Contrast take 2

Contrast Take 2
I remember when we went to the pet store in the airport mall and was on a mission to find the perfect pet. We didn’t want to get a dog or a cat because they require much more effort on the owner’s part. Plus it costs more to feed cats and dogs anyway. Rats will eat just about anything so there was a benefit to having rats. We decided to go with a couple of baby rats that were only a few weeks old. They were born in the same litter and were brother’s. The pet store suggested we get the same sex so that we didn’t end up with a million babies that we didn’t plan on. We took their suggestion and purchased two baby boy rats. The idea of having rats in our house didn’t sit too well with me at first, but soon after they came home, I grew more fond of them.
Their personalities couldn’t be any more opposite of one another. We named them Ren and Stimpy after the cartoon on t.v. It was one of my favorite cartoons on t.v. when I was a teenager. Ren is the shyer rat and tends to hang back whenever there is noise or possible “danger” nearby. Ren is very skittish and jumpy if you make any sudden movements. Stimpy is the complete opposite of Ren. Stimpy is very outgoing and friendly and has adopted the role of “big brother” so to speak, he is always the first to come to see me when I get home. He is aggressive in nature and protects his wimpy brother Ren from any harm. Sometimes they do fight like brothers when we are asleep. I will wake up in the morning and one of them will have a bloody nose from having their butt kicked the night before. They always make up in the end and life goes on as normal.
As far as appearance goes they are very different from each other. Ren is an albino rat, which means he is pure white and has pink eyes. He is practically blind because of the pigment in his eyes, it makes it harder for him to see things. He uses his sense of smell more than his sight. He has a cute little pink nose that wiggles up and down when he sniffs something. Stimpy is half black and half white. His head and upper body is black and the rest of him is white. His eyes are fine and he doesn’t have the trouble Ren does when it comes to seeing objects. Their hands and feet are so cute; they look very similar to human hands and feet just on a smaller scale. They are getting really used to the good life. They have no worries, no bills and best of all no responsibility. All they do every day is eat, sleep and play. That’s the life of luxury if you ask me.
Their favorite pastime is eating. They will eat anything we give them usually. At first we started them out with hamster food and then that developed into cat food. The next thing I started doing was giving them table scraps. That was a big mistake because now I can’t get them to stop begging at dinnertime. I feed them bread, chips, fruit and vegetables. In fact they probably eat better than both of us combined. When I put some food up to the cage, Stimpy comes running over and snatch’s it out of my hand then runs to his corner to eat his meal alone. While keeping guard to make sure nobody is going to take his food away. Ren takes a little longer to come take the food from me. When he finally comes to the food, he gently pulls it out of my hand and takes little nibbles instead of woofing it down like his brother does.
When I bought these little guys from the pet store over a year ago, I did’nt see bonding with them the way I have. To be honest I really didn’t like them when we first got them. They gave me the creeps when I would look at their long tails. It took a little adjusting and an eight hour project to build a top-notch cage that will last forever and is escape proof. They are family to us now and I really enjoy playing with them and watching them play with each other. Sometimes they like to wrestle around, and I have caught Stimpy sleeping on his back with his feet and hands in the air. It’s very funny to see. They are very interesting to watch, and are supposed to be very smart animals. I can say for sure that I do agree they are smart animals. They are also loving and affectionate. I hope my rats live a long and healthy life.