Ratopia

Saying Goodbye...

2011-01-11T22:13:00.001-08:00

I didn't get to write about my last crew. They were sweethearts, all of them. The girls: Lolly (aka Lolly-Dolly), Pepper and Scooter and the boys: Alvin, Simon and Theodore, aka Theodorable (the last to leave). Unfortunately (and fortunately) we got adopted by a stray cat who is a huntress. The kids had to be kept far away from the rest of the family except when Stompy (our cat) wasn't around. Stompy actually reached in and grabbed Simon after jumping over a barricade we had erected to keep her away (he wasn't hurt, but was VERY scared). It just wasn't fair to them and made me very sad. After Theodore died I made the difficult decision not to get any more little rattie friends as long as our cat is with us.

So I say goodbye to this blog and a very sad goodbye to ratties for now. I will leave this blog here for any value it might have to current or prospective rat owners and I hope that others will find a place in their hearts for these misunderstood, loving, social and funny creatures. Every rat that I had taught me something about myself and about life.

R.I.P. little Pez 1-7-08

2008-01-08T18:52:00.000-08:00

Pez was the cutest rat in the world. The pictures cannot do her justice at all. It was something about the combination of her goofy looks, her low-slung dumbo ears, her silly galloping waddle and her crazy, loving personality. Named Pez because she looked like a little pez dispenser standing up, she inspired love and poetry.

She died suddenly. It was a shock. I found her yesterday evening when I opened the cages to give everyone a string cheese snack. When she didn't run to the door I knew. I don't know what happened, she had been out the previous day and was active and happy... maybe a stroke? I hope it was fast. I think it was, her face looked peaceful and her eyes were closed.

I am going to miss that crazy little rat so much. She reminded me so much of my first heart-rat, Penelope. I remember when she was a baby if you picked her up when she was busy she would give this loud squeak, not mad but just letting you know she had things to do, places to go. She loved people and always wanted to be with her people. She was a busy, busy girl but had to have frequent snuggles to get loves. The older she got the more she loved to snuggle. And she would really snuggle - cuddled up near your neck or in your arms, sometimes resting her chin on your hand. And her big, beady eyes would look up at you with love and curiousity.

Sweet rat, I hope you and Penelly find each other and are great friends. Your uncle Bunny will see you soon. You have a big piece of my heart. I'm glad we took these pics a couple of weeks ago.

Holiday Gifts - PEW rat and Fairy print

2007-11-19T16:26:00.001-08:00

This 8 x 10" print by Jasmine Becket-Griffith reminds me of my first rat, Rattie. There is only one left in stock on her etsy site.

You can also see more of her art on her official website www.strangeling.com.

Holiday Gifts - Rat Card Gift Pack

2007-11-19T16:01:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of buying handmade and supporting rats and ratlovers, I am going to try and showcase an artist/craftsperson each day until December 12.

This $5 gift pack by Voz features a card with one of my favorite images of a mom and baby rat. It really captures the spirit of rats.

The goodie bag description from Voz's Etsy site:

You get one blank card with an illustration of a mommy and baby rat cuddling, one spiffy magnet featuring an enthusiastic flag-waving rat, and four stickers (two of each design) for fancifying surfaces that are glaringly rat-free.

The card is 4x5 inches and comes with a red envelope.

The magnet is a 2" square photo transfer with a a glittery gloss varnish and sturdy 3/4" magnet on the back.

The stickers are self-adhesive, made of paper and printed with waterproof ink.

You can also find more of Voz's wonderful animal-loving art (including aardvarks and guinea pigs) on her website www.fishcakes.net.

Kind Rats

2007-07-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

This article in the New York Times (shared by Jane A. of the ratlist) about kindness in rats will not be a surprise to those of us who have rats but hopefully it will start to change some stereotypes.

I've had to go no-mail on the ratlist this past year because of my job and husband's health but I pop in from time to time and it is good to see some of the old familiar names still there.

Best-selling author talks about his pet rats

2007-05-16T14:01:00.000-07:00

Fresh Air from WHYY, May 14, 2007 · Wondering what your pet is trying to tell you with that bizarre habit or that pleading look? Dodman is the best-selling author of The Dog Who Loved Too Much and The Cat Who Cried for Help. His latest is Puppy's First Steps: The Whole-Dog Approach to Raising a Happy Healthy, Well-Behaved Puppy.

