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| Name: |
Tia Maria
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Age: |
One year old
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| Gender: |
Female
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Kind: |
Black-Hooded rat
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| Home: |
Lancashire, England
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This
is my beautiful rat Tia Maria, and here she is posing on a garden
chair in the summer sun. Isn't she totally adorable? I believe that she
was put on this earth to prove to everyone that rats can be one of the
best pets you can have, cute, funny, intelligent and loving, and one of
the best friends you could ever ask for.
My decision to get a rat came after my beloved rabbit, Cookie, passed
away, and I felt that I could not own another rabbit after the trauma of
losing him. I began to look through a pet book, and became very
interested when reading the rat section. It didn't take much reading for
me to have my mind set on getting a pet rat. At first, there was much
scepticism amongst family and friends, as rats have a terrible, and
undeserved, reputation. I was so eager to prove everyone wrong, and I
definitely have.
It was May 2005 for before I was allowed to look for a rat, five months
after I decided I wanted one. I originally set out for a male rat, and I
was going to call him Romulus. However, whilst looking in a pet shop one
day for food for my hamster Foxy (now sadly deceased), the pet shop lady
told me she'd just had a litter of black-hooded rats. She showed them to
me, and they had only just got their fur and hadn't yet opened their
eyes, so were much to young to take home. But I saw how sweet they were,
and payed a deposit to reserve one. Five weeks later, I came back. I
looked in the male cage, but my eye was taken by a rat in the female
cage, who was running around everywhere. She seemed to be 'the pesky
little sister' to her other sisters, when they were having a drink, she
pushed them out of the way, and when they were eating, she stole their
food from their paws! She was recognizable from the black spot on her
rump, and I thought she was adorable. I ended up taking her home, and I
named her Tia Maria.
Tia is such a happy little girl. She never bites anyone and is so gentle
to everyone. She adores sitting on your shoulder, that includes her
jumping around in your hair and putting her rather wet nose in your ear,
but I just find everything she does adorable. As for the number of
people she has 'converted', there are countless numbers. So many people
who were disgusted at the idea of a pet rat now have come to realise
what a joy they can be, thanks to my little Tia. To me, she is utter
perfection and I love her to bits.
Tia has a varied diet, and she loves treats which we give her sometimes,
and these include chicken, ham, pizza, yoghurt and ice cream, which she
gets all around her lips and on her paws! She also loves to play, she
runs around freely in our bathroom for exercise and will jump all over
you, and we have made her obstacle courses to jump over. She will also
play tug-of-war with you if you give her a piece of cloth or tissue. She
also likes to be outdoors, and as you can see from her picture, doesn't
say no to a spot of sunbathing! She is very scared of cats, even though
we have one named Zsa-Zsa. She also jumps whenever a door
slams or there is a loud noise, she is just so cute!!!
I hope you have enjoyed reading about my Tia Maria as much as I enjoy
being her lifelong companion!
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