likes to be first with the treats. I have
recently decide to mate her as she is in a cage with already established rats and Gabby
wants to be top rat, so I shall keep one of her daughters to live with her in a separate
cage and hopefully this will make her happy and also Geri happy as she is top rat and
keeps defending her title with Gabby.
Rosie
is my special baby she was born on July 13th 1998 and is an Agouti Self. She is
show quality and given to me by a lovely lady called Charlotte. She comes from very good
breeding and her sister from the same litter has won best Agouti. She came second at the
Norwich show in the Agouti kitten class and I can honestly say that I am so proud of her.
She lives with Pearl and they have come from different litters but they are devoted to
each other, they do not fight and one lays on top of the other when they sleep in their
Pringles tube. I will continue to show Rosie as she is a very beautiful rat and as each
day goes past her colour is turning into a beautiful Agouti and she has a face that any
model would die for, she is my star.
Basil
is my latest rat; I fell in love with him when I went to see the rats that belong to a
lady called Ann. Her rats were beautiful and Basil is the most beautiful Opal I have ever
seen. He was about 10 weeks old when I bought him home. I hoped to put him in with Ferdy
and Algie but they didn’t like him and kept picking on him. I am now looking for a
little mate for him. He is very loveable he gives kisses and likes to play with Ferdy and
Algie whilst out of the cage so he can run away and hide and they prefer playing with him
whilst he is not in their cage. He is growing in to a big boy and loves to explore and eat
chocolate drops. He is not fussy at all with his food but likes to take a piece of bread
into his sleep box to eat before he goes to sleep. As soon as I go into his room he comes
out of his sleep box to play. I have to make sure he cannot get the cage door open as he
has learnt to climb to the top of the cage and push the door open with his nose. I am
thinking of moving him to a different cage, but he is so intelligent that he will soon
work out how to open that as well. I really love Basil and he seems to fit his name and I
hope he will have a friend soon so he wont be lonely whilst I am not there.
Billy
is a rat I rescued from a pet shop click HERE to read his story.
Abigail
is the daughter of Pearl(Pearl Berkshire)(Pearl Raindrop) and my beloved Basil (Blue
Agouti) (Lord Basil of Westcliff) and she is also the sister of Cindy. When she was born
she looked like a pink eyed white so my daughter Kirsty begged me to keep her. She
promised to look after her and play with her, so I agreed. When Abigail was 7 weeks old I
noticed she had a bit of dirt on her nose, so I went to clean it off and then I noticed a
blob of "dirt" on the base of her tail. To my complete surprise she was a
Himalayan but of course a Berkshire one. Her points are not very dark so I think she is a
Cinnamon Berkshire Himalayan. This also confirmed that my most gorgeous rat Basil is
carrying ch. Abigail is a lovely rat but Kirsty was so disappointed that she wasn’t a
Pink Eyed White that I spend more time with her than Kirsty does, even if Kirsty named her
after a friend in her class. Abigail likes to think she is the boss but really she knows
that she isn’t. She likes to explore more than the others, so much so that I
sometimes find it difficult to get her back to her cages. I think she is a lovely rat and
I hope to breed with her soon.
Bubble
is a Black Berkshire Rex and I found him for sale at a NFRS show in the north when I went
to stay with my sister. My intention was to have a look and if I was lucky there would be
a male Rex for sale. As luck would have it there was a litter of Rex for sale, and I chose
a Mink Berkshire Rex Buck. My sister fell in love with the only Black Rex the best and
said I should buy both of them so I gave in and brought Bubble as well. He is known as
Bubble Boy and is not show quality because he is not a very good Berkshire. I sometimes
put him and his brother Squeek in to the pet class. Bubble is a loveable boy he is getting
quite big and is the soppy one of the two of them he lives with his brother and is quite
content to let Squeek be the boss. He loves having a run in the rat room and exploring the
other cages and annoying the other rats, and he is always the first one to knock something
over or climb into the food bag to nick a bit of food. I am glad my sister talked me into
buying him he is worth every penny and a reminder of a good weekend with my sister and
seeing different rats and meeting different people at a northern rat show.
Cindy
is the first rat I have bred myself she is the Cinnamon Pearl daughter of my precious
Basil (Blue Agouti) (Lord Basil of Westcliff) and Pearl (Pearl Berkshire)(Pearl Raindrop).