At the end of the interview on NPR (National Public Radio), Terry Gross asks Dodman about the pets he has at home. He mentions a rat (he had two but one died of old age) and Terry asks him "Why a rat"? He gives a wonderful and personal endorsement of why rats make such good pets. You can listen to the interview on the NPR website.

Rat Trick Video

2007-04-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

This link was recently shared by a member of the RatsPacNW group (a great and active group stretching from Northern California to Washington). It shows a very food-motivated rat doing some tricks. I shortened the link to make it easier to get to http://tinyurl.com/ywnedp

Tired of Leaking Water Bottles?

2007-03-26T19:22:00.001-07:00

I've been meaning to post this one for awhile. I thought I would never find a water bottle that didn't leak. I tried several different brands and then I found THE best water bottles.

We moved the rats in the car from California to Portland, Oregon and I kept the bottles in the cages during the move, which you definitely cannot do with regular bottles, and there was absolutely no leakage.

It takes the rats a little while to get used to drinking from it but it is well worth it. The nozzle is brass and the bottle is outside the cage so heavy chewers can't damage it. They can also be refilled from outside the cage which is very convenient at times (definitely when you are travelling!)

They are called Water Buddies and you can get them in various sizes. You can check out the reviews from users and order from here.

First 48

2007-03-05T23:28:00.000-08:00

I knew there was more than one reason to love this show. First off, it somewhat makes up for the loss of Homicide: Life on the Street, one of the best t.v. shows ever made, second, it is real life, done in almost real-time and it brings home the high cost of drugs and thugs without being preachy. And then I find out that one of the Memphis detectives has two pet rats! Can't get much better than that.

Tutorial: Sewing a Cuddle Cup

2007-02-25T13:29:00.000-08:00

Well, its been awhile. My new job (at an alcohol and drug treatment center for adolescent girls) is pretty much taking over my life. The fur kids are doing ok. J takes them out when I can't, but I miss spending time with my babies.

Anyway, I'll try to post when I run across anything extra cool. This tutorial fits that description.

Its a cuddle cup designed for guinea pigs but would work equally well for ratties.

Hope all of you out there are well and happy, eileen

We're BAAA.....AAAACK!

2006-10-18T16:50:00.000-07:00

Well, what a long strange trip. And its not over yet. I never understood why people would try to rehome their rats because they were moving. Well, I still wouldn't do it, but I definitely understand why people do now.

Its been very hard on the rats and us. We lost two kids, Bailey and Luna, and Pickles has a huge tumor. I'm sure the stress and environmental changes affected everyone's immune systems. We have no money until the house closes escrow (fingers crossed) on Friday and then I'm going to rush her in to the vet.

It was so hard finding a place in Portland (Oregon) to rent to us with the two dogs because they are "restricted breed mixes", Chow, Shepard, and Rottweiler. When I finally did I never disclosed the rats for fear of not having a place to live, so we have to keep them hidden and low-profile until we find a home. We got pretty good at doing that during our time at the motel. Smuggling 3 cages in and out and keeping them out of sight (and smell!) was quite an adventure.

I'm back to my weekly-ish publishing schedule on here. I am planning to go to Ratapalooza on November 4 and I will definitely post when I return!

A rat by any other name...

2006-07-15T23:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm in the middle of a hellish move and really shouldn't be blogging. However something kinda funny happened during the process. We were going over disclosure papers with our realtor V., who is an animal lover and has met the rats.

One of the disclosure questions is "Are there, or have there been any pets at this location? If yes, how many and what type?" So, I didn't really know what to write, knowing how wierd and prejudiced people are about rats and I put "Yes, two mixed-breed dogs and 9 small caged pocket pets." V. got to that part and understood why I was evasive, but she said she thought it might raise a red flag that I used a euphemistic term like pocket pets. So she's trying to reword it and avoid the word "rats" and she keeps trying different sentences but is stopped every time, rodent doesn't really sound better and so she looks at me a little frustrated and says "Isn't there another name for them?!"

I laughed and told her I personally like the sound of Norwegian Whip-tail Squirrel and she came up with a couple more creative variations. Ultimately we decided to put "9 small caged pets". As she pointed out, why should they care what they are if they are in a cage anyway?

Apologizing in Advance

2006-05-31T16:38:00.000-07:00

I'm moving. If you've ever tried to move a household with two large dogs and nine rats, (or any large animal contingent) I know you will have sympathy with the chaos I am presently in.

Please accept my apology for the irregularity of my posting schedule. I'll still try for once a week but I may not be quite as regular for awhile until I get settled.

