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ratofthelab — Cyclops
Published: 2010-12-14 21:00:36 +0000 UTC; Views: 535; Favourites: 18; Downloads: 0
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Description
Cyclops joined us today (he's a rescued geezer) - ever so young
.. but ever so cute. The plan is to intro him to our other bucks at some stage in the very near future.I've never been too fond of dumbo eared rats, but that's ok, because clearly Cyclops isn't a dumbo .. honest .. I'll keep telling myself that
It's not obvious from this pic, but he's also odd-eyed, that is, his right eye is ruby and his left eye is black. Makes the name we've picked for him kinda appropriate
Other cyclops pics:
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Comments: 11
Aww he's so cute!!
I was wondering, why is it you are not very fond of dumbo eared rats?
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I'll preface this with a liberal dose of caveat .. 1) I don't have particularly good reasons for disliking them..
So with the disclaimers out of the way - in answer to your question - I think it's because I like my rats to look like rats and I don't think that dumbo rats do, entirely. People usually take that argument to the extreme and say that therefore I should only like agouti rats.. but I like all sorts of colours/eye types etc..
It's hard to say exactly why I am not too fond of dumbo ears but I think it's because one of the many things I like about rats is that they're intelligent little creatures, and I think the dumbo look makes them appear silly. It really doesn't do them credit.
I also used to worry about health issues for dumbos - when they first cropped up in the rat fancy they had all sorts of health issues associated with poor breeding. Gladly, that's not such an issue nowadays thanks to responsible breeders doing a fine job.
The effect of ear placement on ratty social interaction used to concern me too (ear positioning can provide important social cues - for example a top eared rat will lay their ears flatter and appear almost dumbo like when frightened; so a dumbo might look permanently frightened to their top-eared brethren which might send all sorts of mixed signals in a social structure), but again, I don't think it's something that seems to dramatically affect the critters involved, so it's probably another non-issue. But it does give me pause for thought..
Not the animal's fault, but I also loathe the fact that less unscrupulous sorts (I'm thinking pet shops) "market" dumbo as an entirely different creatures and spread all sorts of misinformation about them ("why yes, they are X quid more expensive, but aw they're so much friendlier than top-eared rats..!?", "They grow bigger and live longer!" - all rubbish)
In related rambling - I kinda dislike hairless, double-rex & tail-less *shudder* on principle for reasons of health, welfare and personal preference.
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AWWW! I want to steal him and take him home with me! He's SO CUUUTE!
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He is! I think he knows it too
(and you can't have him!!
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*looks at the pictures and fawns* I know what you mean about the dumbo ears, but they grow on you. he's positively adorable. and such a lovely color.
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Thanks! But he's clearly not dumbo - just a very bad top ear *in denial*
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He's adorable! I wish I could see both eyes at once! That sounds awesome! Good luck with your intros!
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Thanks. I put a pic on twitpic yesterday that shows both his eyes: [link]
He's so teeny tiny I think intros will go smoothly. Our other guys are so huge they won't see him as a threat and hopefully he'll give in without much protest when he realises they can squish him without trying
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Awww! How beautiful! Good luck with your intros!
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