God bless the little ones! And a great big hug to you! It's clear you loved your little babies so much, and putting Nibblet to sleep was an act out of love.

Some rodents are wonderful... and some, no matter how hard you try to make them manageble, just won't do it! Mamma had a hamster when she was a child, and he was the sweetest, most lovable thing ever. He was one of those that was allowed to roam around freely during the day, and loved to cuddle. When mamma moved in to her first flat, she decided to get another hamster... She was nasty! Mamma didn't like having her in the cage (as mamma felt pity for her in the cage), except at night, and let her roam around freely... trying to pick her up and put her in her cage at night was a nightmare... like Nibblet, it ended up with bites and heartache... Towles and gloves were needed, and the poor little mite used to scream everytime mamma picked her up. She lived until she was 2 and a half years old... and mamma is sad to say that she was glad the day the hamster passed on. Not that mamma didn't want her, but the stress both for mamma and the hamster, was just too much.

When it comes to rats, mamma has only had one. He was a handsome large fellow, but again, not very tame. Mamma tried to handle him as much as possible, but to no wail. He never bit hard though, but clearly let you know that he didn't like to be handled. In the end mamma and Harry (as his name was), came to an agreement... He was to be let loose all day long, mamma was to wear shoes all the time (otherwise he'd attack her feet), and when night came for him to get into the cage, mamma would put a pice of bread in his cage, and he'd happily trott in there! He was more like a cat than anything else, and loved climbing the curtains, so he could sit in the window sill and look outside! And they both lived happily ever after until he passed on a few years later!