Split Capped
Dalmatian
Rex
Dumbo
Tashie, is much more outgoing than her mother Flashy. She is not the warm and cuddly type, but monkey-minded, curious and inquisitive. She isn't overly hyper though. She gets along well with other females and has proven to be a great mother herself. Protective but not mean or nippy. She just needs to know what you plan on doing with her babies. When she first had them, she pushed all the bedding up against the sides of the aquarium so no one could look in and see them or what she was doing. It was a couple of days before I had the heart to disturb her efforts to see how many she had.
As of 03/07/05: After Tashie was weaned from her babies her temperament has changed. She has become aggressive and mean. I don't know if its some kind of hormone malfunction or what. But she is not a nice rattie anymore, which is so sad. She is so cute.
I'm going to breed her one more time, hoping that her hormones may correct themselves again and she'll be back to normal. Also her children have been just great. They are nice ratties and her mother was sweet too. If she continues to be mean after this next litter I will retire her. I will also be monitoring her offspring, tracking their temperaments. If I see any other ratties from this line turning aggressive I will discontinue the line completely.
Special Breeders Note: I don't believe all temperament problems are related to genetics. I feel many of them are environmental and even physical or mental. Therefore, I don't automatically assume a whole line will have temperament problems just because one rat has shown those tendencies. Especially when she was fine before breeding her. Her brother Snuggles and Barrington haven't had any temperament issues. I'm breeding her back to her brother Snuggles. I will be watching to see if his temperament changes after he is used for breeding.
UPDATE: 03/22/05, my theory about Tashie's temperament problems being hormonal are correct. She is pregnant and has returned to her normal friendly self. I just hope she stays that way after this litter.
UPDATE: 03/29/05 I found blood in Tashie's bedding on 03/26/05 and she was no longer pregnant, but she must have eaten her babies. None were found. I'm rebreeding her and will monitor her closely this time, and give her raw chicken livers as her birthing date nears, to discourage her eating the next litter. This is very odd for her, because she had an earlier litter without any cannibalism.
UPDATE: Tashie died on Feb. 15th 2006. She had gotten her foot caught in the bottom of the cage. I unhooked it and put her in a healing unit to recover. Upon examing her after her death I noticed she had a dark area on her belly that appeared to be pooled blood.
