Rachie's Ratirement Home

Hi ,

Rachie's Ratirement Home is currently closed for a 12-month period to allow our dedicated team to rest and recuperate after 6 years of straight rescue work.

We will be reconvening in May 2025 to discuss what the next chapter of our RRH Story looks like and we will share information with the community via our RRH social media channels and website at this time.

In the meantime here is some information that we hope will support you to connect with any services that you might need during our absence.

How to I find a new place for my rats? Or find rats looking for a new home temporarily or permanently?
- Animal Welfare League Queensland and RSPCA are places you can contact if you are looking to surrender, foster or adopt rats.
- Other spaces that support the relocation of rats are:
- AWLQ Pocket Pets Page: https://www.facebook.com/awlqpocketpets
- Community Hub: https://www.facebook.com/groups/827153964694062
- Rat Migration and Accessories: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1749903898643259

If you find yourself in difficult circumstances, please reach out to some of the services listed below for help connecting with support, these services can connect with the RSPCA for support with Pets in Crisis too.
- DV Connect: Domestic and family violence help in Queensland (dvconnect.org)
- Homeless Persons Information Line: Homeless Hotline | Homes and housing | Queensland Government (www.qld.gov.au)
- RSPCA Pets in Crisis: Pets in Crisis Program | RSPCA Queensland (rspcaqld.org.au)

Help! My rat is sick?
If you rat is sick, mild or major - they need veterinary care. Please consider a rat-savvy vet like the ones listed below for help.
- Our Locations | Our Vet
- Home - VetKind Pty Ltd
- Vets for Rabbits, Birds & Other Exotic Pets - The Unusual Pet Vets
- you can also seek advice from Real Rat Lovers Want to Know | Facebook however you will need to request access to the group to seek support.

I would like to help as a volunteer with rats!
- Please check out the Pocket Pets Program within the AWLQ - Adopt a Pet (awlqld.com.au) and see what volunteer programs they have on offer!

I would like to be more connected to the rat community!
- We encourage you to join Community Hub | Facebook and Queensland Rodent Fanciers Society (https://www.facebook.com/queenslandrodentfanciers)!

If you are interested in supporting RRH's ongoing operating costs (data management, governance expenses and insurance) you can find out how to donate here www.rachiesratirementhome.com/donate - we appreciate your support during our period of rest.

We hope that this answered some of the questions that you may have emailed us about but if it has not, please connect with the online rat community - there are many knowledgeable folks in that space!

We look forward to seeing you in our next chapter!

-

Dis ,

I am just popping in (mid snack, mind you) to let you know that from today for 12 months, our Rescue is closed to allow our team to rest.

Later today we will post a closure post to help new visitors to the page over the next 12 months. This will include details about how you can continue to make donations to support the continued operational costs until we revisit our future operations in May 2025.

We will include information there about other community support pathways you can access if you need.

It's been a wild ride this last 6 and a bit years and we don't regret it for a second. We are so incredibly grateful for the who has grown around and with us over the last 6 and a bit years.

Keep an eye on socials for any important messaging, especially as we action our AGM in November, and again when we plan our review in May 2025.

Snoot boops,



IMAGE: A rat is held 'owe you rent' style with a mouth full of snacks.

You begin an entirely new chapter of your life when you realise that you do not need hammocks to be hung up to sleep in them.

Dis

Narrators Note: This is probably the rat equivalent of humans sleeping in doonas/duvets straight from the dryer!

- Photo by , post by

IMAGE: A rat is snuggled as comfy as pie in a pile of unhung hammocks.

Hey ,

Here is some actual footage of how exhausted we all are here as we madly scramble our way through the last remaining tasks to get the rescue closed up for a year.

We haven't had much chance to process what this all means for us yet because it's been almost 7 years for some of us.

Whilst we will be REALLY absent over the next 12 months to properly rest, the reality is that some bills still need to be paid and the Exec need to remain as guardians of the sleeping Rescue until it's time to revisit and explore its future.

Thinga that we will absolutely still need help with in that period are the following ongoing bills that ensure our legal, governance and data security obligations are met.

I have detailed them below for the curious but the main point is - donations are still required.

We'll still have these operational costs:
- $50/mth for Xero (our accounting software)
- $36/mth for Airtable (our record-keeping software)
- $34/mth for Squarespace (our website)
- $5.18/mth for our annual return (AGM Governance Document)

It's going to be much lighter without the usual rescue work, but we'll still be using $125 per month to keep the various educational resources we've built up over the years up & running.

If you can support our operational cost during the closure, you can find our donation details here: rachiesratirementhome.com/donate . We are still a registered charity and DGR endorsed organisation - we will tell you if that changes.

