Althea

Althea - Sept. 2009 to June 24, 2012

Althea was my gentle soul, my motherly rat, she knew and helped so many rats during her lifetime. She was a last minute add-on to a rescue situation where a guy was giving away a litter of 10 pinkies. He had bought some young rats for his snake and one gave birth so he had young rats, then another one gave birth and he had 10 more pinkies so he put up an ad, come’n get em!

We realized that the pinkies would not live without their mom, and convinced the guy we needed her to grow up the babies so we could feed them off once they were bigger (he was ONLY herp-minded), but the mom had bitten him so we had to promise that when she died it was going to hurt. We ended up leaving with a bunch of older babies (too young to be away from mom but already weaned, and this little scared beige hoodie girl. Sadly he decided to keep 2 of the older babies to feed his snake since we took the 3 month old mom. RIP wee ones…we are very sorry. 

I was also fostering for CCH a PEW momma, and some other rats. The PEW had three 5-day old pups but 2 were very very small. The smallest girl didn’t make it, and their mom Citrine started not feeding her remaining 2, so I tucked them in with my momma and she fostered them for awhile.



The teeny tiny beige hoodie mom and I had a lovely talk, about how there were NO more snakes in her future, she would never be picked up by her tail and no more babies after this one. She stared up at me, then started nosing my face.

From a very timid and nervous rat to a sweet, trusting girl all in one short conversation. I could now stroke her while she's nursing...she loved it.

I named her Althea, after our own Petunia…as she was strong, and brave but a quiet, sweet soul as well. 

Her baby melee



I am NOT finished mom!!



After some time Citrine was able to take back her 2 surviving babies but was glad to feed everyone during Out time and I am sure Althea was fine with that too LOL



Once Althea’s babies were adopted out, she strangely ended up picking my geriatric crew as her next family. She adored old sick Jaffa, and I found out from Chelle that a former girl of mine was being picked on by her family, so Xanthe returned to us and she and Althea became great friends. :D

Jaffa loved little Althea but didn’t live a lot longer due to a throat tumour on top of many other onging heath issues.



One by one my elderly crew passed and by then my 2 big halfie boys had been neutered so they all ended up living together.



Eventually the halfies started getting a bit too rough with passive, tiny Althea, so I removed her and Xanthe to be with Peony and Posie.



It turns out that those 2 new girls were NOT kind to my sweet gal, whereas Xanthe loved the rough and tumble girls
and I ended up splitting her and Xanthe and put her in with the Oldies/Lilith’s Crew where she happily stayed.



And then the RTR boys started coming in, and she took them under her wing.
Comforting the very nervous RTR Percy


She aged, became blind with cataracts and got chubby, but she still took care of her Boys, even when her boys left and new girls and boys came in to replace them. 



She ended up having chronic respiratory issues, but she was so good about her meds and she was soo good about being nebulized

Finally there was a new and final family for her. She was already in with Peony and reunited with her former cagemate and friend Xanthe. Their current boy Alfie had died suddenly so I re-introduced them all to the aging and sickly halfie boys Java and Marsky.



Here is Althea, being herself, holding up a wobbly Marsky as he wasn’t feeling well that day and needed the support to eat. 



My good girl, I am sure she’s being overwhelmed with all her former friends who adored her.