Lollipop is a black hooded

Lollipop, aka, Lolli or lol, was one of three young does brought to me by the RSPCA when they were found dumped in a car park. The other two were Roux and Matilda.

The RSPCA called me to ask if I could take 3 rats, and I said yes as I had some space at the time but intended to rehome them if possible. The inspector said she was glad I'd said yes as, although she hadn't wanted to tell me, the rats likely would have been put to sleep if I'd said no.

Lollipop and her friends (sisters?) arrived in a small, bent, crappy cage, the one they'd apparently been found in, and had clearly never been handled. They would try to leap out of your hands, and thats if you could even catch them in the first place! They didn't seem terrified of people, as they happily came to the bars and weren't hiding up as a scared rat would, but they really didn't like being touched.

In only a matter of days, I had them accepting handling, and they only improve over time. My personal theory is that, like a lot of rats I get in, they were bought as kids pets from a pet shop and ignored once it became clear that baby does from pet shops aren't always instantly easy to handle. Though it still baffles me why people dump animals in such a way, makes me wonder what they'll do to their kids when they reach the teen years. The attitude of 'its inconvinient, get rid of it' is pretty sickening, to me.

Lollipop and her friends went up for adoption on the rehoming section of the rat forum. However, after 2 weeks, I'd not had one single enquiry about them. As well as the fact that rehoming rats in Norfolk is notoriously difficult for some reason, I appreciate that a lot of people don't want to take on rats that need work.
So after 2 weeks, I decided to keep them here. I could not keep them indefinately without getting attached, and had to have a cut off point.

Lolli is getting bigger every day, and she has so much character. She is one of those rats who think they rule the world, and it is hilarious watching this tiny little girl stomping about and acting like the boss in a cage full of older, bigger rats. She is harmless though, she just likes to act tough. Shes very curious and is always interested in what you're doing. On clean out day, she'll perch herself on the shelf near the cage door and stare out until you finish. She and her friends are only young girls, so hopefully, they'll be with me for a long time to come.

Why lollipop? A friend of mine is fond of the word and I joked I'd call a rat Lollipop. I started calling her it, and it just kinda stuck.