Introducing...

Some of you know that Fiona was a very reluctant potty trainee. She finally decided she was going to use the potty a couple of weeks before her fourth birthday but in the process I was willing to do almost anything to convince her that potty was good. She loves all kinds of animals from the creepiest to the cutiest and one day in a fit of desperation I told her that if she would use the potty she could have a hamster.

So just so you know - if your kid is not potty trained by almost 4 and you say something like this to them... they will remember.

So this weekend, after talking about it for a while, we added two new family members to our menagerie. They're not hamsters - after some research I decided these would hopefully make better, more rewarding pets for her, and they like to live in groups of at least 2, so we had to get a pair...

of...

rats.

Yes, rats.

I know. But hear me out. They are super cute. They're larger and therefore harder to lose. They're the cleanest of all the rodents. They are really smart and you can teach them tricks. They are much less likely to bite than other rodents, and they are social, so they actually enjoy being around people.

So, introducing our two little rattie girls - Zak and Wheezy. Fiona named them after the two headed dragon in dragon tales. Zak is the lower, grey one and Wheezy is more fawn coloured.
















See? CUTE!!

We're slowly working on socializing them - Fiona is desperate to get in there and hold them but I don't want to traumatize them. Zak is a little calmer and adventurous, and Wheezy is more cautious, but they have both been willing to poke their heads out of their safety hammock to take treats from Fiona's sweaty little hand.

Fiona is completely in love with them and I think she's old enough to help with training, feeding, cleaning etc. so I'm hoping this will be a useful learning experience.

Now we're just hoping Monty will get over the excitement and give up his cageside vigil.