still a bad blogger :(

Well as usual it's been a long time since I've updated. If anyone reads this blog can you leave me some comments! I think sometimes I just feel like I'm talking to myself here..lol. Comments would be much loved and appreciated so I know someone out there is reading! :D

Not a whole lot going on in my camp. One of my older girls (I hate to call her old cause it's hard to believe she's over a year and a half old now!) has what I think is an abcess next to her vagina. She's had one in the same spot like 3 times now. The first 2 times I was able to clear it up pretty quickly but this time it's REALLY taking a long time to heal. I found an amazing new product that is working really well though! Once I get this thing all cleared up I'm gonna do a review (here and on my channel) because I really believe this stuff is worth it! It's a bit pricey but I believe it's worth the investment! I've seen impressive healing in just the last 4 days.

I've also recently got a couple birds. One is my moms, and one is mine. They aren't a lot of work, but they can be incredibly noisy sometimes! My mom's is really laid back, mine on the other hand...let's just say..he doesn't like me much yet. LOL. Hopefully I can win him over soon though!

Other then that, not much else going on around here. I'm going to a street festival this weekend (if it doesn't rain) and I'm excited for the food! (I LOVE FUNNEL CAKES!) Might be making a trip to Pittsburgh this weekend to meet my boyfriends aunt from out of town- so that should be fun.

That's all for tonight my little rat loving friends! Hope you enjoy tomorrows video and have a great weekend! Love you all! <3

~Nikki~

Dee is making some progress!

Well I can say that Dee has had quite a turn around here in the last couple of days. She's been pretty darn feisty!! Last night I seen her in the cage eating a lab block and went over to watch. One of the babies (I think it was Olivia) was trying to take her lab black and she would NOT let her take it. Now this is common in rats- however to see such an old and sick rat behave this way makes me quite happy. She has also been much more active lately. Tonight I was up playing with all the girls and she actually wanted out for me to hold her and she wanted on my shoulder- something she hasn't done in MONTHS. I obviously I had to carefully help her onto my shoulder, then she crawled down in my arms and let me hold her for a little bit. She also gave me kisses today! Something she hasn't done for several weeks. She also seems to have put on some weight which is fantastic. The damn tumor on her face however is still growing :( Here's a pic I just took tonight:

I

I really, really, really, hate tumors! But for an old lady with HED, chronic URI,  and 2 tumors..she's doing exceptionally well! I'm about to head off of here- but I just wanted to give a quick update!

Daily Boggles

• I'm watching the x-files tonight!
• I watched madagascar 3 last night- it was HILARIOUS! *AFRO CIRCUS!*
• my moms going camping this weekend and my boyfriend is coming this weekend to stay so I'm excited to just relax and watch some movies
• I really need to go to bed earlier..lol 

MORE TUMORS!! :(

UGH...so early last week I discovered that my old girl Dee has yet ANOTHER tumor! This is a new one for me because it is on her face! I have never seen nor heard of a tumor in this location on a rat before. So I headed over to my rat forum that I belong to. They told me that while this is rare, it can happen unfortunately. They said it could also be an abcess on her face rather then a tumor, but I really do believe it is a tumor. It is very hard and is right between her eyes. I will add a pic:

this was taken last week, it is definitely bigger now :(

I will try and get an updated pic very soon so that you all can follow the progression. Her breathing has also worsened unfortunately. Although the last couple of days she seems to have perked up a bit and a little bit of her personality is definitely back. She is such a sweet old lady, and for sure a fighter! I'm going to continue fighting with her until she is no longer comfortable. She doesn't seem to be in any pain from either tumor. She was losing quite a bit of weight, but she seems to have put on a few grams in the last couple days- so that's good. I did a video this past Friday on HED and will be doing a blogpost about it tomorrow possibly.

I really want to get on a regular posting schedule here. I have trouble keeping up with videos sometimes too- but this place is REALLY hard for me to keep up with most of the time. I'm not sure why, I love writing. I think it's mostly because I work during the day, and have a lot to do when I get home- and by nighttime I just want to relax and veg out in front of the tv..lol. I'm not sure how many days I want to try and post, but I definitely should be doing it at least once a week. So I'm going to shoot for once a week general updates, and a corresponding blog post for each video that I make! Hopefully that will get me on the right track! I still need to film a video for this weeks Friday Facts- not sure what I want to do it on yet, but I'm thinking either respiratory infections or aggression - those seem to be the topics I get the most questions on. So I will be thinking about it and deciding what I want to do very soon.

