Bunny and Kiwi

A couple of months ago I was bored and was browsing a local website called Okinawa Yard Sales. People here aren't allowed to have normal yard sales so you have to sell your stuff online. I was looking through the pet section and saw that someone was trying to get rid of their rats. Rats? Really?! I had never found any back in Misawa so I assumed that Japan just didn't allow rats as pets. So I emailed the seller and said that I wanted to look at them first. I wanted to make sure that they really were rats, as some people don't really know the difference between some of the different rodent species. Well they really were rats and I was so excited. Tim was very hesitant to let me have them since my last litter didn't work out well at all, but I managed to talk him into it since they don't live long and would be dead before we left the island. We wouldn't have to worry about finding them a new home like sooo many other people that just abandon their pets when they leave the island.
The girl getting rid of the rats had special ordered them but said that she just didn't have enough time for them since she was working so much. She also kept trying to talk me into buying all the extra stuff she had bought for them because she didn't want to return it and get her money back until finally she just gave it to me anyways. Of all the other 25 rats that I've had in the past, none of them were ever interested in wheels, toys, or chewing on the cage. Because of that I didn't think I would need the extra cage, wheel, or toys so I just sold them to someone who actually did need them. The rats did seem fond of the wheel before I took it out but it was just so damn noisy.
Well the girls seemed to be doing just fine for the first few weeks. Then one morning after checking my email and whatnot, I went into the kitchen for a little bit to make breakfast and do the dishes. When I came back my internet was out. I assumed that Tristan had messed with a wire somewhere so I started checked everything. The rat cage is pretty big and takes up the space between me and Tim's computer desks in the living room, with my computer cords running along the floor behind the cage and around the room to the modem. As I looked behind the cage I noticed that my internet cable was all chewed up! I didn't see how this was possible since they couldn't reach it, but when I pulled the cage away from the wall I saw Bunny just sitting their staring at me! It really shocked me for a second and I actually jumped back. I looked back at the front of the cage and the doors were still locked so I didn't understand yet how the hell she got out. Then she decided to be a little smartass and hop back just out of reach everytime I grabbed for her instead of just running away. After a few swats I grabbed her and as I was putting her back in the cage I saw it....The Hole. They had completely chewed out the entire back corner of the plastic base of the cage. I was shocked. And pissed. I didn't know what to do with them at first but ended up throwing them in the tub for the rest of the day until I could go hunting for a temporary cage, which took me about five hours of driving all over central Okinawa. And I can't believe that the very first thing Bunny just HAD to do with her new freedom was go straight for my internet cable. Seriously?
I ordered a new cage right away which cost almost a hundred dollars with shipping, and until in got here the girls would have to reside in a happy little apple tree forest. Haha, that's what I call the small hamster habitat I got that is supposed to look like an apple tree house. They were miserable and cramped in there but at least they couldn't chew out it because of the way it's put together. The new cage and toys finally came in so I set it up and kept the wheel in this time. They immediately took turns taking it for a spin so I know that they missed it. They wouldn't touch any of the nice chew toys that I got for them so I figured that they were satisfied enough with just the wheel.
A few weeks went by without any signs of chewing until last week when I was cleaning out the cage. I put the girls in the bath tub to soak in Tristan's baby shampoo while I washed out the cage. I was about to dump all the bedding into the trash when I saw it. The Hole. You have got to be bloody kidding me!!! I lost it. I was ready to just throw them into the jungle behind my house and let them chew down the damn trees if they wanted to. I decided that I was just going to pack up all of their stuff and drop them off at the pet store late at night. I knew that I was not going to be able to find a new home for them as most people hate rats and I'm not going to lie about why I needed to get rid of them. And I wasn't about to buy another expensive cage for them to destroy again.
The girl that I got them from sent me a message right away on Facebook asking what had happened when I posted that the rats need to go. I told her that they chewed out of another cage and that I had had enough. She said that they had done the same thing to her. Really? For some reason I don't remember that little tidbit being mentioned prior to selling them to me. But whatever. They were my problem now. I didn't really want to have to get rid of them and tried to think of things that I could use for a new base to replace the plastic. Tim could easily make a new one out of metal at work but I knew he wouldn't so I would just get rid of them.
Well today I went to the BX and just bought a shallow storage big that luckily happens to be just the right size for the wire cage to sit in. Yes it is still plastic but even if they manage to chew threw it, which I doubt since its just a flat bottom, they still can't get out because the wiring goes straight to the floor now. Unless Tristan picks up the cage or knocks it over, those little shits aren't getting out this time. I will just keep trying to find new things for them to chew on. I know that Tristan has lost a couple of colored pencils to those piranhas so if that's their flavor of choice, then colored pencils they shall have. With a side of whatever other random object Tristan drops in there next of course.