Dember's Departed
Fancy Rats

Nibbles

Nibbles was my first rat, who I got when I was only two years old. She lived a bit over four years and was very social. Her best friend was my oldest cat, Emerald, who would sit on top of her cage while Nibbles ran in her excersize wheel.

Nipper

Nipper was my second rat that I got when I was a little under seven, and she lived an amazing five and a half years. She was still very healthy when we had to put her to sleep, although her body was beginning to shut down on her, and it was clear she would have preferred to continue living, although her body was just too old to continue, and I didn't want her to suffer through another couple of weeks until she finally quit fighting to live.
She was a truly awesome rat, and she would do absolutely anything to please me, be it let me dress her up in doll clothes or jump through hoops and run through mazes for a little dried yogurt drop treat.

Tiptoe

Tiptoe was a black berkshire who got her name from the fact that she was all black except for the white patch on her belly and her white paws, which were basically all white except the tiny pink toes, hence "tipped toes".
I got her about a month after I got Nipper, and even though they weren't related, you would have thought they were sisters. They loved to groom each other and bring one another treats. Tiptoe was a couple months older than Nipper even though I got her after Nipper, and she lived around four and a half years.
She didn't like leaving her cage very often, and preferred to simply stay at home.
She would nip and bite at anyone other than myself, and refused to let anyone handle Nipper other than me because she was so protective.

Creamer

I only had Creamer for about a month. She was a Champagne Hooded rat, and any time I tried to handle her, she would take actual chunks out of my fingers and was only interested in running on her excersize wheel, so I returned her to the local pet store I adopted her at.

I was pleased to hear that she was quickly adopted by an elderly woman whose adult son took care of Creamer by feeding her, watering her and keeping her cage clean.

They kept her name, but I know little else about her life with them. Apparently, the elderly woman liked her because she could watch her run around in her cage and play on her wheel, but wasn't capable of actually handling her, so her biting habit wasn't really a problem.

Springer

Springi was my first Black and White Hooded rat whose back-stripe only went half way down her back. She got her name because when I first met her in the local pet store, I was playing with a litter of young rats while they chased my hand around the bin and whatnot, and suddenly, Springi launched herself up into my arms about three feet off the ground, and I caught her in mid-jump and remarked something similar to, "Wow, you're a little springer, aren't you?". I bought her and took her home as the little sister of Nipper and Tiptoe. She lived around four years.

Peekaboo

I adopted Peeky when he was about a month old, and actually thought he was a girl for the first month that I had him. xD
I had never intended on owning a male rat, although I simply couldn't return him. He had to be put to sleep at under three years because he developed an upper respiratory illness that caused him to be incapable of breathing very well, but he was such a sweet heart and reminded me of Nipper far too much.

Roxi

Roxi was the tiniest rat I've ever owned. Even at four years old, she was barely six inches long not including tail, compared to the ten to twelve that most of my others were. She was only about two inches long when I adopted her, even though she was the same age as most of my others, just never grew very much.
She was very sweet and loved attention, but was hard to seperate from Peekaboo, her mate. I got them around the same time and even though they had to be in seperate cages to prevent little litters of rat pups, would constantly groom each other and take naps together while I held them. Roxi lived an average life span of about four years. I think my favorite part about her physical appearance wasthe little "shattered cross" marking that was on her back.

Twilight, AKA Twila

I wish I could have gotten to know her better, although little Twila only lived a couple months. She had a heart attack when she was only about three months old, and died before I could even get half way to the car to drive her to the vet. It's a shame that happened, but honestly, it could have happened to anyone and was entirely unavoidable. I really miss her, and in the month or so that she lived with me, she was quite a little sweetie who loved to be scratched behind the ears and have her face and back stroked. Strangely enough, the little stripe down her back ended in the same of a black crescent moon, which is why I called her 'Twilight'.

Rika, AKA Yurika | Picky, AKA Pick Pocket

I adopted Rika and Picky together at the same time, and they were sisters from the same litter. Rika was a few minutes older than Picky, and lived about a month and a half longer than her.
I named Rika 'Yurika' because of her hyper and excited personality, and Picky 'Pick Pocket' because I've yet to find a rat who can snatch a treat out of your hand and hide it in her cage any faster than her.