I'm not sure exactly how many people read my blog--but if anyone does--please leave comments!! I feel like I'm talking to myself!! LOL.

Well it's pretty late here so I'm gonna get off here for the night and try and get a good night's sleep for a change! I'll be working on more stuff soon! Love you guys!

XO

Nikki

Daily Boggles

• I totally rented some awesome movies last week. My new favorite movie is Warm Bodies! It's AWESOME! It's a great combination of a horror, love story, and comedy! I highly recommend if you like any of those types of movies! I also rented Madagascar 3--it was pretty awesome too actually (I'm such a kid at heart!)
• Work has been slowing down the last few weeks (which is weird cause this is normally our busy season). It's HARD on the paycheck--I'm really trying to learn how to budget!
• My dog was sick last week too--he had explosive diarrhea--but seems to be doing fine now. That's the second time that's happened (it happened once last year). Dunno if he's eating something he's not supposed to, or had some kind of stomach bug going on.
• I've been watching episodes of Murder She Wrote on netflix...I'm showing my age here..lol. I was a child of the 80's- what can I say!
• I really want to start painting again- I miss it. 

Wow, its been almost 2 months since my last post!! I really need to up my game here! I never think about my blog. I'm finally getting back on a normal filming schedule, now I need to get on a regular schedule for blogging! I do enjoy writing- you'd think I'd keep up with this!

Anyway, enough of that. Nothing too exciting is going on. My poor old lady, Dee is getting so much worse :( Her breathing is really going down hill..poor old lungs are just giving out. Her HED is definitely really advanced now. She an barely get into the litter box because she can't get over the sides, I might see if I can kind of carve a lower section in the front so she has a lower place to get in there. Not that it matters they don't really poop in there, they just go in there and hide food and eat >.< lol.

I got 3 new babies last month and they are SO FREAKING CUTE! I now have 6 ratties and now I remember why it was so much work! 3 times more poop! They're a lot of fun though--constant craziness going on in that cage! Only 1 of the 3 use the wheel, but the others are constantly running up and down through the cage! I originally was only going to get 2, but my boyfriend surprised me with a 3rd (he picked them up for me and brought them to my house). I originally just wanted 2 that I picked out, but the lady at the rescue (who I know) had a little girl who need A LOT of TLC. This poor little girl was very jumpy- didn't want to be held and would rarely come to people (they came from a neglectful situation). She wanted me to take her (she wasn't one of my original choices) because she knew I had the patience and time to really work with her. So I agreed to take her, and gave up one of my original choices. So when my boyfriend got to my house and I opened the carrier I seen not 2, but THREE new furries! I was so excited! I got my original 2 plus the little girl I agreed to take in. They're all wonderful with very different personalities. Little shy girl's name is Claire, she is much more relaxed now she will come over to me, take treats from me and will play with me. She still doesn't care to be picked up, but we're working on that. Cassie is SUPER friendly (she's the one I thought I would have to give up)..she was the first to warm up to me and trust me. She now thinks she owns me and constantly climbs all over me. Olivia is a cute little dumbo girl, she doesn't like to play with me as much as Cassie but she's very friendly. She also enjoys crawling on me and eating my hair!
In short, I love my new girlies, and my other girls (except Dee) are doing well and everyone get's along beautifully!

Other then that, not much going on- I have been working a good bit (until this week, they cut our hours! boo!) So I did get a lot of videos filmed this last weekend so that I can finally get ahead. I filmed 4 Friday Facts, and 2 Quick Tip Tuesdays.. One is already up, and another is going up early in a few hours.

Anyway it is now 3:14 a.m. and I should probably get to bed..lol. I'm going to try and shoot for updating this blog at least once a week. I want to do more, but I want to try and do at least once a week!

Time for sleep!

