Bedtime for little ratties

Just like a naughty little child, Reggie didn't go to bed without a fuss. He went through different routines at different stages.

He always wanted food before bed. Sometimes one pellet / treat would be enough - a few times he would beg and beg until he'd had five - and would then climb into bed, satisfied, leaving his parents stressed about the fact the diet had gone out the window! He had begging down to a fine art - you just couldn't deny that little face.

At one stage, he wouldn't go to bed without a bedtime tickle. He would position himself on his ledge and wait until someone noticed him and gave him a tickle.


and then he would make his way into his hammock


a comfy, happy, little boy


At another stage, he would get very demanding and go and pull the sheet that covered his cage through the bars until you gave into his demands. Those sharp little teeth meant sometimes the sheet looked like a great white shark had been at it (we went through a lot of sheets over the years)

you gonna give me some food eh?


ok, I'll just go over here and show you my frustration


pull, rip, shred...


And now you going to give me my treat?


We used to love watching him getting ready for bed. His last two months he had quite a routine, it went a bit like this...

After feeling satisfied with getting enough treats, he would take a piece of shredded kitchen roll and try put it into his hammock - mostly it would just fall out again. He would then wander over to his water bowl and have a drink of water. Back to his hammock and he would pick up the piece of kitchen roll and try again. Then he would climb into his hammock, and rip and shred and toss his nesting around until he was happy it was all perfect for sleeping in. He would then have a drink of water from the sippy bottle next to his hammock - which I put there so he wouldn't have to even get out of bed if he was thirsty - getting ready for bed was thirsty work. He would then position his head so he could just see out of his hammock and make sure nothing exciting was going on and then after awhile he would curl up and go to sleep.

A happy boy - in his hammock, but keeping a close eye on you. Any movement towards the kitchen would mean him jumping out of bed.


getting sleepier...


Sleep tight my beautiful baby - see you in the morning for another day full of fun.


I miss our bedtime routines little one. I hope you have a lovely comfy hammock to sleep in up in the sky.