Meet Penelope

Hello!

Yes with all of the ferrets now passed on I am finally able to get rats!  Love ratties :)  This is Penelope.

Loved my ferrets too, but rats are a lot less work!

Apparently actually getting a rat though is another story.  I didn't want to purchase a rat at a petstore so instead I have been eyeing rescue sites.  When a friend posted a picture of the rat she was fostering though an organization that mainly does small dogs I was intrigued.  Applied!  And then promptly rejected.  Apparently the fact that my puppy isn't spayed makes me a bad person and thus not responsible enough to own a rat.  Yes, the fact that I had an entirely different species intact than the one I was applying for matters.
I wrote back and they relented due to Zumi's age since I am not willing to spay a puppy so young.
And then the process continued.  Another full week since our "meet and greet" and contracts were finally finished being signed from coordinator, foster, and me.  Whew!  Quite the process!  I can't say that I'm eager to go through that again although I do plan on getting a friend as soon as I find another confident little girl!  Through a different rescue.  I can so easily see how trying to do the responsible thing is almost punishing, and all I wanted was a rat!

I had so much fun setting up her cage though!  My ferret cage was twice the size, but due to their size and different behaviors, their cage was way boring by comparison!

Penelope is still settling into her new life.  Apparently she was a stray.  Yes, a stray! Ran right up to her rescuers!  The last bit of her tail fell off shortly after rescue but it isn't easily noticeable unless you're looking for it.  

Super sweet girl and fairly brave.  Overall not bothered by her calm observers!

Zumi was a bit nervous at first, mixed with some conflicted play bows.  But now she seems mainly curious and polite.  Lance doesn't care at all and can't even be bothered to sniff the cage.  Vito looks in every now and then but also doesn't care too much.  Even Kitty is getting more bored with it!

So far I'm working on building Penelope's trust.  No grabbing her, just letting her explore my hands and get used to me.  She will jump on my hands and arms but only for a few seconds before she needs to run back to the safety of her cage.  I'm thinking it won't be too long though before she's able to come of her cage and start exploring!  

She is doing quite a bit of mouthing of my fingers but overall very gentle.  From what I can read online it appears as though this is common in rats getting to know people and learning about our bodies.  It is decreasing from the first day and I hope that overall time it will go away other than times she tries to pull my finger further in her cage for more yogurt licking!