*Daily Boggles*

• I'm going to see Matchbox Twenty again this weekend!! I'm SO SO SO excited, they are and always will be my favorite band!! <3
• I have an addiction to Sourdough Pretzels..I should probably talk to someone about this..lol
• I got a cute new bathing suit coming in the mail this week! I can't wait to get it so I can go swimming with the boyfriend!
• I've also been obsessed with all things *outer space* related..I've watched almost every documentary/series on netflix..lol

More Tumors!! :,(

Well I've been suspecting for a few weeks now that my old lady Dee has a tumor. I found the lump a while ago and I've been monitoring it. We'll I went to check on her today and she now has 2 lumps next too each other :(. She's got a chronic URI that I don't think would make her a candidate for surgery. She was Sandy's sister so that gives you an estimate on age (around 2.5 now). Also she has HED, so I don't think it would be good for her to have surgery and be dragging around the incision site on the ground :/. Breaks my heart that I've seen so many tumors lately. I went through several rats (both boys and girls) and NEVER had a single tumor, now I'm getting hit with them left and right! *sigh*

To me, this is the hardest part about owning rats, their lifespan is just too short. You spend 2ish amazing years with them and they start to age. Once they start showing signs of aging, I notice it happens fast- almost overnight it seems. After that it just becomes almost like hospice care, just keeping them comfortable and as happy as possible until its their time. Sometimes they will decide, and sometimes you have to make the choice for them--both options suck.

They've also been upping my hours at work (hell on the body, good on the bank account!) and I have to be up at 6 am so I should probably head to bed. Just wanted to give you all a quick update!

Same old..and Prayers to Boston and Texas folks!

As always, I seem to get caught up with life and forget about this blog. I also haven't made any videos for a while- mostly because I've been caught up with everything going on in Boston! I've never been so glued to my t.v. as I have been lately. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in this horrible tragedy, as well as with everyone down in Texas! So much sadness and pointless deaths happening in our country lately :( .

As for the rats- everyone is doing ok. I think Dee has a tumor starting though- go figure! I have had several rats in the past...but this particular group seems to be FULL of tumors :( Makes me sad. Dee's hind end weakness is getting worse- her back feet have started to club a bit- especially when she's just laying around or resting. Breaks my heart to see a rat like that. They're generally such lively creatures (especially girlies) that when you see them struggling to walk--it really saddens my heart.

Tomorrow I'm filming some videos so I have them done-that way I'm not so behind the times! I also was having a lot of issues with my internet- our cable company was out here 3 times in a week- all seems to be better there though- thank god! I was getting so frustrated with how crappy our internet was. It took HOURS and HOURS to upload a video!

But anyway, thats all for now folks- its late and I need to get to bed.

Daily Boggles:

• This crap in Boston makes me so sad- even though I'm not from there and have never been there just seeing everything on t.v. makes my heart ache for those people. Same with the people in Texas--just makes me so sad. My prayers are with those involved.
• I've decided to start reading more again. I miss reading..takes you somewhere new when you need to mentally take a vacation.
• I may be joining a paranormal investigation team in my area- will be really cool to have that kind of experience- especially since it's something that has interested me for a long time!

Im a terrible blogger

Man I'm such a horrible blogger. I never think to update this blog at all, but I'm going to continue to try and remember to work on it though! Life just gets in the way sometimes! Been working, spending time with loved ones, and also been having a lot of issues with my internet. The people came and worked on our internet though and it seems to be working a bit better now- so hopefully that'll continue. On with the rest of the blog though
 
I still miss my girl Sandy a lot, I had such a bond with her while I was taking care of her..that's the thing with sick rats- you form a stronger bond with them because you're constantly caring for them. Dee seems to still be ok..her hind end degeneration seems to be progressing some though. I hate hind end weakness/degeneration it makes them so weak. It isn't painful for her but it just makes them look so old and feeble-more then they actually are I'm sure.

My newest video on youtube is about rats hoarding food and I got some cute video of Pixie stuff food in her face and hiding it..lol...the video will go live tomorrow and I'll post it here then.

