Running Free

Photo from Imgur

It has been very difficult to motivate myself to write this post. Why? Well, because, for some reason, I decided to write up my litter training post in the same file and managed to delete the entire original write-up about free-ranging rats. It was a truly heart-breaking discovery. Okay, now that I’ve had a chance to mope, let’s see if I can remember anything that I initially said… nope. 

Something I’ve read about time and time again since I first got my rats is free-ranging; that is, allowing them to run loose in your house, or in a certain room or area. Eventually, I would like to try this since I’m sure Potato and Goma would enjoy it (if they can ever get over their whole “put me back in the cage right now!” sort of attitudes), but currently it’s not terribly feasible. There are a number of factors contributing to my hesitation.

First of all, there’s the cat issue. I have two cats (okay, I actually have a feline-shaped dog and a bundle of fear packaged inside whiskers and fur) and, while it’s nice to think that I could just lock them in a separate room or outside, there’s much too high of a chance of someone forgetting why they’re locked up/in and opening the door. Next thing you know – wham – rat sandwich. While I’m sure Monkey (the fear-bundle) would probably just re-enact this hilarious video, Basement (the cat-dog) would probably take his curiosity a bit too far; as in, to the point that he got rat breath. So, yes, cats equal a problem.

The next issue is that there really isn’t an appropriate room for Potato and Goma to safely run around in. I mean, yes, the kitchen/dining room would be ideal since they’re open and have easy-to-clean tile floors, but they don’t have any doors and, really, not much resembling doorways, either. This same reasoning, on top of the carpeted floor, is why the living room won’t work. As for the other rooms in the house – there are way too many places they could hide where I could never find or reach them and far too much stuff on the floor. I imagine rat-proofing my bedroom would take several days and would likely result in almost all of my possessions sitting in the hallway. But, wait, what about the bathroom? Surely it has tile floors and a working door? Why, yes, it does. It also has an unfixable leak behind the toilet that they would probably find and bathe in (they have actually run around the bathroom a couple of times, but I wanted to be a bit dramatic; I swear I’m not a terrible owner).

Reason number three is short, but kind of sad and mostly just an I-really-don’t-want-to-risk-that-incredibly-unlikely-but-unfortunate-incident-happening-again sort of thing. Basically, when I was young, we had several hamsters in succession (over a few years; don’t worry, we didn’t have to replace our hamster every other week or anything like that). Almost all of them managed to escape at one point or another and one of them happened to break free at the same time we were having our vents cleaned. The hamster went missing and the vent covers were replaced. Guess where the hamster was? Needless to say, it was highly unpleasant and I never want to experience that sort of trauma again.

All that being said, I do still intend to allow my rats some freedom outside of their cage, whether they like it or not. I am going to try to construct a rat run, like the one discussed here (there are also some other great free-ranging tips in that link, too, if you’re interested) once I amass enough clean cardboard. I’m also going to let them experience the great outdoors (ie. my backyard) by putting the top of their spare cage in the grass, although they’re not terribly fond of going outside, so we’ll see how long that lasts. I think I’ve mentioned trying to leash-train them before, too, but that’s a ridiculous tale I’ll get into at another time.

To Insure or Not to Insure

Photo from stock.xchng

Pet insurance has always been one of those things that I’m very on the edge about. I’ve had cats for most of my life, as well as various rodents and a dog, and my family has never considered getting coverage. Why? Well, mostly because trips to the vet have always been few and far between, and, when we have had to take an animal to the vet, it’s almost always for something that isn’t covered. Pet insurance usually tends to only cover the unexpected – accidents, unforeseen illnesses, and basically things that aren’t preexisting or genetic. I’m sure, for a lot of people, that this type of coverage would be the perfect incentive, but, for me, it comes down to overall affordability. I could spend $300 (this is just a guestimate) a year on insurance or I could just cover the vet bill when I need to. So far, with my rats, the latter has proven to be a far better choice. Since adopting them just over a year ago, I’ve had to take them to the vet twice – once when I first got them and Potato kept sneezing (it turns out he has nothing wrong and is just a sneezey rat), and once when they got lice from an unknown source. Including vet fees and the cost of lice shampoo, I’ve spent just slightly over $100 on vet time and I don’t mind covering future costs if and when they come up. That’s just what works for me. If you think you’ll be better off with insurance (say, if you have a clumsy animal or a cat who just can’t seem to stay away from your rats), then I do recommend looking into it just in case.

If you want a more in-depth look at the value of pet insurance for your rats, check out this post on the Rat Whisperer.

Thirsty?