Until next time...

Proceed at your own risk!

2006-05-31T15:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, with that cautionary disclaimer in place...

Awhile back I read about a zoo somewhere that has a rat exhibit of Rattus Norvegicus and they noticed that when the water sprinkler was on the rats would congregate underneath it, seemingly enjoying it so they made it a permanent part of the exhibit. If anyone has the link to that article let me know.

I couldn't find that reference, but I did find this: there is a zoo in the Netherlands with a rat "sewer" exhibit that features water. Anyway, the point to all this being that a strange idea was planted in my head after reading that and then subsequently reading about a rat owner who took her rats in the shower with her. When I told my husband I wanted to try it he told me I was crazy and I conceded that he was probably right, that they'd probably freak and I'd get mauled. But I still secretly yearned to try it. I mentioned it again the other day to someone, not a rat person, but sympathetic to rats and she said "that's insane, that is sick".

Maybe that's what finally did it. I have a perverse and obstinate nature and if enough people tell me I can't do something I usually have to try it. Consider me like that dude, George Plimpton, (someone characterized him as a participatory journalist), who checked it out so you don't have to. Or, if you are adventurous, follow my tips for an excellent adventure.

Showering with rats

First of all let me just say that they all LOVED it (well, with the exception of Peaches who jumped onto my head at first). Of course I didn't try Luna, my super-shy girl or Pickles and Bailey, the Rescue Rats. I'm crazy, but not suicidal.

And let me say, I LOVED it. Not because it proved me right, but because it let me share a new and different experience with the kids.

OK, so here's how I did it.
First the preparatory phase:

Move anything out of the shower that might get in the way.
Position the shampoo (I used a mild dog and cat shampoo) up high where it will be easy to reach.
Change the water setting to a spray that is closest to rain
Make the water temperature hotter than you normally use
Put on a t-shirt (long sleeves and high neck would be best, if possible)
Put towels where they are easily accessible
Turn the shower on and leave it running while you go and get test subject

Second phase:

Choose your guinea rat. I chose Buster because he is the most docile in terms of being handled.
Put them on your shoulder (this assumes they are already comfortable shoulder riders)
Step into the shower with them, but not directly into the water at first
Talk "happy talk" to them and pet them
Tell them what an exciting adventure they are on
Slowly back both of you into the water spray, just enough to get them a little wet. They may move away at this point. Just pet them and let them explore, then move back again
Turn to get them wet every so often (at this point several of them were helping me, putting their face into the spray, grooming my wet head, etc...).
When they are pretty thoroughly wet, get a little soap into your hands (you may want to dilute it with water a little so it is easier to rinse)
Scrub-a-dub-dub, but avoid the face
Rinse the same way you got them wet initially (if you have a hand-held shower you can use it to get closer to get the last of the soap off).
Get out of the shower and dry off rat
OR if you are doing multiple rats, call your assistant (yoo-hoo, John...) to come and take your wet rat and replace it with another one.

And if you do try this at home (or you have already tried it), please report back. I'd love to hear your experiences!

Ratvocate: A Poem

2006-05-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

Well, Pez and I took a trip to the outside world yesterday and it was ugly. Ratphobes all around. I came home feeling discouraged and wrote the first 4 stanzas of a poem about people's ignorance.

When I showed it to John he gently reminded me that I used to feel that way, too and that centuries of prejudice couldn't be eradicated overnight. That was a wake-up call. There is alot of work to do to educate people, hence the title and the last 4 stanzas.

Ratvocate
by E. McGarvey
dedicated to Pez and Ratty

I think that they will never see
this rat
as lovely as can be.

Her velvet tail and sparkling eyes
are beauties
they don't recognize.

I think that they will ever be
too blind
and ignorant to see

this innocent and trusting soul,
a love
that they will never know.

And yet, I too, was once like them
so full
of fear and ignorance.

One little rat, with bright pink eyes
taught me
my fear was ancient lies.

So I will try and do the same
to clear
the clouds of human blame;

to teach them of this special pleasure,
a rat,
a gift, a moment's treasure.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License. That means you are welcome to keep it or redistribute it as long as you give credit and don't make changes or use commercially.

Rat Crafters and Artists: Part 1

2006-05-08T10:36:00.000-07:00

In my constant pursuit of all things RAT, I came across several artists and crafsters doing exciting stuff with a rat theme. In fact, I found so many that I am making this a two-part post.