I'm gonna head off here for now, but I'm gonna do my best to keep updating!! Thanks for my few readers that I have and please leave me some comments, or even video requests here too! :)

R.I.P. Sandy :(

Well unfortunately Sandy's time had come. I've been wrestling with having her put to sleep for quite a while now, every time I thought that it was her time..she would do something amazing and let me know she just wasn't ready yet. The end of last week she was beginning to look very very skinny- she was eating almost non stop and still seemed to be losing weight (from her body), but that tumor just kept growing and growing. The skin was becoming necrotic from lack of proper blood supply. I just couldn't let her continue on in that state. She was still fairly happy but I knew she would go down hill fast.

Saturday morning I called my vet and they said I could bring her in. We waited in the waiting room and she was very very good. She sat in a blanket in my arms and just ate a million chocolate chips..I let her have as many as she wanted until they took her back. She went very quickly, I think her heart was weak from dragging that thing around for so long. I'm glad she went quickly for her sake and mine.

When you take care of a sick or elderly animal for a long period of time, you create a strong bond with them- and although sometimes she only *tolerated* me..I know she loved me. And I loved her so very very much. On Sunday I buried her in one of her blankets, next to all her previous brothers and sisters that I had before her. This is how I will always remember my girl:

Before the nasty monster tumor!

I'm a little worried about Dee, she's the only oldie left and she loved cuddling with Sandy..they were best buds. Now she's dealing with the 2 little brats who never calm down! She's seems to be getting along pretty well though. No signs of withdrawal or anything so I think she'll be ok. I do always find her cuddled with the other girls so I think they're giving her lots of cuddles.

I was not looking forward to making this post- even though I knew the day would come, you can never be fully prepared to say goodbye to a pet. And no matter how many you've had to say goodbye to in the past, it never gets any easier. It hit me Saturday night when I didn't have to give her her meds...thank god my boyfriend was here..or it would have been even more of a rough night.

Well I'm working on a new video for the channel now, then I'm gonna get my chores done and head to bed early I think tonight, it was a long and stressful weekend.

Daily Boggles:

• I rented 4 movies tonight, The Chernobyl Diaries, Hotel Transylvania, Men in Black 3, and Ted. I also bought Dark Shadows- the new Johnny Depp movie..so I'll keep myself busy there..lol
• work has been picking up a lot more..I was scheduled for 5 days this week (although I was sent home early today because we were so slow)
• I kinda feel like I might be getting sick again, I hope not!
• I need to stop neglecting this blog..for some reason I can't seem to keep up with this blog! ugh! Sorry bout that!

I spoke too soon about Sandy :(

I was so excited about Sandy last night, but I spoke too soon :(. I was cleaning the cage this afternoon and I was checking on Sandy and I found that she had a section on the tumor with a decent amount of pooled blood under the skin..I'm not sure what's happened if it's a ruptured blood vessel or if the tumor itself is rupturing..*sigh*. I've made a few posts on the rat forum that I'm a part of to get some opinions on what it is, and where I should go from here. She's not acting like she is in any pain and she wasn't acting any differently- other then she didn't want to be picked up (which is understandable--she never did like to be held much). So right now I'm playing a waiting game before I decide what I want to do. I'll update again as soon as I figure out what I'm doing. Here's a video I shot this afternoon...:/

I'm in SHOCK!!

So I've been contemplating what to do with Sandy, with that large tumor and all. I've been hinting in previous posts that I think her time is getting close...well tonight she was out to prove me wrong in a BIG way! So I was sitting here watching some tv and I heard the wheel going round, I glanced over and SANDY was on the wheel! She was actually walking/slow running on it! I guess she's trying to make it clear to me that she isn't quite ready yet. It's just funny cause I haven't seen her on that thing in quite a while (although she could have been and I just didn't pay attention). She never fails to surprise me with how well she deals with that thing. Some people might think its cruel of me to keep her alive with it being so huge...but my gut instinct is that she's just not ready. As long as she can get around, eat, drink, and isn't in any pain or discomfort--I'm willing to keep trucking for her. She's not much of a *people* rat...but I know she loves me and appreciates me...and I admire her for her strength. She's almost 2 and a half years old (pretty old for a rat) and lugging around a tumor the size of a baseball...and shes HAPPY! She teaches me about strength and how to persevere when life just sucks..She's such a beautiful little girl <3.

