I will say that if I ever lose my mind and end up with more rats (because I am a slow, slow learner), one thing I will do is regardless of which genders the rats are is get them fixed -- spayed for girls, neutered for boys. We lost Oops faster than I thought we would, but watching Bella and Sarah navigating their mammary tumors was difficult. When female rats are spayed at a young enough age, the incidence of mammary tumors is drastically reduced. I don't think I could in good conscience have pet rats again without committing to a spay/ neuter program.
In other news, Sam the Sulcata is doing quite well and even has his own Facebook page, because I am a complete and utter dork. Here is a comparison picture of Hatchling Sam vs. 1-month-old Sam:
Next, Sam performing the primal Yawp!
Sam, in a vain attempt to hide beneath a spring of flat-leaf parsley:
And finally, my latest-and-greatest favorite picture, Sam sulking because his salad has zero romaine lettuce:
The little guy has really grown since we first brought him home, and has more than doubled in weight. He's now more than 100 grams and shows zero signs of stopping. I've already drawn up the footprint and plans for a much, much larger indoor home for him (2 feet x 6+ feet) that should serve until he's large enough to live outside full-time; we're starting construction on that beast as soon as we get the boys settled in for the school year.
So, no more rats, but we are definitely enjoying an abundance of tortoise!
