Rat infestation!

No, not really! Meet our little gang, dear reader:





Our just-turned 1-year-old lady, Star. She was full of love and licks even as a 4-month old pipsqueak, but she's matured into a fine healthy girl, and she's friendlier than ever. As I've done with most of the rats that we've had, I like to "feed" them drops of wine off my finger (not enough to get them drunk though!). And yes, that red splotch on my finger is wine, not blood! I've never been bitten by a rat.



This is 6-month old Mary. We call her Mary-bird, because she likes to nap on the seed trays (the cage they're in was intended for songbirds, but it gives them plenty of room to move about). It took her a while to get used to us, but she's really come along. I also gave her a second name: Constance, ergo Mary Constance. This is because she looks a lot like my very first rat.



Sapphire (or Saffy, for short), also six months old. She was even more nervous than Mary and it's taken a while to get her to trust us. But she has and she's really found her courage. She is always up at the bars greeting us when we first walk into the living room, very curious and inquisitive.