Daily Boggles:

• I've been working a lot of hours lately so I'm incredibly exhausted..I'm so glad I can sleep in tomorrow..I hope I get up before like 2 pm..lol
• I've been watching this show called Man, Woman, Wild..it's about a husband and wife team who survive in the wild..its crazy, they eat bugs and all kinds of stuff.its so gross..lol but very interesting
• not sure what videos I wanna do this week..but I suppose I should get on it...since I'm going to have to film both videos tomorrow probably..then I can edit all day Tuesday..then work Wednesday and Thursday.
• Time for bed!  

I've been SO sick! + concert fun!

So the last week and a half have been HELL! I've been so incredibly sick. I'm just now finally starting to feel normal again! I've had a lot going on in my life lately. I did in fact get to go to that Matchbox Twenty concert I mentioned in my last blog post! It was friggin amazing! I actually got to meet Kyle, the guitar player..he was a nice guy! I even have a pic to prove it!

the problem was, I had already been feeling a little under the weather, but in order to meet the band I had to wait outside in the FREEZING cold (think like 5 degrees) for like 2 hours. Was totally worth it, but didn't help with me being sick! I ended up going to the doctor and found out I had the flu and an ear infection..JOY!

On top of my recent illness, two days before the show, I went to say hi to the rats and noticed blood in the cage. I immediately started to panic- when I see a situation like this, I allow myself 5 seconds to panic then I push it out of my head and deal with the problem. So my first thought was Sandy's huge tumor had ruptured--I checked her and she was fine. Then I checked my older lady Dee, she was fine too. Then I grabbed Lucy and noticed she had a decent sized circular wound right near her vaginal opening. It seemed rather recent and I couldn't tell if it was a ruptured abcess, a bite mark, or a ruptured tumor (unlikely cause I hadn't seen anything and she's fairly young still). So first order of business was to clean it up and inspect it. With some help from an online forum I'm a part of we decided that it was probably an abcess. I have been keeping it cleaned up and the hole is really small now so it's healing up great, but it gave me quite a scare. I was really scared because it was so closed to her vagina that it could cause some serious problems like infection or trouble urinating. But all seems to be well with her and she's on the mend.

Sandy's tumor is just..ugh..I know I mention it every time. But I think I may have to make the decision sometime in the next week or 2. It's just so rough for her now :( She's having trouble getting up and down ramps and stuff now. So we'll see how it goes.

I'm going to film this weeks Friday Fact's tomorrow, I think I'm going to do a video about the best litter and bedding for rats..hopefully I won't have any issues uploading like I have been. That's all for tonight.

Daily Boggles:

• I've been watching a lot of Survivorman, incase I ever get lost in the wilderness (hahaha..I don't like outside)..but it's cool to see how people survive.
• I woke up with a horrible migraine this morning, ugh..I hate this time of year- the weather can never decide whether it wants to be hot or cold.
• I finally cleaned my room up really good today- it needed it! THEN my stupid shelf/clothes rack fell in my closet! 1 step forward 2 back- RIGHT?! ugh!

sorry for disappearing!

Hi guys! Sorry it's been so long since I posted! I was sick on and off for a few weeks there, and my boyfriend was in town this past weekend so I was spending time with him. Plus add work into the mix...it's just been crazy! I promise I will start updating more regularly! I'm working on a new video for tomorrow's quick tip tuesday! I was hoping to do one about wheel tail, but I don't think that's going to happen this week unless I can find someone willing to donate a good picture. My girl Dee used to have wheel tale (when their tail curls up over their back from running on a wheel so much), but she's so old these days she just kinda holds it to the side..lol. If I can't get a decent picture tonight or early tomorrow I'll pick a different topic...I'm thinking maybe a video about teaching your rats to come to you, and why it's important. Either way, I'll have one of those 2 videos up for tomorrow. I'm currently uploading todays video. I didn't capture a whole lot of good video/pics over the last week. Everytime I see them doing something cute- the second I turn on the camera they stop! LOL! Anyway, I also plan to work on the informational pages on this website too- have so much more to get up there!

Sandy's tumor is still growing...I just don't think its actually going to stop...sad face. I think her time is getting closer...she's definitely getting harder and harder for her to get around..she's still managing though. But the tough decision is weighing on my mind a lot lately. *sigh* I hate making that choice, but it's truly a necessity when it comes to your pets.

