Jiminy Cricket!

"Do the rats have names?" One of the staff members asked me the other day.
"The brown one's Jiminy and the white one's Cricket." I replied. She groaned.
"What?" I demanded. "It's like Jiminy Cricket! From Pinocchio!"
"Yeah, I know." She said in exasperation.

You know you've got good names when you make the staff groan. I am immensely proud of these particular ridiculous names, however, so they're staying.
In case you haven't guessed, we have two rats at the moment. Non-rabbits at last! Meet Jiminy and Cricket:

They are older than our rats usually are, at about one year old each. Accordingly, they are a little less full of frenzied energy than our usual rats. They actually have quite lovely personalities, which is lucky for them, because they aren't the most attractive rats.

I mean, I think they're very handsome. However, to the general public, these guys just aren't the beauty queens of the rat world. Cricket is a pink-eyed white, and they always have a tough time, while Jiminy bears an unfortunate resemblance to a sewer rat.

On the other hand, they are marvellous at posing. I mean, look at that!
All kidding aside, they are super sweet boys. They aren't too active, but they like being picked up and they're very easy to handle. Their personalities can pretty much be summed up as 'laid back and gentle'. Jiminy is a little more outgoing than Cricket, but they're pretty much even.

I don't really worry about rats anymore; since we tapped into the rat rescue comunity in Ontario, we've never had to wait too long for rat adoptions. Still, I hope these two middle-aged guys don't have to wait around the shelter too long!