Trust Training

If you're feeling a disconnect with your rats, I highly recommend checking out the video linked above (her other videos are good, too). Depending on their personality, rats can be fairly skittish and distrustful when you first get them and, if treated improperly, these traits can actually get worse. The video goes over some good ways to help gain your rats' trust and breed familiarity with them, as well as giving some suggestions about what you should avoid doing until they're more comfortable with you. I've been using some of the tips in the video to help with my attempts to train my boys and it really seems to help keep them calmer (although it'll take some more work to move their focus toward the words and actions rather than just the food).

Rat Addictions

Photo from Brin de Folie

Thanks to the help of a number of rats, this study uncovered some interesting possibilities in regards to the addictive qualities of some drugs. In the experiment, rats were split up into two groups; one group was placed in a spacious environment with plenty of food, accommodations, and stimuli (ie. "Rat Park"), while the other group was placed in standard lab cages. Before being split up, all of the rats were given morphine for over a month, then each group had the option of drinking clean water or water laced with the drug. While the caged rats tended towards the drug-laced water, the majority of Rat Park residents opted for the clean water.

Basically, the results of the experiment suggest that the rats' reason for choosing the morphine-infused water was based less on an already established addiction and more on unpleasant living conditions. The Rat Park rats were far more comfortable than the caged rats and so could derive comfort from other sources. Granted, some of the Rat Park residents chose to continue taking the drugs, but the difference between the two groups of rats is still quite surprising. Not only did this experiment open new doors for drug research (to a degree, as it was largely overlooked), but I think it also helps to illustrate just how important a positive environment is for an animal's happiness, whether they're rat, human, or otherwise.

Some Cute for Your Day

Last night, as I was cleaning up their play area (ie. my kitchen table), Potato and Goma tried to take refuge in a tissue box. Unfortunately for them, there isn't exactly enough room for the both of them. Needless to say, I think Goma was a bit disappointed with the outcome.

How to Make a Water Rat

If your rats are anything like mine, they probably aren't huge fans of the water. If you'd like to change that - to help your rats cool down in the summer, teach them new tricks, help them cope with baths, or just to provide them with some more engaging activities - then check out the video above. I think it does an excellent job of demonstrating appropriate set-ups while also stressing the importance of taking it slow and gradually easing your rats into the activity.

I may or may not give this one a try. I suspect that Potato and Goma have had one too many baths for them to ever be completely comfortable in the water, no matter how much time I give them to get used to it. Then again, they seem to have no problem fishing for peas, so there may be hope yet.

The Power of a Rat's Love

Potato and Goma cuddling

When I stumbled upon this story about a rat named Mr. Tiffany (Mr. T for short), I didn’t expect anything deep. I was there for a cute story, some funny anecdotes, and maybe a few photos of an adorable pet. Instead, I got to read about how a fast-paced couple living abroad took in a shivering rat, alone and near death, and nursed him back to health. In the process, they became enamoured with his boundless energy and addicting personality. Mr. T allowed them to stop focusing on work and start prioritizing time at home with each other and their newly-adopted pet, which, even after he was gone, allowed for his family to feel prepared enough to have a non-furry child.

It really is heart-warming to know that one lonely rat found in an alley could have such a profound effect on people. He completely changed their lives for the better. I like to think that all of our pets do the same. I know that my rats have become an integral part of my life – apart from being the focus of this blog, they also act as silent, yet cuddly, confidants, as well as being an endless source of entertainment for my entire family. A rat’s love is, indeed, a powerful thing.

The Rise of British Super Rats

Photo from Flickr

While I usually like to stick to more upbeat stories and stories about domestic rats, I do still like to keep up with general rat knowledge and information, too. For instance, I recently read this 2009 article about British “super rats.” It seems that poison is the typical means of extermination within the country, but just like with overusing antibiotics, overusing specific poisons has allowed for the development of resistance in the overall rat populace. Basically, some of the rats had a genetic predisposition against the effects of poison and, since they’re the only ones to survive said poisons, they’ve begun to breed and spread their resistant traits. So now most of the feral rat population is almost unaffected by traditional rat poisons.

