the new tinies

My beloved rat Gypsy died last week, and my mom lost no time in planning a trip to Avilon Zoo to get new rats--"apat na kaya," she suggested, "para masaya sila."  Gypsy started showing signs of being sick after her companion Dublin passed away last July.  [Gypsy also had a mammary cyst common to half of the female rat population.]  The night before she died, she just lay in my arms sniffling, hardly moving at all.  It was difficult to say goodbye, so I just said goodnight to her before I went to sleep.  When I woke up she was gone.  

I sort of blame myself for not getting her another companion sooner, so four rats at once is a cool idea.  I called Ark Avilon to ask about their pet store's rat availability, and I got a positive response. I also found out that Avilon Zoo in Montalban (which is nearer to where we live and where I got Gypsy in 2008) no longer carries pets for sale; Petissimo (their pet shop) has been permanently transferred to Ark Avilon, near Tiendesitas in Pasig.  So today after hearing mass at UP, we made our way to Ark.  Since we didn't have Miel with us we decided to go around the zoo next week instead, opting to just buy rats and have a look around the Tiendesitas stalls and have lunch before heading home.

Ark Avilon Zoo

I was too excited I forgot to take pictures.  My dad wanted to get some really cute guinea pigs and I think he's really thinking about it, haha.  My mom liked a degu, but when the caretaker said they usually sell degus in pairs which cost ten thousand pesos, I quickly pointed out "imported kasi eh."  A degu, according to Britannica, "is one of four species of ratlike South American rodents found primarily on the lower western slopes of the Andes Mountains. It is one of the most common mammals of central Chile at elevations up to 1,200 metres (3,900 feet), where it prefers open grassy areas near shrubs, rocks, and stone walls."  It's really cute:

tad expensive rodent.

We bought two black hooded boys and two husky girls.  The boys I named Darcy and Bingley, after two characters from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.  The girls have no names yet.  I wanted one of them to be an Emma (she looks like an Emma) but my mom said no, it sounds too much like your lola (bummer).  Anyway, here they are!

unnamed girlie #1 (the one I wanted to call Emma)

unnamed girlie #2, with Bingley in the background

Darcy and "Emma"

Bingley and girlie #2

"Emma"

And those are my new tinies.  What do you think would be good names for my girlies?  :)