Lovable Beasties Need Summer Home!

[pomba gira]

The beasties in question are Angel the rabbit and Lucky & Mr. Nibbles the fancy rats. They are some of my classroom pets and I have absolutely noplace to keep them over summer break. No room in my tiny house, plus my 3-strong Pussy Posse would harass them to death. None of my students can commit to caring for them... they are mostly low-income and many live in rather chaotic or transient situations... or in places with ill-trained, rabbit-eating pit bulls or rottweilers on the premises. So as of now, I have no idea what to do with the poor critters, and only a week to figure it out.

I would deeply appreciate it if anyone can look after Angel and/or Lucky & Mr. N. from June 7 thru the last week in August. I will deliver them to your doorstep, and provide $$ for food and bedding throughout the summer. You need to be within a 1.5 hour drive of Lansing. The rats are cagebound full time, but Angel needs to run around and exercise at least 2-3x a week. Her cage is about 3'x2'x2' and can go in any convenient corner of your house, as long as she isn't in direct summer sun. Angel needs to eat rabbit food and green stuff daily, carrots or other veggies a few times a week. The rats just need rat food daily- I give them veggies twice a week but they would be fine without that. Both need their bedding changed once a week; scooping the soiled bedding from Angel's toilet spot helps it last longer and smell nicer. And that's about all the care they require, except that they're all very sociable animals and appreciate being talked to and (in Angel's case, anyway) petted. I am in the process of gentling down the rats, who were sold as feeder animals rather than pets. They'll let me pet them but not pick them up. But they do respond to a friendly voice and are very interested in what the humans around them are doing.

Pleeeeeaase save these lovable critters from a dismal and less-than-safe summer in my dank dark lonely garage!