I love rats, but I can definitely see why this is such a huge issue. In the country, large rat populations can affect crops, while in cities, they can infest homes and damage buildings. If there’s no longer an effective way to control their population, they could easily overrun everything. According to the article, most people have since turned to slightly less elegant forms of extermination – everything from traps to guns and dogs. While it does come across as fairly brutal, I imagine a trap general means a much quicker and less painful way to die than certain poisons. Not that any of it is very nice, of course.

I attempted to find an update on the issue, but I can’t seem to find any articles regarding UK super rats past 2009. Whether that means that a solution’s been discovered or that people have just learned to deal with it remains a mystery to me.

Potato Tests Out a DIY Harness Prototype

I decided to give yesterday's harness tutorial a try this morning. I have learned a couple of things from this experience.

The big one is that the tutorial video suggests cutting 60" lengths of embroidery thread will provide you with more than enough. This might be true for some people, but, if you're like me, the last two inches of thread are a write-off if you want to be able to tie them off. Therefore, after an hour of work, I wound up with a harness the perfect size for a juvenile rat, which doesn't remotely describe Potato or Goma anymore. I would highly recommend cutting at least 65" or more for an adult rat. On the bright side, I now have a pre-made harness if I pick up any younger rats in the near future.

After that small disaster, I decided to make a test harness so I could get a better idea of the right length "rope" to make in the future. As you can see from the video of Potato above, it seems to work fairly well, so I might recommend this method for a quick fix if you need a harness in a hurry. Basically, I just cut some twine (since it's thicker than normal string) a bit longer than I thought I needed and measured it by wrapping it around one of my (very squirmy) rats. I then tied the ends together with a tight square knot and wrapped the knot in electrical tape to keep it from pulling too much. The rest was done the same as in the tutorial.

A fun side note: Apart from running around like a mad rat, Potato also seemed convinced that he could get the harness off by vigorously washing his ears. Needless to say, it was both an adorable and very silly sight to behold.

DIY Rat Harness

In the past, I've attempted to use store-bought harness for my rats. You know the ones - they come in a variety of sizes for rats, ferrets, rabbits, and so on, and are built like tiny rodent vests. If you've ever bought one, you also know that rats can wiggle out of them like nobody's business. The main reason for their easy escapes is that their tiny front legs can just slip right out of the holes in the vest and then it's just a matter of squirming until the rest of their body is free. Every so often I go back and try the vest again, thinking that maybe they just weren't big enough when I first bought it. Nope; they're fatties now and it still definitely does not fit.

If you've had the same issues, you may be excited to see this awesome tutorial for a DIY rat harness. Because it wraps around their body and neck separately and meets in the middle, it's a lot tougher for them to get out of it. I imagine it's probably also a lot more comfortable since there isn't nearly as much bulk. I know what I'm doing this week.

Too Much Love

As you know, I love my rats. They’re smart, cute, sweet, and a number of other positive, doting owner-inspired adjectives. That being said, I don’t think I could ever become quite as obsessed as Chantal Banks, who was recently featured in TLC’s “My Crazy Obsession.” This article briefly discusses the sacrifices Chantal has made for her 19-strong mischief, including leaving her husband so she can take care of them without interference. On top of that, her son has apparently grown up being treated equally to her rats.

Now, I can understand wanting to get more rats. If I had the time and money to care for them, I would gladly adopt some buddies for Potato and Goma. I can even understand expecting your children to grow up respecting and helping to care for any household pets. I cannot get over the fact that this woman has apparently placed her rats before her human family. A person’s child should always come before their pets, no matter how much they love them. And relationships, especially ones as serious as marriage, are all about respect, and ignoring her husband’s request to pull back on the ratty love to satisfy her own desire to expand her mischief is far from respectful. Plus, losing her husband’s support could also negatively impact her rats, since they’re now down a caretaker. All in all, the article makes it sound very much so like this is one case of rat love taken way too far.

