"Klardae [R.I.P. Feb 19 2007-April 29 2008] was a black hooded rat. "Klardae was a sweet rat, she always wanted to be near you, and she loved to get scritches and be on your lap."

"Zinc is a black berkshire fancy rat. She is, first and foremost, a neat freak. She will spend 30 minutes non-stop grooming. If you give her food on the floor, she'll take it into her hide box in the rat room. If you put something in her shoebox on my desk, she insists on taking it out. She's also a chew freak. She seems to chew even more than most rats. If she isn't eating or grooming, she's chewing. She'll chew fingernails and hairbrushes and bamboo plants. She'll chew gameboys and desks and zip ties. Basically, she chews anything she can get her mouth on, and caused me to need new speakers and a new mouse! She's always been a little skittish but she's warming up to people now that she has the spotlight to herself. If I'm on the bed in the rat room, which, incidentally, is also my bedroom, she'll come up to the side of the bed an stand up on her hind feet, asking to be picked up. She loves to have her head petted and will start bruxing [grinding her teeth] in happiness if you do it long enough, and eventually grooms you in return. Her favorite foods are Yogies [yogurt drops for rodents], chocolate animal crackers, and brownies. She loves to run on her wheel, so much in fact that when she runs or walks, her tail curls over her back like a husky's."

"Klardae was the subordinate of the two, having always been weaker, and often got pushed around by Zinc. After Klardae died, I realized that rats don't live long enough to take their lives for granted, so I have spent more time with Zinc and thus have more info on her."

Three story rat cage.

The bottom level of Klardae's Rat Cage.