# Pouchie's new Pouchies! :o)



## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

*Thank you Ray & Lou for our beautiful new Gambian Pouched Rats! :flrt::flrt:*

Here are a couple pics (sorry they are not great) of the new pouchie babies. We are thrilled to bits with them. 

The male with the dark face is called Jambo ('hello' in swahili) and the female is called Kwanzi (from the swahili for 'first').


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## joe190 (Jun 28, 2008)

aaawww there kinda cute for a rat!


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## carlycharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

They are very cute indeed :2thumb:


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## Matt Lusty (Aug 20, 2008)

Congrats on your new Gambians. Hope you have as much fun with them as I am  

Have you seen my post of mine since they've been introduced to each other? My male has now been officially accepted by the girls


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## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

Matt Lusty said:


> Congrats on your new Gambians. Hope you have as much fun with them as I am
> 
> Have you seen my post of mine since they've been introduced to each other? My male has now been officially accepted by the girls


 
I am! I was planning on leaving them alone for a couple of days to settle in and get used to new sounds, scents etc but they are so chilled out and settled already! Will be handling them when they wake up tonight.

Must get a clicker quick so I can start clicker training.

I saw you had successfully introduced yours which is great. I am lucky enough to have been able to leave that to Lou as she had two from different lines which she bonded before I got them :2thumb:

I have only introduced two before and that is Dingo & Kololi.

It went amazingly smoothly. I popped them both on the floor and when Kololi approached Dingo, he stood up and showed his throat in submission. That was it! I stuck them both in Kololi's cage and they bonded within a couple of weeks. They slept on different levels for a while then one day they were nesting together. Been bonded ever since and I am hoping that Kololi is now pregnant as she looks it :no1:

Samori & Tai also arrived bonded but no signs of pregnancy or mating with those two yet. Hopefully will not be much longer though.


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## LyddicleaveBurrow (Aug 11, 2008)

*New pouchies*

Hi,

Your new pouchies are gorgeous!:flrt: 

I hope that you have the patter of little (large) Emin's paws very soon, and the patter of baby Gambian paws in the future.

Thank you for the beautiful Duprasi and blue-point mice that you bought to me at the weekend.:2thumb:

All the best.

Heather.


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## Fixx (May 6, 2006)

Pouchie said:


> *Thank you Ray & Lou for our beautiful new Gambian Pouched Rats! :flrt::flrt:*


Our pleasure Pouchie, and it was a pleasure to meet you in person finally. How was the journey home, did you have to transfer them to the glass tank in the end?


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## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

LyddicleaveBurrow said:


> Hi,
> 
> Your new pouchies are gorgeous!:flrt:
> 
> ...


 
You are MOST welcome it was an absolute pleasure.


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## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

Fixx said:


> Our pleasure Pouchie, and it was a pleasure to meet you in person finally. How was the journey home, did you have to transfer them to the glass tank in the end?


 
They settled down in the plastic tank just fine! Didn't hear a peep out of them.

Was a real pleasure to meet you guys too. Jay & I had a fantastic weekend. :no1:


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww caz your watties are just gorgas :flrt::flrt:

why did you have to post this lol it aint making me want one even more now :lol2:


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## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

Emmaj said:


> awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww caz your watties are just gorgas :flrt::flrt:
> 
> why did you have to post this lol it aint making me want one even more now :lol2:


 
I'll keep the photos coming :Na_Na_Na_Na:

:lol2:


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## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

aww look Em, look how CUTE it is :lol2:


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

YOUR EVIL woman :lol2::lol2:


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## Fixx (May 6, 2006)

Emmaj said:


> YOUR EVIL woman :lol2::lol2:


Don't worry we have more ready in a few weeks if you're interested :whistling2:


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## Matt Lusty (Aug 20, 2008)

Ray...NOOOOooooooooo!!!! I want more now!! :whip::devil:


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## loulou (Jan 18, 2006)

I am so glad they have calmed straight away :2thumb: and there was no chewing incidents on the way home LOL. 

It was lovely to finally meet you Caroline and to see you again Jay, we will be poking you for a cuppa and natter next time we are up your way. 

Do keep us posted on how they get on and let me know when you get mating so I can start sending people closer to you your way : victory:

Edit: Matt this litter of two are so sweet, but they have not been handled as much as our others (not at all yet) as this will be the first successful litter (touch wood) from this pair, and I did not want anything to go wrong by me being to eager to early


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

ray i would love one your evil too grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr


but your too far away


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## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

loulou said:


> we will be poking you for a cuppa and natter next time we are up your way.


Look forward to it. 

Yeah they really have just settled straight in. They are fast asleep still!!! I have been waiting for them to wake up so I can get them out again. 