Lixit Water Bottle

I have not had the best luck with water bottles for my rats, not at all. When I first brought Potato and Goma home, back when I had only the tiniest idea of what I was getting into, I had a glass water bottle for them. It was almost identical to the water bottles we had for our hamsters and guinea pig when I was growing up, save for a different size, so I was under the impression that it was one of the few things that I could understand. Too bad it didn’t work. I set up the cage, got everything in place and let the boys in, comfortable with the knowledge that they had cozy bedding and a fresh supply of food and water. The next morning, the water level hadn’t moved at all. So, okay, I filled it wrong or put it together funny, nothing some quick adjustments wouldn’t fix. Nope. Nothing worked. I could release the water by pressing on the stopper ball with my finger, but it didn’t budge for the rats, despite their best efforts. I tried exchanging it for another one, which also failed, before I decided it’d just be safer to use a dish.

Now, open dishes, even ones that attach to the side of a cage, aren’t recommended for rats for a variety of reasons. In short, they’ll probably climb all over it; poop will wind up in it more than once, as will fur and bodily fluids; it will spill, guaranteed; they might decide to drop their food in it, so that it will slowly fill with an unpleasant rat kibble-based paste. It is not all that fun, but at least I know they can definitely reach their water.

However, I recently read a great review of the Lixit Bird Deluxe Glass Water Bottle on the Rat Whisperer blog and I am intrigued. It sounds like a really excellent, trust-worthy product and she does tend to know her stuff. While I’m not going to run out and buy one right this second, I am seriously considering trying it out since it would be a much more mess-free alternative to my current set-up. I’m sure the boys would be happy to see a throw-back to their child-hoods, too.

A Case of the Giggles

This video is one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while. The basic gist of it is that rats are actually capable of laughing when they’re tickled! How awesome is that? If you watch the video, you’ll also know that it sounds incredibly adorable when lowered to a pitch we can hear. I feel like it makes the connection between humans and rats that much closer. I mean, if we can react to tickling in the same way and enjoy similar interactions, then who’s to say how many other undiscovered mutual interests our two species share?

That being said, when I tried tickling them, my boys did not react like the rats in the video. Instead, they got huffy and ran away. I can’t blame them, though, since I do the exact same thing. Like owner, like rat, I guess?

The Artful Rat

Art and photo by philosophyfox on Deviantart.com

I love artistic endeavours  whether they’re mine or someone else’s. You have a sketchbook you need filled? I’m your girl. You have fabric just begging to be a dress or a stuffed animal or both? Sure, no problem. You just finished making something spectacularly artsy and craftsy and wonderful? I’ll be there with bells on to ooh and aah and cheer you on (and possibly ask how much it costs to get one for myself). You’ve combined rats and art into one amazing masterpiece? Brace yourself because I’m already on my way.

That’s why I so excited when I saw this lovely sculpture of a pair of hooded fancy rats. The level of detail is wonderful, with every hair carefully sculpted into place. Their expressions, too, are fantastic. That rat on top is making exactly the same face Goma makes at me every time I walk by their cage without offering up a treat. The awesome doesn’t stop there, though – this artist’s gallery is chock full of beautiful ratty sculptures. It took me half an hour to actually start writing this post because I got so distracted trying to decide which is my favourite (they all are, by the way, because I simply couldn’t decide on one).

Fancier Fancy Rats

Photo by Tom Callan for the Wall Street Journal

This is just a quickie.

 I came across this photo of a very fabulously-dressed rat from the Wall Street Journal in 2011 (the blurb is at the very bottom of the webpage). Apparently it’s from a fashion show held during the “first-ever Fancy Rat Convention.” I’m a touch sceptical about the first convention ever, since people all over the world have been keeping rats as pets for decades, but I wouldn’t be surprised it was the first rat fashion show ever held. I’m actually impressed by the event on two levels – first, the fashion student in me is excited at all of the design possibilities for rat clothing and, second, the rat owner in me is amazed that anyone could get their rats to wear something for more than ten seconds. I can’t even get Goma into his harness long enough to shut all of the closures. I guess my boys just aren’t cut out for the world of rodent modelling.

Oh, and here’s one for the road: Do you reckon they called the runway a “rat walk?”

The Many Uses of Litter Trays That Don’t Actually Involve Litter

Photo from Rattit

I know, I know, what a long-winded title. But it’s so true. Ask any rat-owner who has attempted the supposedly simple task of litter training and they will tell you that rats love their litter pans to death. Just not for their intended purpose.

I’ve looked at a lot of tutorials and how-tos for litter training rats. One of my favourites, of course, is the one from the Dapper Rat. I find it to be very straight-forward and thorough. It gives you a good idea of what you’re in for and some excellent techniques to try in order to teach your rats that litter trays are the place to go when it comes to pooping.

