Introducing Kora and Niki

Remember I said that I'm not in a position to get more rats? Um, yeah, about that. I slightly changed my mind. Or rather, Sabine changed my mind, because I couldn't stand the thought of her being so lonely.

And so, about two weeks ago, the search began to find Sabine a friend. I considered getting a male rat (who would be neutered) but then decided to get a female rat. One female rat.

Kora and Niki

Not sure which is which since I can't see their tummies

This morning I adopted two young female rats.

They have got to be from the same litter, are almost identical, and I'm told they're two months old. I figure that's about right. They also, incidentally, look an awful lot like Sabine. (What is it with me and getting pets that look like each other?) I adopted them from the Oregon Humane Society.

Ok, so I'll also admit it: I named the girls before I actually laid eyes on them. Yesterday I woke up from a dream where I decided "Hey, it would be awesome to name my new rat after Kora or Aniki!" Then these two girls popped up on the OHS website last evening, I knew I just had to get both, and I decided that their names may as well be Kora and Aniki.

So, what are these two girls like?

Kora is laid back. I mean, really laid back. She is currently on my shoulder, and seems perfectly happy to sit there until I decide to move her again. I didn't know rats could be this laid back. Really. Just, wow.

Niki is rather different. She seems rather high strung, and wants to hide in my clothes. It took her a couple hours to stop hiding while in the cage, so I figure she'll eventually stop hiding out in my clothes. In the meantime, I've got no photos of her. Sorry.

Now the big question: how do I tell them apart? Niki has a bunch of white on her tummy, and Kora doesn't. I figure I'll learn to spot other differences, and small things may become more noticeable as they become adults. But for now I either have to look at their tummies, or guess from their behavior.

Kora was easily photographed

By the way, I named these two after a certain pair of rats (ha) from Tamora Pierce's Beka Cooper novels. The same books that I took the names Beka and Sabine from.

Also, I'll write about the introductions between these two and Sabine when I get to that. It'll be slow though, since I really don't want to mess it up. Better slow than sorry.