Well I think that's all for tonight. I'll try and update tomorrow..have a good one guys!

Daily Boggles:

• I cut my hair tonight, it was just getting horrible looking, I had to put some layers in it so it didn't start looking so heavy and flat. I almost always cut my own hair..its not too difficult and its cheap! Hopefully once it's washed and dried it'll look ok! lol
• I found this show on Netflix called TANKED, its this family that makes custom fishtanks for people and business...holy hell it is AWESOME. I can't even keep my 10 gallon going..ha...but it's so cool!
• I've been having insomnia and sleep issues lately (nothing new for me), so I haven't been going to sleep before like 2 or 3 a.m. regardless of when I had to be up the next day. But last night I was so exhausted I went to sleep at like 12:30 and was up at 10:30--I feel SO much better getting a decent nights sleep.
• I was hoping to go to Matchbox Twenty's concert next weekend, but tickets sold out before we had a chance to get them *sad face* ...it was going to be my boyfriend and I's valentine adventure..but that didn't really work out...so...sucks...maybe next time though!

ugh, editing and uploading problems!

It's been crazy here lately. I filmed my first *true* video for my channel today of me talking. It's basically me talking about whether a pet rat is the right pet for you. I was SO nervous filming - when I went back to edit, I feel like I looked like a blubbering idiot! Thank God I was able to edit a lot of stuff out ...lol. Hopefully I'll be able to get more comfortable in front of the camera as I go along..it was a rought first time filming..lol. Then I had SOOO much trouble editing the video and getting it to upload! I spent over an hour filming on Saturday (was waiting for my boyfriend to get there to help me film) afternoon, then figured I'd have the evening to edit the video and have it up by Saturday night at the latest..well that went out the window real fast! I ended up editing about 3/4ths of the video and over half of the files became corrupted..so I spent 3 hours editing for basically nothing! So I started over and edited each section (I shot the video in sections) separately and then decided I would put them together in one large file at the end. So I go to the 4th section (out of 5) and finished editing it..and it became corrupted..at that point I was getting incredibly frustrated. so I ended up having to save the unedited file and then edit the saved version...was crazy. So I got to the 5th section and edited it, and those files were corrupted too! So I tried saving the unedited version for that section and then editing that...it didn't work. By that time it was almost 2 a.m. and I had lost my patience so I gave it up for the night. So this morning I got up and started working on it, and thank god the first edit worked! So then I strung all the sections together and saved the file- and it wouldn't save! So then I tried renaming it and saving it again and it worked (which took like over an hour!). Then came uploading..I began the upload and it reached 96% and it failed! I was so close to giving up..I just didn't know what else to do! But I decided I'd give it one more time so I uploaded again and left to go to the grocery store. When I came back it FINALLY uploaded!!! It was a ridiculous amount of work! But here's the finished product:

This evening I got lots of video for tomorrows video (Monday Movie Madness!). I was able to edit it with no problems, I'm currently waiting for it to upload..hopefully I'll have no issues with it uploading! I'm also planning Quick Tip Tuesday's video..which will probably be filmed tomorrow. I'm now going to be heading to bed shortly. I had a late night last night and its already 2 a.m.! I need my beauty sleep ;) lol. 

All is finally quiet in the rat cage..had to break up a few wrestling matches that were getting out of hand (nothing new there though! Pixie is such a little beast!). I'm thinking I may have to have Sandy put to sleep soon though..her tumor is getting so incredibly large. I'm going to be doing a video soon on her updating condition. It's just not looking good. I've been dreading this after having Sweetie put to sleep at the end of last month. I knew it was only a matter of time for her- but it doesn't make it any easier :'( . She's still so full of life, but I know I have to do what's best for her. Anyway, that is all for tonight. Hope you're all enjoying the new content as it comes up!

Daily Boggles:

• I've been having a lot of issues with my insomnia lately, even my normal meds aren't really helping. Maybe I should try meditating again..hmm.
• I've been watching this T.V. show on Netflix called Man, Woman, Wild...its crazy its a husband and wife team (I believe he's the same guy from Man vs. Wild) who go out into crazy locations and try and survive. It's crazy to watch, but maybe I'll learn some life saving information if I ever get stuck in a crazy situation!
• I checked out my local pet store today, it's a little family owned place that do REALLY great with their pets. They had Degu's there...I've never seen one before, but they're pretty darned cute! They had some cute little ratties in there too! One was hairless which I've never seen in person before. They were all boys though- and I have girls...so no more ratties for me!
• I'm about to go eat some more of my sourdough pretzels and watch another episode of Man, Woman, Wild before I go to sleep!

working hard on the youtube channel and blog!

