Fighting… and making up

Ever since Tyrion got to be a ‘big boy’ (read: teenager) and started throwing his 300g of weight around (he is still the smallest of the pack), he and Thane have not seen eye to eye. Tyrion pins Thane, perhaps even  gets a bit puffy in doing so, and then moves on with his life, happy in the knowledge that he is king of the neighbourhood. Later, when it comes time to go to bed, Tyrion will happily climb into the same bed as his subject, Thane, but Thane is not interested in sleeping with the enemy.

Hiss! Gerrofit!

Lately it seems to have calmed down a bit, and they are not fighting as often. It is so much cuter when they cuddle:

Put aside their differences.

Thane really is a character all his own. He is the most timid of my rat pack; the most likely to stay in his cage rather than come out, the quickest to go back to his cage when he is out, and the first to run and hide at the slightest noise. He does have his own ‘curiosity time’, though, and it doesn’t seem to be on the same schedule as everyone else. He can be very curious at times and it is so much fun to watch his curiosity battle it out with his inherent fear of everything. I will leave you with this final picture, which is one of my favourite ‘Thane moments’.

Um… hello?

Teen Troubles: my bully boy

Mordin: What did you say? Garrus: I think I heard him say he’s boss. Let’s get him!

If you looked at most of the photos I take of Garrus, you would think him to be an adorable sweetheart. Well, he is, of course, most of the time.  But sometimes he gets into a mood – and in those moments the other rats would be better off just avoiding him.

He is a little teenage bully. At 7 months old, he, Thane and Mordin are at a hormonal time in their lives (according to the good people on the Ratanooga Forums) – probably equivalent to the teenage years. So there is a tendency to be a bit ‘macho’.

Thane and Mordin also pick fights quite a bit (Mordin likes to nip ears), but Garrus really is the worst. He picks fights with everybody, and he has poor Eric and Godric cowering and running away from him – the gentle souls. Sometimes he gets really into it; his hairs bristle up and he won’t let up.

Face-off: Garrus ‘boxing’ with Godric

The general rule is to just leave them to it unless blood is drawn, because they need to sort out the pecking order. But I must admit, I have occasionally ‘rescued’ one of my big boys (Eric and Godric) from him – they just look as if they don’t even know what hit them.  They really don’t fight back much anymore, like in the photo to the right – rather they end up on their backs just kicking at him.

Garrus really is the most aggressive rat I have had so far, so I hope the reign of terror ends soon, and everyone can just agree that Garrus is boss… tyrant… whatever.