Separating the young by sex, adoptions please!

So the rat babies have all grown up and are cute youngsters now. The boys were separated just prior to New Year's, as they were 5 weeks old and their testicles getting ready to drop - the point at which they could breed with their older sisters or mother, who are definitely sexually mature. People need to watch out for this with any groups of young pets that they acquire from any source - sexing babies and juveniles is not always easy and accurate, and this is the period where accidental pregnancies occur.

So, all 9 girls - Sicero, Blondie, Brunette, Columbia, Janet, Magenta, and the remaining three - yet to be named, as they are heading back to the SPCA for greater adoption options - are happily in the largest cage we have. Their brothers Rocky, Frank, and Brad are in a smaller cage in which they're secure and have a lot of toys and comfort.

The plan so far, since we are short at least two foster homes, is to integrate Sicero and her daughters with my three girls Isis, Missy, and Melonie. I think the babies will give Isis and Missy a real charge, as they'd both been mothers before, and Melonie and the older daughters are similar in temperament and might take to each other.

Then the older boys (3 months old now), who've been waiting at the SPCA since the whole bunch first came in (late November), will come back and be integrated with their baby brothers in the cage that was Missy, Isis, and Melonie's. It's going to be overcrowded for everyone, but fosters and adoptions will ease the cramped space.

Callipso, Moët, Pogo, Fromage, and Quinzy (optional fifth, has another friendly place to go if he's not adopted with his friends) are a real joy to have here. Their intense interest in outside-the-cage life make them quite funny and charming. They love swarming me when it's "TV time," especially if popcorn is involved. Moët likes coming upstairs to visit the bunnies, Fromage likes making the world know that the room is his. Pogo is the shyest one of the group, and both he and Callipso are likely to settle down right beside you to hang out, and start bruxing and boggling when you stroke them. And Quinzy is a downright funny-looking pest.