I've been working really hard on getting some good content on my accompanying youtube channel. I've decided I will have 3 regular upload dates a week. Monday, Tuesday and Friday! Here's what I've got:

Monday Movie Madness: Where you can see all the antics that my rats have been up to through the week. Cute videos of them running around, sleeping, eating...basically doing rat things.

Quick Tip Tuesday: Will be a short  video on quick tips for your rat. Best treats, best litter/bedding, great toys to make at home..things like that

Friday Facts: This will be the long informative video of the week. Videos on how to set up a cage, first aid kits, basically important information you need but will be expanded and show me talking to the camera and explaining things.

I'm gonna go with this setup for a while and see how I like it. I don't think I'll be very comforatble in FRONT of the camera for a while. But we'll see how that goes. My boyfriend is going to help me with filming until I can figure out a setup that I can do by myself. It might take me a while to find my groove, but I'm excited about it!

I will also upload videos randomly about other things, like updates on Sandy's tumor or any other things that might be going on with my rats personally  that don't fit into the other categories. It's basically going to depend on how much time I have between the other videos as well as work and my personal life as well...so we'll see how it goes!

Right now in the rat world, everyones asleep except for Dee, she's roaming around the cage eating and drinking. All is quiet on the homefront for now! LoL that could change at any moment though..lol. Well I'm off to work on other projects for this blog and the channel. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy everything!

Daily Boggles:

• My mom's pretty sick so I cooked lunch for her. And no one had to work today so we're all just hanging out around the house.
• I discovered these CLIFF bars. I think they're basically like meal replacement bars..they're great in the morning when I don't have to work. I usually wake up later on the days I don't work and don't want to eat a meal that close to lunch time..and they're not too expensive.
• The weather here has been freezing! Ive had a sweater on all day and I still can't manage to keep warm! Ugh!

Wheel marathons!

Hello ratlovers!

It is 12:32 a.m. and one of my girls is currently running a marathon on her wheel. A common sound in my house in the middle of the night. Rat's technically aren't nocturnal, but they tend to regulate their schedule with their owners. From what I can see from my bed, 3 out of 4 girls are awake and causing trouble. Today was cage cleaning day and They've pretty much *redecorated* (aka: tore up) their nice clean cage. I need to figure out how to keep the fleece attached to the shelves better. It always looks so nice, then within a few hours..its all  tore up there..lol.

There haven't been too many arguments so far tonight. So hopefully it stays that way. They can be brutal sometimes. It actually wakes me up sometimes, because they're just so darn LOUD!

Dee:
I'm takin a nice stroll on my wheel, I love this thing! I hoep that little brat, Pixie stays away...I can't stand her sometimes! She's always pinning me down and just tormenting me. I wish she would just take a nap sometimes. Hopefully if I just stay on this wheel she won't notice me, then I'll go take a nap in my comfy basket :)

Pixie: I think I'm gonna go give Lucy a run for her money! She's so much fun to pick on, she won't back down- but I always pin her down and win! Then I'll let her get up, and chase her all over again! Then maybe I'll kick Dee off the wheel..wmuahahaha!

Daily Boggles:

• I haven't been sleeping well, I'm not sure if it's stress related or what, but I definitely need to get my sleep schedule back to some kind of normalcy.
• I've been watching this t.v. show on Netflix, called  Disappeared, it's so sad and disheartening that people disappear so readily in America- and more often then not they're never found - or they're found dead. Maybe I should become a private investigator-- it goes along with my interest in both psychology and criminology. something to think about!
• Im addicted to Sourdough pretzels.

 Well that's it for tonight folks. Have a good night! Don't boggle to much ;)

First day!