However, no one told my rats that they’re supposed to follow along with the plan. It is a long-standing fact that male rats are more difficult to train than females. I suspect my boys take this to a whole new level. After a couple weeks of regularly transferring any stray poop into the litter tray and praising any attention they gave it, Potato and Goma did, indeed, learn that it marked the pooping location. Unfortunately, in their minds, this meant that they should poop on the platform beside the tray and then sleep in the litter instead. Strike one.

My next attempt involved using two completely different materials and lowering the tray to the bottom level of their cage. I honestly (and naively) believed the location was the main problem since their old cage didn’t have much floor space and so couldn’t fit a litter pan on the bottom level. The process continued much the same as above and resulted in basically the same thing. Well, except for the fact that they decided to mix the bedding and litter together, along with anything they’d shredded, and turned the litter tray into a luxurious rat bed far surpassing the first. Strike two.

So, here I sit. My rats are not litter trained and seem hell-bent against it. Frankly, they tend to be hell-bent against any training. They’re not big on being actively, unless they’re actively trying to get back to their cage because someone had the gall to try to remove them. In any case, I’m currently preparing for attempt number three. I’ll share the link once I find it, but there was an interesting post on Rattit that was a bit more extreme than my past approaches, so I’m thinking it might be just what I need. Essentially, I have to clear out all of the bedding from their cage and only put it in their litter pan. The bottom needs to be left bare for easy cleaning and maintenance while training them, which I’m a bit unsure of, but I’m willing to take the risk and it might help reduce Potato’s sneezing anyway. After that, it’s just a matter of diligently moving any and all poops into the bedding area. They also suggest using a tissue to wipe up any urine and leave it in the tray so the scent stays in that area.

I have high hopes for this one. Internet research, don’t let me down.

Rat Your Service

Michaelangelo, one of Dani Moore's two service rats

I recently came across this Tumblr post from about a month ago. A student managed to get approval to use his rat as a service animal at school, assuming it has the proper shots and is kept on a harness. I can’t help thinking about how awesome that is. I mean, service dogs and other medium-sized animals can be wonderful, but it can be tough moving with them in a busy environment. With a rat, you basically have your own pocket therapist. Not to mention that it’s a lot easier to avoid bringing attention to yourself if your disability involves having trouble in social situations.

I wound up doing a bit more research on rats as service animal and found some interesting information about a woman who uses her rats to detect and prevent seizures. Apparently there was quite the battle after a change to the Americans with Disabilities Act prevented any animal other than dogs and miniature horses to be recognized as service animals. Read more on it here and here.

Two by Two

Potato and Goma

One thing that I’ve always known about rats – and rodents in general – is that it’s definitely much healthier for them to be kept in pairs (or more if you have the room). When I was much younger, my family and I had no idea. Many a hamster lived out its life with only us for company. Unless you can literally spend almost all of your time with a rodent, you can’t possible give it the companionship it needs to be happy. Thus, I brought home two squirmy balls of fur into an unsuspecting household instead of one (but that’s a story for another post).

I just wanted to make a quick point for any prospective owners that it’s important to do some research before deciding to adopt a rat because you might wind up with twice as much responsibility as you expected. If you don’t want to take my word on it, there’s a great video on Youtube that shows just why it’s so important to buy these guys in pairs. Make sure you read the description, too.

Rats Against Discrimination

One of several adorable rat protest photos

I am absolutely enamoured by this series of rat-based“protest” images. Not only is every critter featured quite adorable, but their tiny picket signs really do address some of the most common misconceptions and just overall bias regarding pet rats.

Personally, the ones I run into the most are connecting pet rats with their wild street-based cousins and the “oh-so-gross” tail. I guess I can understand why someone would be so uncomfortable with a rat’s bare tail – I mean, it is kinda, sorta almost a little bit snake-like and it can be harder for them to clean, so it can also make them look a bit dirtier than they are (it doesn’t help that one of my rats has splotchy markings all down his tail). Luckily, so far, everyone who’s been introduced to Potato and Goma has remarked on how easy it is to overlook their “gross” tails for the rest of their lovable selves. Sounds like a win to me. As for the street rat equals pet rat misconception, almost everyone who even sees photos of my boys either admits that they might be wrong in disliking rats or, at the very least, says that they’ll make an exception for mine. It’s not perfect but I’ll take. Well, at least until I can wear them down.

As you might have noticed, too, this set of photos is the second in a series, so hopefully I can track down the first to share with you.