Going Up In The World

Mr Click and I have been planning a short break in August which means our Tara-Tup gets a little holiday in the local Kennels and I put out a call to my friends to find someone who will volunteer to look after the Mischief.

Last time this happened Tara went away with a lead and some tins of food, whereas the rats (at the time this was Yoda and Wicket) took a big cage, a small travel cage, a big bag of shredding, a big bag of food, a tub of treats, cleaning spray, and of course the rats themselves. It filled the car! Our boys do not travel light.

The Mischief currently live in a Ferplast Jenny. We got this one several years ago, back when we had our girl rats and Carol figured out how to open the door (waking up at 3am with a rat in your bed is a little alarming, especially when two of the rats are missing from the cage).

Now I've liked the Jenny cages. My first one was donkeys years old when we decided to retire it (it was getting harder to keep clean and there was the aforementioned issue of the rat being able to open the door) and after considering the alternatives, we went with another Jenny. This was the new improved version, with plastic coated bars which helped to keep it cleaner for longer.

But now the coating is coming off the bars and it's getting rusty which I don't think is great for the ratbags. Plus not long after we got it, the girls chewed through some of the plastic which keeps the top in place. It's still fine but I dread the day when one of the boys realise that they just need to chew away some more plastic and it would be very easy to get out.

I'd hate for someone to be watching the rats for us and have someone decide to go for a wander. Plus it's getting harder to keep clean and the shelves have jammed in place. Rather than spending the £20-30 to replacement, we're sucking it up, paying an extra £50 and getting a whole new cage (complete with three shiny new shelves).

I was all set to get another Jenny but they seem to be a bit hard to get hold of so we're going for a Savic Zeno 3. It's actually a little bit larger than the cage the boys are in at the moment (so even more of my little living room is going to be taken over by rats) but I think they'll enjoy moving in. I think we'll enjoy setting it up too.

Of course, I did break the news of their impending move to the Mischief. Fezziwig was the only one who was awake at the time and he was supremely underwhelmed.

I'm sure he'll be more enthusiastic once it gets here.