Well this is my first official post past introductions. All is quiet in the rat homestead. Everyone has finally went to sleep for the night (I hope!). Pixie was starting fights again tonight as usually- she just can't let anyone be! I woke up last night to them getting into an argument and squeaking like crazy. She thinks shes top rat and has to push everyone around all the time. Hopefully once she's out of her *teenage* phase she'll calm down and be more lady like! LOL.  Sandy seems to be adjusting well to her tumor's continuous growth. I know eventually I'm going to have to have her put to sleep, I'm just trying to enjoy every moment with her. Sweetie was put to sleep a few weeks ago (she also had a tumor- but a much worse one that had ruptured) and I'm just not ready to let go of another one yet. She's still her grumpy old self though, she comes to the cage door when I come over because she hopes shes going to get her *treat* (medicine) but when she realizes I just come to give her lovin's she runs for the hills...she gives me this look like *how dare you touch me, human*...she's a brat. Dee is definitely showing her age more and more, her hair seems to be thinning a little bit, but I still see her on that wheel at least once a day! I hope I can get my butt off the couch when I reach her age..lol. Anyway I'm gonna head off here for the night, can't wait to see what tomorrow might bring in the rat world!

Before I go, Im going to start including a *daily boggle* section. (boggling is what a rat does when they're incredibly happy and relaxed--google a video sometime!--it's interesting to see if you've never seen it! So here are my  Daily Boggles:

• had chinese for dinner tonight, my fav!
• Chinese food doesn't stick with you though- I'm about to have some pretzels before bed
• I've been watching this show Disappeared, on netflix--it's so depressing but still interesting
• I need to quit skipping my meds, I'm in a lot of pain tonight
• I didn't exericese today...Bad Nikki!
• I just made my first *professional* video and its currently uploading on youtube..one that I actually edited, and put in some special effects...etc...Im excited!

introducing my rats:

Hi and welcome to our blog!

So I've decided to start a blog for my pet rats! This will give you a run down of the day to day life of owning pet rats. You'll see the up's and downs as well as how I deal with sick ratlets too.  Some will be written from the rats point of view.You'll meet my crew and get a feel for exactly how who they are and their unique personalities. You'll even get lots of videos of them being rats, as well as some of the important things and FAQ's about owning pet rats. I currently own 4 girls, and I'll give you a rundown of each:

Sandy:

Sandy is one of my oldest girls, she's right around the 2 year age mark. She's a dark silver grey. I'm honestly not sure exactly what her coat color is considered. She is currently battling a URI (upper respiratory infection) and she has a large mammary tumor. She is quite a snob when it comes to people. She would never bite anyone, but she also would rather be left alone, unless she graces you with her presence ;). She is not currently in any pain from her tumor and is on 2 antibiotics permanently for her ongoing URI, but she let's neither of them get in her way she's a happy old ratlet. Her favorite treats are golden grahams and chocolate chips, and her favorite thing to do is lounge around and ignore me..lol.

Here's the latest  video of her:

 

Dee:

Dee is also an older lady. I got her around the same time as Sandy- both as babies. Her coloring is a white and beige hooded girl. She is a gentle old soul. She was never a hyper girl (even when she was young), she pretty much just meanders through life, very laid back. She has a bit of respiratory issues as well and is currently on 2 antibiotics. She doesn't let that bother her because her favorite past time is running on her wheel. Well...she doesn't run as much as she used to..but she definitely takes several *strolls* on her wheel every day.

Dee on right

Pixie:

Pixie is the youngest and most playful girl in my group. She just can't leave the other rats alone. Sometimes she even starts fights in the middle of the night.  But the next morning I'll find everyone sleeping together in heap in their basket! She is PEW girl with a brown spot on her nose and by her tail. She is an awesome little girl, and just love to play with people!

Pixie on left

Lucy:
Lucy is the people lover of the group! She adores people and wants nothing more then to be the center of attention at all times. She will give kisses pretty much on command, and she also loves sniffing your ear and grooming your hair too! She wants you to know you're loved, and she wants to be loved. She wins over hearts all the time, and I'm sure she'll win over yours as well!

Lucy on top, Sweetie on left bottom (R.I.P.) and Dee on the right

Well that abour wraps up the introductions. I do hope you enjoy the read and follow all these girls as they live their lives. Check back in every few days, you'll get lots of updates, and pics and videos..hope you enjoy!