Ratatoullie

As a third grade math and science teacher, it was recommended by Shane's school that he get a class pet so that his students could appreciate an ecosystem. He did research for awhile trying to figure out the best pet for his students as well as one that was low maintenance. He originally thought a bearded dragon would be nice, but after researching them and realizing that juveniles had to be fed three times a day, they were thrown out of the running. Next he did research on snakes. He went to a reptile store and spent time talking with the manager about them. After his visit, he decided that the pet for his classroom was an albino king snake. It seemed like a great choice since it only had to be fed once a week and it defecated only once a week. Well, after consulting with the school administration, they decided that was not a good choice. So back to the drawing board he went. After a bit more research, Shane decided on a rat. That is right, you read it correctly, a rat!!!! Let me just tell you I was not thrilled about this choice, not that I was thrilled about a snake either, but the thought of a rat was just very unappealing. Yes, it would be a class pet, however, school is not year round and it has to have food continuously as well as water, so it would be staying at our home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break and the summer. So after a bit more research and visiting several pet stores, we became owners (notice I did not put the word proud in front of that) of not one, but two rats - apparently they do better in pairs. The pet store only had females, so we ended up with two female rats. We picked the 'prettiest' of the bunch and ended up with a grey and white one and a tan and white one. Of course we bought them several toys, treats, and all the other necessities rats could possibly need. They will be living in a 'Luxury Rat Home' (according to the box). Of course, I guess anything above living in a gutter or sewer would be luxury in a rat's world.

The Luxury Rat Home

Shane took his rats to school today and after his students writing their votes for names on pieces of paper, we now have names for the rats. The grey and white one is Lizzy (reminds me of a lizard) and the other is Mocha.

Lizzy

Mocha

Lizzy is very outgoing and loves to be held and played with. Mocha is a bit shy and unsure. Rats apparently make great pets and are trainable. They are able to be litter trained and can be trained to do tricks. Shane's students are very excited and thrilled about the rats - which I am glad of that. I guess in November I will see if I want to befriend them or not. For now, I just can't seem to get past their tales. Perhaps if they were tailless, I wouldn't be so hesitant.