I really am chuffed to bits with them they are amazing. They look so different to my lot and I am really excited about having both species to compare behaviour etc. 

Can't thank you enough Lou :no1: xxxx


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## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

Fixx said:


> Don't worry we have more ready in a few weeks if you're interested :whistling2:


 

I saw one of these little 3 weekers asleep upside down with its little tubby belly stuck up in the air it was the sweetest thing ever! Pillsbury Doughrat

:flrt:


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

stop it stop it with the pics tut 

i sooooooooooo want one :flrt::flrt::flrt:


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## Grumpymouth (Jun 28, 2007)

Ah Pouchie, how gorgeous!!! What I can't believe is that you're holding them already!! I still can't hold Ben. Those look much bigger than Ben was though, do you think the age makes a difference? They look about as big as Ben is now - he must be about 4 months I think. But we've had a time with numerous escapades outside the cage, and he's finally settled in his new big cage. I would just love so much to be able to hold him :flrt:


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## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

Grumpymouth said:


> Ah Pouchie, how gorgeous!!! What I can't believe is that you're holding them already!! I still can't hold Ben. Those look much bigger than Ben was though, do you think the age makes a difference? They look about as big as Ben is now - he must be about 4 months I think. But we've had a time with numerous escapades outside the cage, and he's finally settled in his new big cage. I would just love so much to be able to hold him :flrt:


Just pm'd you before I saw this.

Age does make a difference. I would think you will see Ben starting to calm down and slow down about now. Have you noticed he is less skittish and hyper than when you got him??

If he has a docile air of confidence about him now you'll find his baby stage is over and it would be well worth stepping up the training.

I have been having second thoughts about swallowing the accepted 'fact' that pouched rats need to be hand raised and bought as early as possible in order to bond well etc etc. I'm not sure it matters.

From what I have seen, they all go through a very active dashing about 'skittish' phase as babies and at a few months old they change. This is the point I think you can get through to them with training.

What I have just said is a little 'out there' and I am on my own here I believe, but I can only share my personal experience with my 7

You need to read other people's experiences with training and draw your conclusions from lots of info. Come chat to the keepers I am bringing together on my forum :cheers:


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## Grumpymouth (Jun 28, 2007)

Pouchie said:


> Just pm'd you before I saw this.
> 
> Age does make a difference. I would think you will see Ben starting to calm down and slow down about now. Have you noticed he is less skittish and hyper than when you got him??
> 
> ...


Cheers Pouchie:2thumb: I think Ben is starting to calm down a bit, he does just seem to chill out more in his cage and isn't as shy around me as he used to be. He does all the cute things like stretch while he's sleeping, yawning and pawing the air with both hands, and he's starting to venture round the cage while I'm still up. He used to wait until I'd gone to bed, because I never saw him move. But now he will have a little walkabout while the lights are still on.

As you touched on, I think I got him too young. With me being a first-timer, I wasn't ready for how hyper he was all the time, and how nervous he was. I am enjoying him as he is maturing, except for one thing - I was watching him sleep the other night, and he rolled over on his back and gave me a great big eye-ful of his 'Ben bits' :blush:

Yes, my Ben is growing up...:lol2:


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## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

Grumpymouth said:


> Cheers Pouchie:2thumb: I think Ben is starting to calm down a bit, he does just seem to chill out more in his cage and isn't as shy around me as he used to be. He does all the cute things like stretch while he's sleeping, yawning and pawing the air with both hands, and he's starting to venture round the cage while I'm still up. He used to wait until I'd gone to bed, because I never saw him move. But now he will have a little walkabout while the lights are still on.
> 
> As you touched on, I think I got him too young. With me being a first-timer, I wasn't ready for how hyper he was all the time, and how nervous he was. I am enjoying him as he is maturing, except for one thing - I was watching him sleep the other night, and he rolled over on his back and gave me a great big eye-ful of his 'Ben bits' :blush:
> 
> Yes, my Ben is growing up...:lol2:


 
I don't think you got him too young. You have had the max amount of time for him to have known you since he was 'tiny'. I just thought maybe you saw adult ones then were presented with a bouncy youngster and thought he would grow to be a bouncy 3 footer? lol. 

Just to say, I think they all start off like that until they hit maturity.

He must be about the same age as mine though now? They are very sedate and do not dash around or move quickly. 

I'm not sure I have an opinion on the best time to get a pouched rat but most people would say as early as possible. All I can say is Kololi is the only one I had at 8 weeks old.. the others were about 3 months and had passed the crazy stage. Kololi was un-handleable at first but the others I have been able to pick up straight away. And to be honest, I don't feel Kololi is any more bonded with me than the others.


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