You can also continue to donate via the Containers for Change Program - our ID is C10415759

If you have donation queries during our closure please contact [email protected] and we will do our best to assist.

We are so ready to be resting like this sweet rattie friend . To all who have helped us get to this point, thank you. To all who will help us stay scurrying along in the next 12 months, thank you!

- on behalf of

Before opted for the direct-to-mouth approach, he was a young Sir who ate his Vetafarm using the more popular Bowl-Paw-Mouth method.

- Photo by , post by

IMAGE: A young Snoot, poised on the bowls edge with a Paw full of tasty Vetafarm nuggets.

Well isn't this a bittersweet day - our last nominations for a while as RRH heads into its hibernation period for the next 12 months. I have searched far and wide for two really excellent nominations so that we can finish this chapter on a brilliant round - I hope you enjoy!

To start we want to give a HUGE shout out to and her HuMum ! was brought home by after needing a safe place to stay at a time that the rescue wasn't able to step in and help. , a beloved member of our stepped up to the call and provided the safe home, care and support that needed and as a result this little lass is now gaining healthy weight, sleeping like a rat without any cares and enjoying the heck out of her life - just the way she is meant too! We wanted to highlight this story because it is exactly this type of community collaboration that we hope to see thriving in the absence of Rachie's Ratirement Home over the next year. Because really, even though RRH won't be here, the , this community we can built together - that will be, and that will continue to for as long as they need saving. So and - you are absolute our Best rat/hoomie duo for this week - no question!

Of course, we know the rules well after all this time - no Best nomination can exist without an equally compelling Worst nomination. This week, that goes to , who you can see is absent from nominee photo's. Thankfully (or not if you are Grove and have to clean up after Mazli), this little darling left a clearly identifying calling card to say that she WAS here, at some point. Maybe the photographer took too long - or she saw another wall that needed p**ping on...that will forever be a mystery to us! So , for your continued commitment to freestyle p**ping - you are again, our Worst (yes, even though you fled the scene)!

We hope this last round of has brought you some joy. We have enjoyed pulling these nominations together for you over the years and we hope to see them (and RRH) return in a years' time, well rested and full of new rattie chaos for us all to enjoy!

-

When you wake up late on a Sunday to find that your children STILL don't know the meaning of personal space...

Ft. Mumma and daughter

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IMAGE: Two ratties sound asleep in a bright hammock until Mum wakes to find her daughter has assumed she is infact a pillow...

It's happening again today!

Can you help with some packing, or do you want to come and pick up some last-minute rattie items in the second day of our pack down working bee?

Head to 16 Tanby Street, Sunnybank Hills Q 4109 until 5pm today!

See you there!

Sometimes you just want a nice photo of yourself relaxing in your sputty having a good day...but your sibling has other plans... *sigh*

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IMAGE: One very chill rat is hanging out in a black sputnik. In the background his sibling is pulling faces from the safety of the sea grass mat.

Do you need something to fill in your Tuesday slot once RRH goes on its rest year?

A jolly little giggle from the perspective of our beloved rattie friends?

Well look (and listen) no further than the wonderful people behidn The Rat Chat Podcast 🐁

Enjoy brilliant rattie humor in these magazine covers and check out the podcast for equally excellent rat content!

-

It's Wednesday 💜 and you know what that means! Another installment of Rats Weekly 🐀 Our imaginings of what a magazine would look like if it was written by rats, for rats!

The incredible is here to tell you that the hands free method of eating Vetafarm is hands down the BEST way.

You're welcome.

- dis

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IMAGE: rests his paws on the edge of the bowl and shoves his head mouth first into a tasty bowl of Vetafarm!

The orbulous knows that snacks are important...you should have enjoyment in your diet and for him, that's a little bit of muffin paper with a sample of his hoomies muffin!

What tasty snack will you enjoy today ?

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IMAGES: A four part series showing grabbing a sample of his HuMums muffin.

It's here - our Final Farewell Working Bee!

If you have some time this weekend we would love to have your help in sorting, packing, cleaning, gardening and running rubbish to the tip! This is the final push to get the Rescue closed up by the end of the lease (which is the following weekend)!

We will provide snags on bread and soft-drink (all free) for all the helpers who turn up so we can get things done!

Date: Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th of May 2024
Time: 9am to 5pm (both days)
Where: The Rescue - 16 Tanby Street, Sunnybank Hills QLD 4109
Tasks: Packers, Cleaners, Sorters, Gardeners and Tip Runners
Benefits: Our absolute gratitude, a snag on bread, soft drinks (all free)

You don't need to let us know you are coming as we will be there slogging it out till it's done so just turn up in your comfiest working clothes and pitch in for as long as you can!