Kim Parkhurst does amazing realistic dollwork, including this fabulous hairless rat, Puddin. Also, check out her rat prints at her Ebay store Toad Briar and her photos of her other dolls and paintings (and her own pet rats!) on her Flickr site.

This next piece was found on crafster.org. I find the idea particularly endearing and the patch itself is very beautifully and sensitively crafted. It is a personal tribute from Miz Persnicket (aka Athanasia).

"I did this large patch last week on a whim instead of studying for a midterm. My camera was out of batteries, so I had to scan it! It is a homage to my Mister Mayo."

You can check out Miz Persnicket's craft blog, crafty olive, to see her other work.

I love the diversity of styles and mediums I found. These next pieces are just a few of a large collection of stained and fused glass rats done by artist and ratlover, Elizabeth Rupert. Her glass studio is called Mischief Glassworks. I especially like the rat with wings and am fascinated by how the pieces glow.

Ultraviolet, another ratlover and craftster.org member, made Pirate Rat from a pattern in Debbie Bliss' book Toy Knits, and then this cute little female rat based on a Fairy Mouse pattern from the same book. I like the fact that it really looks like a rat and not a mouse (altho I have nothing against mieces...I'm just tired of people thinking mice are cute, but rats are ugly)! You can see photos of some of Ultraviolet's former rats and other knitting projects at her www.threegoodrats.com website.

piebirdjosie (aka Josie), another craftster.org member, had this to say about her cool rat hat:

"I just added some ears and ribbon to a basic hat. Now hopefully my rats will let me into their exclusive club."

She also created the wonderful Dear Birthday Rat Bag for the friend who inspired her to adopt her rats. You can find out more about Josie, her creations and her furry friends at her website, piebirdjosie.squarespace.com

Tara's angel rat, another craftster.org find, has such a soulful expression. I love the unusual colors and bead accessories she used.

The first time I saw this cake made by Rach of the Jungle, for her rat-obsessed roomate's birthday, I thought it was a picture of real rats eating a cake. It is a truly inspired idea and the marzipan rats are amazingly realistic. Someone posted the link to the ratlist which is what inspired me to search craftster.org for more rat-related stuff, so I guess Rach is responsible for this post!

Cat Toys for Rats

2006-04-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

I have discovered that all attempts to spoil and dote on my rats by buying them "cool" toys have been met with either total disinterest or mild amusement that quickly turns to total disinterest. I don't know why that hasn't disuaded me from purchasing toys. Maybe it is the challenge.

I recently found one that they love! And not just the little ratlets, but the older ones, too. It is called the Cat-Fisher Mouse Mitt. It is an Edward Scissorhands-like glove with little feather and fur bits stuffed with catnip that are attached to elastic (ok, they are actually fake mice, but I prefer to think of them as something more abstract) . I believe the elastic is the key, allowing the rat to think it can spirit the object away. They also seem to like the catnip (discovered on the dismemberment of a previous rat toy). The company that makes it is Bamboo and you can purchase replacement bits if they get chewed off. My rats especially love that one that is wrapped in string.

UPDATE: 5/3/06: Check out the google video of Pez and Peaches playing!

3GR Bon-Bon 9-7-04 to 6-13-05

2006-04-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

I never really paid tribute to Bon yet.

The little pic is her baby pic and she truly did look like a fat little bon-bon. I never had an adult picture of her but I believe the picture with the dark blue background is very close to how she looked. She was quite a beautiful rat with a tail that was patterned like shifting sand.

Here is something I wrote shortly after she died.

In the little rat kingdom she was Queen. Penelope was her Merlin secretly running things and Dinky, the little Court Jester.

The humans were giant, but benevolent ogres. She had a special fondness for the one called John and even as weak as she was, she still boggled and bruxed when he petted her and fell asleep with him for one final nap. She was fond of me, too, in her way, and every once in awhile she would climb up on my chest and cautiously look me in the eyes like she was trying to bridge the interspecies communication gap.

Always somewhat grumpy, but never mean. A real rat's rat. She liked to be near her humans, but at arm's length. She would come to you when SHE wanted to be petted. She loved being scritched then for long periods of time and would wag her tail and close her eyes in bliss.

She loved her food and until the very last day nothing would keep her away from her Belgian chocolate pudding.

I will miss you my little curmudgeon. I'm glad you are at peace now and Queen of your new surroundings.

My Princess 9-5-03 to 8-23-05

2006-04-24T18:49:00.000-07:00

Penelope, AKA 3GR Lioness, came from 3 Girls Rattery in Washington.