Then again, I have yet to see the episode, so perhaps some of this has been taken out of context. If you’d like to watch it and decide for yourself, you can find it on Youtube here or check it out on Netflix. Let me know your opinion on the matter.

Lixit Success!

If you recall, I posted a while ago about why I don't use a water bottle for my rats. Long story short: I had a water bottle for Potato and Goma when I first got them and it didn't actually work, so they wound up being without water for two days and I felt awful and vowed never to risk it again. Thus, they've had a water dish ever since.

Anyway, after reading the Lixit review I linked in my previous water bottle post, I decided that I should give the brand a try if I ever came across one of their products locally. And, last week, I wound up finding a Lixit brand water bottle at Animal House, a locally-owned pet store. It's not quite as fancy as the one in the review, but it's working just fine so far. As you can see from the video, Potato and Goma are both pretty big fans, too.

My only issue now is that I bought them a silent wheel so their running in the middle of the night wouldn't wake everyone up, and now their water bottle is louder than their wheel ever was. Oh well, I guess some sacrifices are worth making.

Tissue, the King of Rat Bedding

Here's a somewhat brief video of Potato grabbing at strips of (hypo-allergenic) Kleenex so he can "carefully" rearrange them in his cardboard box fort. This is definitely a good way to occupy a rat and entertain yourself along the way. However, I'll warn you that you might wind up supplying tissues far longer than initially expected. Of course, your rats might be like Potato and Goma - one can't get enough of it and the other isn't quite sure what the point is.

As a side-note, I apologize for the vertical phone video and the lack of background sound. It seems Youtube ate my ambience.

Mother Knows Best

Photo from Go Locol Worcester

Here’s an interesting article discussing research done regarding the effects of rat parenting on their offspring’s behaviour. Basically, it’s been found in several studies that rats whose mothers are incredibly affectionate when licking (ie. comforting/encouraging) their children will eventually become highly affectionate and encouraging themselves. Conversely, rat mothers who are less enthusiastic will wind up parenting less affectionate children. However, this outcome can be changed by exposing the less cared-for children to more affection from other rats (basically, giving them to a surrogate rat mom who is enthusiastic in her licking). 

I find it very interesting that, in a way, rat behaviour mirrors our own. It isn’t rare to hear about or know someone who, despite not wanting to, winds up “turning into their mother” (or father). I think the big difference here, though, is that humans do have the choice to change their behaviour, whereas rats rely largely on instinct. So, while passive rat-mom might be stuck that way, a human mother who realizes her parenting technique isn’t up to par can choose to try something else, even if it’s a bit difficult to change.

One thing in the article I don’t really agree with is the constant reference to the licking supposedly “unlocking” the rats’ DNA to allow them to be affectionate. That isn’t how DNA works. From the sounds of it, all of the rats are genetically predisposed to be capable of extensive affection; it’s their parenting that affect how affectionate the children become. That has nothing to do with DNA (beyond the predisposition) and everything to do with their environment. In short, the quality of rat parenting seems to rely completely on “nurture” rather than “nature.” I’m no scientist, though, so don’t quote me on that.

As a side note, while I was told Potato and Goma are brothers, I suspect that they actually have different rat-moms, since Potato is disinclined to lick, well, anything (even his food just gets immediately chomped), while Goma could probably spend all day licking anything – hands, Potato, you name it.

Still Not Creepy

Goma getting scritches on my shoulder

I just found this blog post by Rachel Dickson over on Offbeat Home & Life. It's funny - I wasn't even looking for rat-related posts and yet this one just happened to jump out at me and it's not even that recent! Clearly, the magic of the internet brought us together.

It's a pretty good read, just highlighting some of the major misconceptions about rats that she has experienced (remember my first post? It's kind of like that). I found it kind of entertaining, though, that we both experienced the exact same thing when bringing our rats home for the first time - a disapproving parent announcing that it would never be allowed under their roof. Unsurprisingly, though, both of my parents have come to find Potato and Goma to be entirely endearing (although I doubt my mom will ever quite get over their tails, nor will my dad ever stop inferring that I let my bigger cat "play" with them). It's nice to know that, when given a chance, rats really can win almost anyone over.

