From the website:
//13:20 .. 28-Jun-2002
The Rats In The Ranks
Just like the housemates, the rats have had a rollercoaster ride too. They’ve been loved, hated, were almost electrocuted and worst of all, have had to listen to a lot of rat cage ramblings from their human hosts. It’s time we paid our respects.
Twelve cute critters were plucked from obscurity to become arguably the most famous rodents since Mickey Mouse. At $16 a pop, they’ve become the sneaky silent majority as the show’s progressed. None of them have ever been evicted and they’ve had their fair share of intruders too - mainly in the form of Marty and Jess, but occasionally Aaron and Pete as well. Nathan loathed the little creatures, as did Keiran, Shannon and Mirabai.
But let’s concentrate on the positives, shall we? Jess was undoubtedly their biggest fan. She talked to them like they were her own babies. She’d spend hours sitting in the cage letting them crawl all over her body, sit in her hair and chew at her ribbons and string. She and Marty even named their new furry friends: Stuey (Jess's favourite), Ratus (Marty's favourite), Razorback, Lickey, Light Lickey, Legoo, Fatso, Mosley, Knightrider, Big Fella, Moey and Marcus. Great names, but maybe Marty and Jess should now know that all the rats are actually girls.
Jess said she found the rats a source of inspiration when the chips were down. She’d sit in there and talk to them when she didn’t feel like talking to the other housemates. It was also one of Marty and Jess’s favourite private pecking places. They’d sit among the crawly critters cuddling and kissing, with Jess even blurting the "L word" while in the rats’ presence.
The rats weren’t all goody two shoes though - they had their fair share of bad moves as the weeks went by. From causing Aaron to kick his toe one morning, to chewing through Jess’ skirt and microphone, the rats have had their reprimands. They’ve bitten the hand that feeds them, namely Jess and Marty. Big Brother even had to intervene with the rat pack at one stage. They had decided to feast on some tasty electrical wiring running through the back of the cage - not good for the digestion he told them.
The tiny twelve have not missed out on their own Uncut action as well. Besides being twelve females all over each other at the best of times, they’ve been up more pairs of Marty’s shorts than Jess and Sahra put together. They’ve bitten his nipples and gnawed at his chest hair, and that’s without an invitation. Those dirty rats!
So what will become of our girls when their human housemates all go? You’ll be glad to know the rats will be returned to the Dreamworld Wildlife Department where they’ll receive the best sawdust money can buy. And yes, they’ll keep them well away from the tiger cubs.