Please don't think (oh I am sure others will be there) we really need EVERYONE who has the capacity to help in some way there - trust us! We will not ask you to do a single thing that is beyond your capability and capacity but if you can help in some way we really do need you! If you have questions - pop them in the comments!

Looking forward to seeing you there

-

As the day breaks on another Tuesday, we find ourselves in the company of a trusted joy, another round of ! These get bitter sweet the closer we get to our closure period, infact this is our second last round!

To start, let's celebrate the sustainability principles of our dear . He recently discovered a wonderful utopia in a box, the place his HuMum puts all the damaged and old hammocks that can not go in cages anymore. Herbie doesn't believe that this is the end for those hammocks, so he has turned it into a perfect nesting haven. Now everyone enjoying free roam can also enjoy the quiet relaxation of a moment or 3 in 's Hammock Haven. For your commitment to the principles of Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle - you are this weeks Best darling!

Now we do need a Worst to keep the powers in balance. However, this week is no rat. In a bitter-sweet sign that our time to rest is close, the team celebrated the incredible achievement of having all our remaining in their furever families. This means we still have a few empty cages (available for purchase) dismantled and waiting for their next journey. Whilst it is an incredible achievement for our rats and a wonderful acknowledgement of both our volunteers and our , it is still hard to see the cages completely empty for the first time since we started this operation. So empty cages, you are (sort of) our Worst this week but only sort of!

, please keep your eye out for a post coming later today with details of our Working Bee this weekend. It's the big day , I know many of you offered support, and I truly hope we see you this weekend - we need it!

-

On Mondays, it is important to squish yourself (and a friend) into a very confined space. This serves the dual purpose of being in a squishy cuddle puddle AND minimising the chances of Monday finding you!

- dis helpful advice from (pictured) and (present but shy and invisible)

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IMAGE: A soft rattie and hid invisible friend squished between the cage roof and the top of the hammock, safely hidden from Monday's gaze!

and here with an important reminder about the appropriate position for a Sunday morning...please do a quick self assessment to work out if you need to make any adjustments!

- Photo by , post by

IMAGE: Two rats are sound asleep, side by side in a beautiful bin chicken hammock on this lazy Sunday morning.

This is the kind of body guard I need to defend the sanctity of my Saturday morning sleep ins!

- ft. and

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IMAGE: One rat is sound asleep in a bright pink hammock with a bodyguard rat carefully watching for threats to their friends naps.

When you enter the human relocation portal, remember to take a snack or two in case there is traffic!

- dis the Orbulous!

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Human! Give me a dig box, or the plant gets it!

Please and thank you!

- dis the friendly and very polite gansta rat

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IMAGE: A beautiful rattie rests alongside a plant he found and petitions for a dig box.

When your snuggle buddy gets more comfy and you, well you do not.

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IMAGE: Two ratties snuggle, somewhat awkwardly for at least one of them, in a beautiful bright hammock.

Well, well, well...we have premium nominations for you this week ! You have to thank for this chaos, particularly the p**p one!

To start though, let's appreciate the absolute fluidity that rats are capable of. For example Tulin here is hanging out in that salt pig is one of four rats hanging out in there for this photo. Yep. Four of them. The rats are very clear on the matter - "Physics, never met her!". So - for whatever magic you pulled to get four rats in there, and for your generous sharing - you are this weeks Best .

Of course - we need to balance all this good-ness out with a premium dose of absolute chaos and for that we have ! As you can see here... likes to take a really REALLY unique approach to p**ping. I mean really - why do you need to p**p ON THE LEDGE. Darling for the MOST suspicious p**ping position we have ever seen - you are this week's Worst !

We hope you have enjoyed this particular round of and that you have a wonderful week !

-

wants to make sure she gets every last lick of yoghurt off this spoon...

How do you think she is going ?

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IMAGE: A young rattie is enthusiastically cleaning a yoghurt covered spoon at the entrance of her cage.

When your hoomie leaves a comfy little nap spot just lying around you take the win right...right?!

- Dis

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IMAGE: Herbie is resting his head in Vollie Cats upturned hand looking comfy as pie!

Ahem...dis !

I am the original master of the Spiderman hammock pose and I wanted to make sure you all know dis.

learnt everything he knows from me!

That is all.

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IMAGE: rocking the O.G. spiderman pose of her hammock to secure some tasty muffin morsels.

is working on his form for his upcoming audition to play - do you think he is in with a good chance ?

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IMAGE: A rattie hangs vertically down from a sputnik, stretching to a tasty snack below!

'Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage
Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage
Someone will say, "What is lost can never be saved"
Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage!'

- Bullet with Butterfly Wings (Smashing Pumpkins) cover by !

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My brother the Orbulus loves getting on the tools and helping out.

I like resting.

Same, same I think!

- dis

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