Some More Pets From The Past

Ever since I was around 20, I had owned rats. I didn't take photos of them because I didn't own a decent camera.
But here is a photo of Cinnamon, my female rat that I had in 1988. She was pregnant when I bought her and ended up giving birth to 8 babies. I had to keep the babies until they were old enough to be separated from their mother, then the pet shop assured me they'd take them. I found a home for two of the babies right away, and the other six went back to the shop.

Here are a couple of the males in their cage peeking out and being very curious little rascals. I separated them from their mother and sisters so there wouldn't be a repeat episode of pregnant females for sale.
Well wouldn't you know it....when I showed up at the pet shop with the separated siblings, they just went and plopped them all into the same cage anyway. I just gave a big sigh of "Oh well, they'll never learn."

Here's a male I had named "Bart" in 1991. Rats only live 2-3 years, so Cinnamon was gone.
Bart was the same colouration as Cinnamon had been, which is probably why I chose him. Bart was my first male rat and not only do they get bigger than females, but they give off a stronger odour. But he was a gentle, friendly little guy.
This photo of me holding a rabbit was taken in 1989, and I kept this rabbit for only a week before I gave him away, cage and all to a lady who said her nephew would just LOVE a pet bunny.
I find rabbits to be difficult pets and they like to chew on electrical wires. This guy chewed through my drafting lamp cord! I didn't get him from a pet shop, my old boyfriend found him running around in his parents' backyard so he caught the animal and offered him to me. Being pure white he was obviously a domestic rabbit, so we took him to the vet and learned that he had mites in his ears. After paying vet bills and buying a $50 cage, I was awoken many times a night to hear the rabbit banging around in his cage. He was a "poop factory" and I learned that rabbits eat their own droppings to reabsorb as much nutrients as possible from their food. They double digest their food in other words. Living in a bachelor apartment, I realized that between the smell of his cage and the noise at night, he had to find another home. Oh well, live and learn.
Don't get me wrong, rabbits are CUTE but you need a basement or a warm garage to keep them in at night.