Bath Time Blues

For some reason, I have no photos of my boys taking a bath; I'll replace this once I do.
Photo by PKMousie on Flickr

While it generally isn’t necessary to give rats a full bath, since they tend to groom as frequently and thoroughly as cats, sometimes they just really need it. I’m not talking about wiping down their tails with a damp cloth because they can get a bit messy or rubbing off excess porphyrin. I mean a full-out, wet-whiskers, soggy-rat bath.

So, as usual, it’s story time. Around the end of November 2012 I noticed that both of my rats had developed a lot of scabs across their backs and even one or two on their faces. They had also started to scratch a lot, so it was impossible to tell if they were itchy because of the scabs or if they were scabby because of the itching. Turns out it was the latter, as a trip to the vet revealed they had lice. I was given Ecto Soothe Plus (I'd link their website here if I could find it) to treat them, which surprised me a bit since it’s actually a shampoo for treating fleas and ticks on cats and dogs. I imagine that’s why I was to only use it once a week, had to ensure it was all rinsed off, and needed to avoid any chance of ingestion (which, if you’ve seen a wet rat cleaning, you’ll understand is no easy task).

Thus, for four weeks in a row, once their cage was cleaned, Potato and Goma got to take turns being bathed. This involved placing them individually in one inch of water in the bathtub and then pouring more water over their backs. I then had to lather the shampoo on their backs while simultaneously preparing to rinse it off with the other. The bath was then drained and the rats scooped up into the safety of a towel so I could dry them off and finally return them home. It doesn’t sound like an overly-involved process and it really isn’t that time-consuming, but they’re almost guaranteed to produce at least one fear-induced poop and, more than once, Goma has thrown himself back into the tub from the towel, despite having just finished a desperate escape attempt. Rat baths can get a little crazy sometimes. At least they don’t have lice anymore.

How I Convinced Myself My Rat Was Dying A Day Into Owning Him

Potato silently laughing at me

Rats are pretty small in the general scheme of things, so it’s not terribly surprising that they can suffer from some pretty terrible conditions. Okay, so, in reality, size has very little to do with things, but, generally, smaller things/creatures/etc. come across as more delicate and that’s where I’m headed with this. To make a long story much shorter, in their (far far too) short lifetimes, many rats will suffer from tumors, respiratory illness, or both. Oh, and cancer. Today, though, I just want to focus on the respiratory infection deal since that’s the one that I’ve been the most affected by and it’s the one that I heard about the most about when I was doing rat-related research in my first few months of ownership.

So, yes, rats have very sensitive respiratory systems. That’s why it’s usually frowned upon to keep them in a cage with solid walls – they can get sick from breathing in the fumes from their own urine. Yes, I know, now you just want to frantically clean your cage immediately because that is both an awful and scary thought. It doesn’t help that almost all rats are born with a respiratory disease pre-installed - Mycoplasma Pulmonis is a genetic disorder that can cause quite a bit of distress if it goes untreated (also, hearkening back to the insurance discussion, medication and treatment related to it probably aren’t covered by pet-insurance since it’s something they’re predisposed to). It can be pretty serious, so I highly recommend reading up on it; there is a very thorough write-up about thedisease, symptoms, and treatment here.

Now then, the reason I’m telling you about this is because I was positive that Potato was already suffering from this illness when I brought him home. He was super sneezey and I had no idea what a large porphyrin build-up looked like, but some was present, so that was enough for me. In my mind, he was already on death’s door. Of course, I could have just brought him back to the pet store, but that was just too cruel in my mind, so to the vet we went. We don’t have a specialist in my city, as far as I know, but my usual vet has treated rats before and would just have to do. Anyway, he gets a good once-over and I have to answer a bunch of questions about their food and cage and bedding. After all of that, Potato has never been happy with getting picked up and there wasn’t actually anything really wrong with him, either. He just sneezes a lot for no apparent reason. It’s weird, but I guess it’s better than any other outcomes. And, now that I know it’s not life-threatening, his sneezing’s actually pretty cute.

