Changes and Goodbyes

This weekend we lost our little gerbil, Botswana. It wasn't particularly a surprise, as he's been steadily going downhill since his vet visit. He enjoyed his unlimited blueberries and all of his other favorites right up until the end. He died, we hope in his sleep, in his favorite little spot. Saturday afternoon we buried him in the back garden. L was heartbroken, of course, but she knew it was coming and that he doesn't have any pain or suffering now, so is happy for him.

We miss him so much already, though! His cage is still in the same location as none of us is ready to take it down yet. Everytime I go in the herbivore room, I miss his little face! I loved our treat routine and the way he listened for the treat container and came charging out to see which type of produce I had brought in. He had so much personality tucked into his tiny little body.  We enjoyed every single minute we had with Botsi!

L went to pick up her rats Sunday afternoon, which turned out to be great timing. M drove her to the rescue in IL, while I stayed home to work on grading and making jambalaya. She's been so busy getting ready for them and then getting them acclimated that it's been a great distraction from her sadness over Botsi. Her three boys are very intrigued by everything in their new house. This is the first portion of their house. We will continue adding to it and expanding it, but we will let them adapt to each part first.


Quince


Walter

Womble

She has named the rats Walter, Womble, and Quince. I actually chose the name Walter, as that was part of the agreement--I would let her get the rats as long as one could be named Walter, after our hero-friend Walter Bond. I had other cute names, too, but she rejected them and stuck with her own.


The two bigger boys (Walter & Womble) remind us so much in personality of Basil & Charlie (the cats). Quince is smaller and more shy. They all love interaction and attention and have already learned to run to their door to come out to play. Walter & Womble both like to ride on her shoulder, which she loves! Quince loves to be out but is a little nervous up on a shoulder.


The cats are intrigued with them and watch and smell, but they are safely locked in L's room unless we are with them and actively watching them. Tica is the only cat who sleeps in L's room at night, but we're not worried about her. The big boys are almost as big as she is, and she's afraid of everything, so she just watches from afar.

You'll notice in these pictures that Walter has a green mark on his side, and Womble has red.  Until we learn their little faces, markings, and mannerisms, the dots help us tell the bigger boys apart. We are having so much fun with them!



They are super cute when they groom, and they often do parallel grooming. They are very tidy boys.