Unfortunately, due to the short life span of pet rats and coupled with my desire to rescue feeder rats that often have numerous health problems it's become a good idea to put up a page just for those special ones that I've lost.

To most, a rat is just a pest. Or at best a cheap pet that is easily replaced. But for the true animal lover, those lucky ones that view any pet as a special creature, the loss of a companion rat hurts just as much as it would to lose a dog or cat viewed as a 'baby' or a child.

Think me weird if you must, but all these rats were my 'children', and I deeply miss each of them. Each of them have held a special place in my heart, each one different and unique with their own shining personalities.

Though each loss has hurt the same, this page is dedicated in special memory to Pixie. Who fought so hard to cling to the life she was so full of, even when many others would have just given up hope.

Last updated October 29, 2007

All my rats are common (feeder) rats, rescued from being fed to snakes. While I applaud people trying to breed to improve rats, and wish I could support them, I only 'save' feeder rats, I don't purchase from breeders. I don't think the 'bad' of 'supporting' a feeder rat breeder outweighs the good of rescuing one or two from being fed to reptiles. Of course this can and has led to getting rats with health problems and 'non-show' quality rats, but I don't think any rat deserves to be fed to a snake. All my feeder rats have been excellent pets, and while they've had their share of health problems (my agouti female developed tumors as she got older, my black female had respiratory problems I couldn't get rid of and they eventually killed her) overall they haven't been bad enough to make me stop saving feeders.

Pixie (aka Pixel or Pixie-wixel)

Rest in Peace - October 29, 2007

Black High White Berkshire with pink tailtip

Bright eyes
Burning like fire
Bright eyes
How can you close and fail?
How can the light that burned so brightly
Suddenly burn so pale?
Bright eyes
Bright Eyes - Art Garfunkle/Lyrics Mike Batt - from Watership Down

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This one hurts perhaps more than the others because it was so unexpected. Pixie was the last of my rats I thought would die. She was hyper/energetic and so full of life it was unbelievable. She outshown any of the others with vitality and seemed to be the healthiest one. Once her twin, Sion, died I latched onto her in my grief. She became my best gal pal, the only one of the female rats still left besides her mother that would be happy to come out and play. She loved to run loose and explore, and her curiousity knew no bounds. Always happy to see me she'd clamber around the cage for my attention.

Yesterday I woke to find her missing. Usually she was the first rat to jump to greet me and beg for food, but she was nowhere to be seen. At first I thought she'd somehow gotten out, because she was nearly always trying to. But the cage was still locked. On closer inspection, I saw some of her fur sticking out of the bedding and she was still breathing. I knew the rats bury their dead and dying as all the others had been so I quickly dug her out. What I found has to be the most horrifying pet experience I've had to date. She was barely breathing, gasping for air, and covered in blood. I still don't know what happened, somehow one of her front paws was mangled, and her other feet were also torn up and she had wounds on her stomach. I would come to the conclusion later that they were self inflicted wounds, for some reason she kept making chewing motions and I think her body just got in the way of her teeth as she curled up.

She fought valiantly all day, and half of the day today. She looked awful I was sure she'd go at any moment, but when I woke today she was still alive and fighting. I actually had started getting prepared to try to nurse her back to health because she was fighting so hard and seemed determined not to let go. Unfortunately whatever it was became too much for her and she slipped away as she slept. Never has one of my rats had such horrific injuries and never has one fought as hard as she did. I still don't know what caused her to go from full of life and unstoppable to stricken and unable to go on in just one night. I can only guess she had a stroke or something similarly devastating to her body.

Sion

Rest in Peace - May 24, 2007

Sion unfortunately fell victim to the same thing Shadow died from, respitory distress. He lived a lot longer than I thought he would, and he was my little pal. He loved to come out and play, and really enjoyed his chocolate he had to eat to help his breathing. After Shadow died he became my substitute I guess because he looked like her. He loved to sit on my shoulder and just chatter away in my ear. He is very sorely missed, even months later I get tears in my eyes thinking about him.

Rattie Tat aka Rattie

Rest in Peace - October 13, 2006

Black Variegated Hooded with lightning marking

Rattie was my first attempt to get back into ratties after quite a few years without them. After Nugget's passing it had just never been the same, and I guess I'd gotten tired of losing them. I took one look at Rattie in the pet store and I had to have her. Normally I only bought male rats, but this one just spoke to me, I didn't even ask her gender before I brought her home. I'd never seen a lightning blazed rat, and I adored her face marking.

I attempted to name her Muse..but she never really came to that and she came to Rattie, so that stuck. She's a black hooded, with a lightning marking up the right side of her face right above her eye. She was a tiny little thing, still with her mother, when I got her, she grew to be a huge doe. She was very curious, and just a sweetheart.

Shadow

Black Self

Remember, I'll never leave you
If you will only
Remember me

Remember me...

Remember, I will still be here
As long as you hold me
In your memory

-Josh Groban, Remember

Rest in Peace - June 21, 2006

Shadow was my second rat that I got here. Rattie was lonely and depressed, so I thought I'd get another doe to keep her company. I'd always wanted a pure black rat, and the one baby I'd had that was had to be sold. She was always very active when I got her out. She was a black with a silvery tint to her hair, and a white stripe down her belly that was barely visible.

Ever since I got her she'd always sneezed. I changed everything I could to try to get rid of her sneezing, I thought it was allergies. Apparently it wasn't. I don't know what it was, maybe she was born with some sort of respiratory defect, it never passed to Rattie or Trinket, which is why I thought it was allergies. The last couple of days she'd had more trouble than normal breathing, a bloody nose, and was lethargic. Last night it finally got too much for her, and she died. I did everything I could to try to save her, but in the end it wasn't enough.

She was my buddy, the friendliest of the larger rats, and towards the end she loved to spend hours just sitting on my shoulder. She was young, far too young to die. She was the only one actually purchased from a 'pet' store that sold 'pet' rats instead of feeder rats, though I'm pretty sure she was of feeder rat breeding.

This site was created by Samantha Kroese on June 22, 2006. All information and photos contained on this page are copyright to Samantha Kroese, with all rights reserved (with the exception of the lyrics, which are of course copyright to their writers, and the background photo which is a stock photo not taken by me). No part of this page (except lyrics and background photo) may be used in any manner besides on this page without express written permission from copyright holder, doing so without permission is breaking the law. Please email Samantha Kroese with any questions or comments about this site.