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The Ratty Fun Pages |
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| Scrambler
Mink berkshire 15 May 2003 - 20 March 2006 |
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We adopted Scrambler (and his littermate Grub) from Ann and Emma at Rock-a-bye Ratties.
Scrambler was so named because as a ratlet he zoomed all over the place like a ScramJet (an air propulsion rocket invented
here in Qld), and he scrambled over and in and around and under and between
everything. He was virtually impossible to remove from your shirt
once he finds a way inside... something he did way too easily. He was always demanding attention...
the first to be poking his nose through the cage door when someone came
to visit. He leapt about like a rampant fuzz, and was always in your
face (up your nose, in your ears, nibbling your eyelids, etc)... thus the
nickname "Scram!".
He always
looked so perfect... perfectly groomed minky fur, perfect spray of
white whiskers, perfect sweet expression on his face. And he
had a personality to match, but always that little bit of mad mink
under the surface which made him act silly and boisterous. He
and his brother Grub were inseparable... I can't count how many photos
we have of their matching minky faces poking out of hammocks or nest
boxes!
He was a very thoughtful and sensitive rat and always looked
after his cagemates when they needed him, offering himself as a pillow,
a blanket, or just a supportive furry presence.
In old age, he
was a very special old fuzz. A gorgeous minky squish. So
sweet and calm and with the softest of fur. He lived for cuddles,
and would park in my lap or under my chin for hours at a time, licking
my hands or neck in appreciation of my scritching the part he couldn't
reach anymore. He loved chocolate with a passion and would join
us on the sofa each night for his cuddle and his chocolate treat.
He become known as "The Ambler" as his back legs weakened in old
age, but it never slowed him down! He was healthy and happy and
full of life until the very end.
He perfected that cheeky
innocent grin
His gorgeous white belly
star
Grub and Scrambler - partners
in minky mischief
He had charming rattitude
Scrambling on a zebra rock
Berry sweet
Framed!
He was a big fan of any treat
off mum's finger
Enjoying a digging box
Wet and whiskery after fishing
for peas
The mink brothers work together all the time... they know that if they pair up in their cuteness they can get anything they like. But the other day I saw the most amazing bond between them!
We're currently trying to integrate the big boys with the little boys, so every now and then we let them sniff each other through the cage wire. Rumps climbs up there all the time and pokes his nose through and the little boys sniff him and know he won't hurt them. But Schnapps instantly gets all huffy-puffy-fooffy and the young boys squeak at him and stay well away.
The other day the minks had been "meeting" Uncle Rumpy for awhile. Soonafter I brought Schnapps up to see them. They were in their nestbox and Grub immediately ran out and cheerfully headed for the cage wire to say hello again to Uncle Rumpy. But he stopped suddenly and started going backwards. Scrambler had grabbed the skin of Grub's back in his teeth and was wrenching him back into the nest box with a "NO!! That's not Uncle Rumpy! That's the BAD rat!". Scrambler was protecting his brother from the big bad alpha Schnapps!
His berkshire belly has a
perfect 5-pointed white star with a tiny little minky dot in the middle
- a kissing target of course!
He's my constant companion
rat... while the others are off wreaking havoc during free range time,
Scrambler will be with me. It's almost like he says "It's OK, mum.
I'll stay and play with you".
His fur is as soft as a
girls fur... a sensory delight of soft thick sweet smelling minky sheen.
He's a chin groomer.
He scrambles. Up/in/under
any item of clothing you're wearing, up furniture, under blankets, over
his cagemates, etc.
He can scale the inside
of your pants leg effortlessly.
His ears are low set, which
is particularly charming with his adorable slightly worried expression.
He's a bit of a scaredy
wuss when it comes to new things.
When you feed him creamed
cheese, he clings to your finger with both hands and refuses to let go
until he's nearly licked your fingerprints off.
He's an ear snuffler and
whiskery tickler.
He is *always* waiting at
the cage wire and is without doubt our most enthusiastic and successful
beggars.
He dunks his whole head
in the water bowl to groom.
"No clothing is too tight to tunnel into"
Arrgghhh is... a minky Scrambler fresh from swimming in the water bowl going straight up your pants leg in mid winter.
Scrambler is such a sweetie. Lamington had a sudden bad allergy flare-up last week and was not feeling very well. After the vet had xrayed him and dosed him with just about everything, he came home and parked in his nest box exhausted. I asked Scrambler to look after him for me. He immediately trotted into the nest box and curled up beside Lammie. He stayed there all day, keeping him warm, acting as a pillow, and basically just being the perfect support rat. I was so proud of my Scrambler. He got lots of extra treats along with Lamington.
The Mink with Kaleidoscope Fur
More tales of Scrambler and his friends on the Ratty Ramblings page.
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