Around four months ago, my partner surprised me by adopting two baby rats since we are both animal lovers (here’s their first appearance on This Is Noelle!). I initially wasn’t too keen on the idea of having rats because I thought they were creepy and/or gross and I was truly scared when we first got them. We picked up the babies when they were two months old and because they only live for around two-three years (I’m prematurely devastated that they’ll be gone soon!!!), they were already fairly large with long, thick tails. I quickly named the rats Michael and Quentin after my BFFs Lo and Jonathan, respectively. Michael is Lo’s middle name and Quentin is Yonny’s (I’ve now exposed all of their personal information) and the rat versions perfectly match the humans’ personalities! In the first picture, Quentin is standing on top of Michael and Michael is to the left of Quentie in the second. Aren’t they the absolute cutest??
Michael and Quentin are classified as Dumbo Rats with their name inspired by the Disney cartoon due to their large round ears. Dumbos are usually friendly and outgoing and they need to be with other rats for their social personalities. Michael and Quentin came from the same litter and they live happily together as sisters, playing and fighting like other pets. My partner wanted rats because they’re supposedly the smartest of the rodents and we weren’t about to adopt another dog! Michael and Quentin used to hide in their cage and bite us when we tried to pet them, but we started taking them out of the cage at night and their attitudes toward us completely changed! They’re much more social and playful and they love coming out and running on us and our couch. We give them treats and lots of pets during play time and their behaviors are quite similar to that of dogs or cats. I love Michael and Quentin so much and I especially love sharing photos/videos of them with my family and friends (especially their namesakes Lo and Yonny) even though my dad is the only other person who loves them!