How 'Bout A Drink?

Image by Tanya Bond

This is rat-related in name only, but I thought it might be a bit fun.

I was mixing a drink this evening and wondered if there were any inspired by our little furry friends. A quick visit to a search engine later, I have some new drinks to try. Admittedly, they don't have the nicest of names, but, as I'm sure you already know, rats don't necessarily have the best reputations with the general populace. Oh well, they still sound pretty interesting.

First off is the Rat Shooter from Drink Nation. It consists of two alcohols I've never tried before, so it might take some time before I give it a go. Apparently Rumple Minze is a peppermint liqueur, so maybe I can substitute some Peppermint Schnapps instead.

Next is a shot called the Rats Brain, from Bar None Drinks. This one actually sounds pretty tastey - it's a combination of Baileys, Kahlua, and vodka. I don't want to know what feature gave it its name.

Then there's the Dead Rat shooter from Mario's Bar (the list is alphabetical). I don't want to know where it got it's name. I also clearly need to brush up on my alcohol knowledge since I can't even pronounce the first ingredient, let alone tell you what it is.

Continuing on with the negative connotation names, let's finish up with the Sewer Rat from idrink. While I recognize everything that goes into it, I'm not sure I like the idea of Kahlua and orange juice. In fact, I have a sneaking suspicion that this one's name definitely has some ties to its flavour.

If you're brave enough to try them all, it could be fun to make a night of it. Have a few friends over for a rat-themed cocktail party and see who's brave enough to try them all first. Or find out which one(s) you enjoy and just stick with those. Of course, don't let your ratties try any of these - I'm sure they'd be much happier with some fresh lettuce and a bowl of peas (or a bit of yoghurt or peanut butter if you really want to spoil them).

Rights of the Lab Rat

Photo from lab-rat.tumblr.com

I recently ran across this rather disturbing article. Needless to say it left a bad taste in my mouth. 

Animals not covered by the Animal Welfare Act are not subject to the “3 Rs.” Basically, there are virtually no restrictions on experiments performed on any rats, mice, or birds used for scientific research – scientists don’t need to look into possible alternative research methods, they can use as many animals as they want, and they don’t have to minimize any potential suffering.

Now, I can understand – and accept – that, sometimes, it can be necessary to experiment using animals when it concerns something important and there are no other alternatives. Cancer research comes to mind, or the scientists who grew a human ear on a rat a few years back – that was actually an incredible feat. Weird, but incredible, and I imagine that the rat was still able to function all right despite its extra appendage (though for how long, I don’t know). However, the examples listed in the article simply astound me. It almost sounds as if the experiments in question were selected specifically for their elements of cruelty rather than their necessity. I find it incredibly sad that an animal’s size (and possibly some twisted sense of tradition for the classic lab rat/mouse) can determine whether or not its comfort is considered important or not. As any rat owner knows, they can be intelligent and inquisitive as any dog. So, why can’t they be treated as well as dogs? Definitely food for thought.

Awesome Rats Doing Awesome Things

I didn't have access to my computer this weekend, so I also didn't have access to any of my awesome post material. Thus, to apologize, I have found you this amazing video of rats performing some great tricks. It really goes to show that, with a bit of patience, perseverance, and time, rats can be trained to do almost anything. My favourite by far is doing the laundry.

I can't wait until I have some more spare time so I can work more directly with my boys. Currently, they know their names (when they feel like listening) and recognize the sound of the treat drawer (no surprise there). I've tried giving them peas in water, but I think their "water equals bath" sense is too strong right now. I'll have to work on that.

The Adorable Videos Continue

Here’s a bit of fluff for your day – a rat who discovers a new game while trying to get to her owner's shoulder. The climbing up is pretty impressive on its own, but her sliding down is what makes it. No training involved, apparently.

If rats ever form cohesive little rodent metropolises I think this little girl will be first in line for their fire department if only for access to the building accessories. My favourite part is that she wraps her tail around the lamp post while sliding down.