Introducing my girls!

Hello,

I'm Gillian from Derry in Northern Ireland! Really pleased to find a rat forum where I can talk about my rats with other people who enjoy rats, as they aren't the most popular pet!

I bought my first 2 dumbo rat girls in September 2010, little Stella (hooded milky brown and white) and Blanche (himalayan). Sadly Stella recently was diagnosed with cancer and got weak very quickly. She had to be put to sleep on NYE 2011 at 17 months old. Blanche was very lonely without her sister, so I recently bought Dorothy, a 7 month old hooded (black and white) rat to be her new companion! I've included pics below (hopefully it works!)

Does anyone know what breeds Stella and Dorothy are? I was recently told Blanche is himalayan which was very interesting.





Gillian

Dorothy is a black hooded and Stella looks like a Topaz hooded (could be buff - but I think Topaz). Lovely <3 Both Stella and Blanche are dumbo rexes.

xx

Thank you. :-) And thank you for introducing me to this site. :-)

Blanche is gorgeous!

Thank you, yes Blanche is just wonderful. She's beautiful inside and out.

It seems a really odd question - but always worth checking - the size difference between the two girls makes me want you to be sure is Blanche *definitely* a doe?

xx

Hi, yeah she is. just double checked. She has no bits and pieces. And she looks the same (down there) as Dorothy does and as Stella did. :-) Vet said she's def a doe too.

Good stuff - as I said, often best to be sure - gosh, either she's quite big or Dorothy's quite small <3 bless them both!

xx

Hehe, I think my Blanche is overfed! But yeah Dorothy is teeny compared with her. Well if Blanche is a buck, he's def not interested in the ladies! :-) But yeah, I was careful of that and checked they were the same down there as 2 rats is more than enough for me!

The woman I got Dorothy from was a breeder actually - http://www.donedeal.co.uk/for-sale/otheranimals/2386444 Here's the ad.

She mentioned that dumbos might be bigger than regular rats?? Because Stella and Blanche were the same size.

See - I would say that's not a breeder - just a moron! she's talking absolute and utter rubbish in that ad! Dorothy is likely small because she wasn't well fed and well looked after as a baby. The babies in her photos look tiny as well. Would always advise people to avoid 'breeders' like this - in the same way you'd avoid someone breeding random bred dogs and advertising in the free-ads.

xx

Yeah they were so tiny when I visited! I couldn't believe all the size they were compared with my dumbo girls. They were like little mice. Dorothy hasn't been used to being handled either. She runs away when you put ur hand near, which is surprising as she's 7 months old, so I'm getting her used to me. And she's learning from watching Blanche. Thankfully Blanche is now accepting of Dorothy but does keep flattening her she's so much bigger (you know how rats like to walk over each other!). But yeah I guess I took her because I was in a hurry to get a cagemate for Blanche as she was so lonely. :-( But I do agree with you. I'd much rather buy from reputable breeder or have rescued a rat.

Would be surprised if Dorothy was 7 months - I'd say maybe 3? In any case yes, it sounds like she's had a pretty poor start in life bless her

For the record, there's no difference *at all* between dumbo and top ears - except for where their ears are positioned on the head! It's like saying there's a difference between blenheim and ruby CKCS! Or black and yellow labradors

xx

My girl Smokie is a smallie too,for those very reasons i think,not being fed properly as a baby but at least they are in better situations now