She is not show quality because she is to Smokey but she has a beautiful personality and
one of my favourites her full name is Cindy Pearl Rain Drop. Cindy is a dear little soul
she will let anyone hold her anytime and her favourite pass time is exploring my rat room,
climbing over the boys cage would be her favourite if you could ask her. She is very
special and takes after both her loving parents.
Chloe
is a new breed of rat called Chinchilla, it is currently unstandardised in the NFRS. She
is the daughter of my beloved Dylon (Chinchilla) (Dylon Pickles) and her mother is a Topaz
called Cali (calahari) I hope to breed her with Dylon for more Chinchillas’ in the
near future. Chloe is a dear girl she can be head strong and she does not like anyone to
boss her about but she loves to cuddle up and sleep with the others. She is currently
living with Cindy, Pearl, Abigail, Vickie and Rosie, they all get on very well considering
a couple of the rats are headstrong. I find they don’t fight but they all want to be
first out of the cage and poor Chloe seems to be pushed to the back of the queue but she
doesn’t stay there for long. She likes to be first to the food bowl and always wants
to drink the same time as one of the others, but she looks so cute I think she can get
away with it. I love Chloe she is pretty, scatty and loveable what more could I want from
a rat.
Spike
is a Mink Essex (formally known as Robert type) he is one of the first rats that I have
bred his mother is my darling Gabrielle and I used a buck belonging to my friend. I
originally gave him to my sister along with another male, but when spike reached 6 months
he looked so beautiful with a good head type I asked my sister if I could give her one of
my new babies. fortunately she agreed and I now own him again, so I can now use him for
breeding. I have shown him at a NFRS show, but Spike was not very happy and I have decided
not to show him again. He is a nervous rat but he loves to be cuddled. He is also one of
the biggest rats that I have and I have to keep and eye on what treats I give him as he
has a tendency to be too big. Lots of exercise has helped, lots of love and a female has
really made him settle in well.
Squeek
is a Mink Berkshire Rex and I brought him at a NFRS northern show, I was hoping to find a
Rex buck and I ended up buying his brother Bubble as well. Squeek lives with Bubble and he
is the boss and bubble has to do what Squeek wants. Squeek has a very loving nature and is
quite funny to watch, especially when he sits in his food bowl to eat. He likes going for
a run in the rat room but he is more wary than Bubble, he often runs to me at the sound of
any noise. I sometimes put him in the pet class at shows with his brother but they
haven’t won yet. I like Rexes but I especially like the mink, Squeek looks lovely
with his thick and curly fur I also like to rub his fur against my face because he feels
so soft. I hope to use Bubble and Squeek for breeding soon as I am quite keen on the Rex.
I got
Vickie for my son Nicholas, he owns Bessie and he adores her but he is also aware that
rats do not last forever and began to panic about losing Bessie. Bessie is a dark silver
Chocolate with white paws and Nicholas has kept asking me to breed another one. I do not
have the right rats for this. At one of the NFRS shows I noticed a rat so similar to
Bessie I told the owner about Nicholas and she let me take her home for Nicholas. Nicholas
is thrilled with Vickie but he has said Vickie will never replace Bessie but she has
helped because now Nicholas has two rats to care for. Vickie is a very bossy rat she rules
the cages she lives in with the others. She has to be first at everything and will do
anything to be first even if it means sitting on top of others who are in her way. She
does make me laugh especially when she puts her paws on Chloe’s head to get her out
of the way. I do not need to look after her so much as my son dotes on her and she seems
to spend a lot of time on his shoulder or being kissed by him. I think she a lucky rat.
Xander
of Westcliff as he is known on his birth certificate, he is the son of my precious Basil
and he is a Blue Agouti Essex (previously known as Robert Type) He is a lovely rat and is
currently unstandardized in the NFRS I show him quite often and he always wins mostly
firsts. He lives with his dad Basil and Dylon and is bottom of the pack. Everyone who sees
him, wants to hold him because he is big and cuddly and also bigger than his dad. He is
the colour of the blue sky with gradual light brown ticking and a lovely white belly
tinged yellow that gradually goes up his side to meet the blue and brown. He is often
mistaken for a Lynx but the Essex gene lightens the colours so this is where the confusion
lies. He is six months old and I named him after one of the characters from Buffy the
Vampire Slayer, one of my favourite TV programmes. Xander is unique and I could sell him
ten times over, but I love him and he is perfect and I could never part with him.