[jyl]

Update on Sunday.

The internet says that rats are social creatures and lone rats get depressed. When we brought Ardy to the vivarium for a feedstay - a spa vacation where they feed you rats - my daughter decided to get a second rat to keep Algernon company.

The vivarium employee set a tub on the counter. Rats immediately made a break for it. One rat got to the floor and scurried toward the corner. The employees started moving racks, pushing brooms under cabinets, and hunting for the escaped rat. The store walkie talkies crackled “someone let a rat loose!”.

We left with a small gray-white rat with “Dumbo ears”. That’s what those are called in the rat literature. He, or she, we didn’t have a chance to check, will be introduced to Algernon’s cage tonight. I was thinking they will recognize each other from the “Rats, feeder, small” tub. “Omg, you too! did anyone else make it?”

Sure enough, the two rats immediately huddled together. Algernon was comforting Simone - that’s the second rat’s name.