February

We're having very dry weather at the moment, the humidity is at a record low, and I think its affecting Kali. She's developed a sore spot near the very end of her tail and I'm worried that its ëringtail'. Rat owners in very dry areas will have heard about ringtail. It can be very serious and can result in the loss of part of the tail. I've increased the humidity around her house by the use of an atomiser spray and I've introduced oily fish to her diet. She's very keen on the fish which she hasn't had before. She's perfectly well in herself but I'm keeping a close eye on her.

Kali is still attacking the new wire on her cage. Usually at about 4:30 in the morning. It seems to be far too strong for her so I'm letting her get on with it in the hope that she'll loose interest and we'll get an unbroken night's sleep.

She's still making a fuss about being picked up. She doesn't attack me or try to run away - she just backs into a corner and makes it very difficult for me to pick her up. Once I've got her she's very calm and we can stroke her while I'm holding her. Kali seems to enjoy that.
 

I've fitted the new wire into Kali's house at last. I discovered that she'd cut herself on some of the sharp edges which she's made when gnawing the patched wire so I just had to find the time to fit the stronger mesh. She's noticed that the wire has changed and she's still attacking it in the hope she can make new holes but I'm confident that it will be strong enough to stop her damaging it and herself. I wonder if she'll realise that she isn't making any impression on it hand give up trying.

Not only has she had to get used to the new wire but she had to cope with a rather noisy weekend too. We were doing a bit of DIY on Sunday so she lost a bit of beauty sleep. She also had her house cleaned out and even though it happens every week she still doesn't like it happening.

She nearly didn't come out to play on Monday night. She was still very cross about what had happened at the weekend and she attached the glove and wouldn't let me pick her up. When I finally got her out she sat in her grooming corner and washed herself for about 20 minutes. Only reluctantly did she start to explore. After another few minutes she was running and jumping about as normal but by the time she got going it was time for her to go back home.
 

Kali woke me up at about three in the morning a few nights ago. She was making a very loud gnawing noise. I can usually tell what she's up to by the different noises she makes but this gnawing didn't sound like anything I heard before. When I went down I found she'd broken through the latest repair I'd made to her house and had made a hole big enough to het her head out and she was busily chewing away at the outside of her house. I made yet another temporary repair to keep her in. I've been meaning to replace the wire in her house but I haven't had a chance yet.

I've decided switch to the 'Ideal Bedding' which I've been trying out. It isn't as absorbant as the wood pellets but Kali seems to like it better and its much lighter and easier to clear up. I ordered a bale which should last about four complete clean-outs although I'll also have to replace it in Kali's favorite weeing spots more frequently. A bale costs about £15 so it will work out about the same price as the wood pellets. I was a bit disappointed to see that some of the bale contained printed cardboard. The trial pack I had had been all unprinted. Kali doesn't eat it so I don't think it will cause a problem but it wood be better if it was all unprinted.

Last night's play time was a bit earlier than usual so Kali was less active. She spent quite a while sitting in her 'grooming corner' and I was able to give her a really good stroke and scratch. She let me tickle her behind the ears and all up and down her back. I'm sure she's enjoying it rather than just putting up with it. When I was scratching her near the base of her tail she put her chin on the groung and started to lick the floor in front of her as if she was ëpretending' to be washing herself. Our house rabbit also does this when we're grooming him.

I uploaded another batch of pictures of Kali to my temporary website. I've also got a few very short videos of Kali which will also go up when I've tidied them up.