Izzy and Daisy

When I was little I used to take care of my neighbors cats, dogs, and other animals while they were on vacation. Sometimes it was simple and sometimes the owners had very specific instructions. I always got frustrated with those that had complicated instructions such as feed this one this first and only at this time and make sure this is right and so forth... I couldn't believe that animals took that much care designed specifically for the animals personality. Guess what folks, I've learned my lesson; some of them do!

I mentioned in my last post that I got two rats, Izzy and Daisy. Now let me tell you about the pain that they have been...
I chose to get rats because they are the best pets all around to get if you want clean, friendly company. Rats are the cleanest of all the rodents. They don't bite and they can be pretty social. When you get them, people suggest getting two and also getting girls. Since they are social creatures, they do better with a friend :). So, I went to the store and bought two little female rats.

Izzy and Daisy

The first week I had them, they were a lot of fun and quite a funny pair. Daisy would run around like crazy and never sit still while Izzy, on the other hand, would never go anywhere. She would just hide in your hand or in a corner of the cage. The only time I would see her run was when she was on the wheel.

Well, after a week, they decided to make things difficult. They decided to do everything that rats are NOT supposed to do! I would often hear squeaking at night but thought nothing of it until one night I decided to check up on what they were squeaking about. Turns out, Izzy was the only one making noise and it was because Daisy had her pinned upside down on her back and was attacking her! I'm not talking about playfully chasing each other around. Daisy was full on pinning Izzy down and they were getting in fights.

This is Daisy caught in the act of torturing Izzy

So much for being social creatures and doing better with a friend. Well because of this Izzy became SUPER skittish. I happened to have a cold at this time and every time I coughed, Izzy would jump and run to the other side of the cage as fast as possible. This happened anytime there was any sudden movements or noises. One day I went to take her out and play with her and as I reached in she got scared and she bit me! Yep, the one pet that is known for never biting unless they are sick bit me. So, I thought I would let her cool off and reached in to get Daisy to play with. As I did, Daisy bit me too! I couldn't believe my luck. Well, when I get bit I'm not one to go back for more so I ended up just feeding them each day and that was it. I stopped holding them and playing with them.

Over time they got worse. Daisy was getting to be more aggressive and Izzy got to be more skittish. It was time to do something about it. So first I separated the two of them. Luckily I have a two-story cage so I just blocked the entrance to the second level and put one rat on each level. Now that I had them separated it was time to focus on stopping the biting problem. So, I borrowed some leather gloves from my dad and I started playing with them again. Whenever they started nipping I would flick them on the nose.

Well, it's still a work in progress but a few weeks of working with them and we have made progress!!! Daisy is definitely making more progress than Izzy, but that is too be expected because she wasn't the one being attacked! Daisy voluntarily walks onto my hand when I open the cage and Izzy will do the same if I coax her with a treat. I don't really need to wear a glove with Daisy anymore (except for when she is walking onto my hand from the cage, for some reason she still likes to nip the tips of my fingers) and I only have to wear gloves with Izzy when she doesn't have food in her mouth or if she is scared of her surroundings (Which is a lot of the time).

Making progress with Izzy!

Making more progress with Daisy
(pardon the face, I know it's not an attractive angle)

So the point of this loooong story is that I have become one of those individuals whose pets need special care based upon their personality. Each morning when I feed them I have to take Izzy out first (if I do her last I can't get her to come out) and put her on the part of the cage that Daisy is in and then I have to take Daisy out and put her in the part of the cage Izzy was just in. (The top part of the cage is wire with nowhere soft so I switch them every day so that they both get to have somethere soft to lay) and then I have to make sure to play with both of them each day and make sure that they are making progress. It's more complicated than that but I don't really feel like going into the details and I'm sure you are tired of reading all this nonsense.

I love these two but sometimes I wish I could have purchased two NORMAL rats instead of two MANIAC rats!

No Photos

I don't have any pictures to post but life has been pretty busy this summer and it's time to catch up:

I didn't think I would be very busy this summer because I am not taking classes and I am still working only part-time. That leaves me with lots of free time, right? Wrong. This summer has been flying by so fast and I have been so busy! The good news is that I have been busy with things that I enjoy.

The beginning of the summer started with Steph and the little boys coming to Utah for Jake's wedding. I was lucky enough to be able to go pick her up at the airport. It was so good to see them all again. Steph and Benjamin saw me before I did and so the first thing I saw was Benjamin running up to me with his arms wide open. I was so glad that he remembered me! We don't get to skype very often and when we do, Benjamin doesn't really like to sit in front of the computer. He would rather go off and play. The car ride home from the airport was exciting because Steph and I forgot how small my car is. We were only able to fit her suitcase in the trunk and so the stroller sat up front while Steph and the boys shared the backseat (as well as the two car seats). It was a site to behold! I'm so glad they were able to come and stay for two weeks! I spent a lot of time playing with the boys, shopping with Steph, and going out to lunch with all of them. Hence, I was really busy those two weeks, but it was doing stuff that I love!

Then came the wedding. I am learning that weddings, from the guy's side, are a lot less stressful. I think the most stressful event was trying to find shirts and skirts for all of us girls. That was it. Kylee planned an exceptionally cute wedding. Everything was perfect, the weather, the people, the pictures, the colors. I hope it was a dream come true for her. Jake was so funny to watch. I've never seen him happier, pretty much ever. It's good to see two people so happy together!

Before Steph went back to Alabama we wanted to take a family trip to the zoo. We happened to choose a day that was quite rainy and chilly but it meant there were less crowds. Not gonna lie, the zoo was a little bit of a let down. It has changed quite a bit from when we used to go when we were kids. To start off, they took down the lion house. Yeah, that means there is no lion. None whatsoever. They did have tigers and other sorts of felines but I loved looking at the lions! I missed them. I also miss the hippo. They don't have one anymore :( We also happened to go at a time when the bears had all been moved to some other zoo for a season. So this trip was missing the lions, hippos, and bears, oh my! Nevertheless, the zoo is always a great place to feel like a kid again and I loved it!

The next week included a weekend vacation to Holden to visit family and go dirt biking. Two things that I absolutely love to do and one place that I love to do it! Andrea and I decided to take some books with us on one of our rides into the mountains and we found a flat, peaceful place between all the sagebrush to lay down on. It was so great to just relax amongst the bushes, trees, and wandering cows and enjoy a sunny afternoon.

Last weekend, my sister, two of my cousins, and I took a road trip down to Cedar City for another cousin's baby shower. I can't believe Kasey is having a baby next month! We were lucky enough to have an uneventful road trip. Uneventful meaning there were no major catastrophies. The trip was still lots of fun and so worth it to be at Kasey's shower. It was so good to see the Cox family. I felt like it had been way too long since we had seen them. Okay, we saw them at the wedding, but only briefly cuz we were so busy that day.

This weekend, I am heading back down to Holden for more dirtbiking! I know, I go a lot, but I love it and I have the time so why not?

In between all these weekend extravaganzas I' have weekdays and these I fill with work, riding horses, and hanging out with friends. It has been a pretty exciting summer so far with lots of fun plans in the future. (Going to Alabama with my cousin, Amber, to visit Steph, Joseph, and the boys and much, much more!)

Oh, and did I mention I got two pet rats? Yeah, little Izzy and Daisiy have been keeping me busy as well. :)