Merry and Pippin’s parents were both bought from a pet shop and their owners were breeding litters to sell back to the shop.  The babies were rarely handled except to dump them in a box on the rare occasion their cage was cleaned.  Pippin is easier to handle than Merry but still isn’t too keen on being held for extended periods.  He’ll happily spend all day lounging in your hood though where he can investigate the world around him safe in the knowledge that he can duck out of sight if he’s startled.

 

Pippin’s main fault is that he’s a barberer.  Mostly he’s content to just remove the fur from his front legs but he’s also been known to barber the backs of other rats’ necks.  For several months Merry had a rectangular bald patch on the back of his neck.  Pippin had also started to barber the same spot on Frodo and Sam, but as they’re show rats I had to separate them.

 

Pippin shares a Freddy 2 cage with his brother Merry and little wonky Bilbo.