I've been meaning to write this for a long time now. It still hurts for me to think about her and to see her pictures. Penelope was my heart of hearts. She was always Penelope Princess to me and always will be. Even as she was dying she still had a little ratlet's spirit.

I originally thought her breeder name of Lioness didn't suit her. As I grew to know her though, I discovered that she did indeed have qualities of a Lioness. She was totally brave. Scared of nothing, curious about everything. She loved to try new things, explore new places, meet new people. She loved people and was my greatest Rattie Ambassador. I used her to work with girls who had intense rat phobias (at the non-profit afterschool program where I work) and she never failed to win them over with her good nature and charming ways.

She adored me, as I adored her. As a little pup, she climbed up my chest one day and looked me in the eyes for a long time and it was as if one being was looking into the soul of another being. Whenever I was near she wanted to be with me. No matter where she was in the cage, she was always first out and last in. She was extremely affectionate. Even though she was ALWAYS busy and always going, she would check in frequently to give kisses and groom and sometimes to snuggle up in the crook of my arm or to lay on my chest and fall asleep bruxing in contentment.

Penelope was an incredibly smart rat. Although the tiniest girl in the cage, she ran it. Without a fight she somehow ruled.

I will miss her all my days and nights.

The Pez-o-matic 2000

2006-04-24T01:04:00.000-07:00

I cannot describe to you how much I adore these girls. I am babystruck. I love every move they make, every cute look, every sweet kiss. It is too much for words or pictures to adequately convey, but here's a picture, or two. I present for your viewing pleasure my sweet little Pezmerelda, Pezebel, Pez-o-matic 2000...

all ratties deserve heaven

2006-04-18T20:12:00.000-07:00

I love this pic done by Amalia DuBois (and the title!).

The way the rat was incorporated into the knotwork is wonderful. It is happily oblivious to being all wrapped up because it has its hands on the star it wanted.

update: 4-22-06
If you are interested in seeing how this went from sketch to final drawing, Amalia has posted the process here.

Fawn Girl is now Peaches

2006-04-17T10:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I've fallen off schedule a bit again. Been too busy playing with baby rats!

However, I realize I've been remiss and its time to make up for it. Naming, for whatever reason, was much easier this time. I was reading Terry Pratchett's "The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents" when I came across the character of Peaches and I knew immediately that that had to be the name of our little fawn girl. The book is wonderful and the character of Peaches is a charming, intelligent, ethical and sweet rat. The following
review gives a good feel for the book.

update 4-26-06 stumbled across a response byTerry Pratchett to the question of whether or not he has pet rats.

And, of course, I can't leave you without a picture or two of the real thing.

The pic on the left, is Peaches left standing in shock as the cat toy feather snaps back on its elastic. Unfortunately the flash washes out her color.

The picture on the right is much closer to her true color, which has sort of a blue sheen. Linda, her "breeder-mother", thinks she may be a Platinum. Whatever she is, she's beautiful and sweet.

Happy World Rat Day!

2006-04-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

Had to post again cuz its World Rat Day! If you want to send a cute postcard created by a ratlover check these out.

Wonderful World of Rats

2006-04-04T09:47:00.001-07:00

The World Rat Day celebration in San Mateo, CA took place this Sunday and got a nice write-up in the San Jose Mercury.

Check out Stephen Bay's pics of last years event.

If you're in the San Francisco/San Jose area, think about checking it out next year around this same time. There's a website with more information at www.thewonderfulworldofrats.org

Luna's new buddies

2006-03-27T20:09:00.000-08:00

I missed a weekend in here for posting so you are getting a bonus post... with pictures!

Luna, Dink's old cagemate, has been super lonely. She mostly lays around in her hammock. She can't go back in with the "bad girls" (Pickles and Bailey) because they will beat her up. So, John and I checked to see if our local breeder had any baby girls available. She did and we have already had several play dates with them and made our choices (not easy when they are all so cute and lovable).

The two are almost polar opposites in temperment. The fawn girl doesn't have a name yet. She is a super-sweet, mellow little girl. She likes to just find a spot on you and settle down to be petted. She doesn't seem timid, just snugglesome. John and I both fell in love with her instantly. Unfortunately, we didn't get any good pics of her, so the bottome left photo in the group pic at the top is her (i think, or else its one of her siblings) at 2 weeks. I'll upload more next weekend.

The agouti hooded with headspot (actually a little white stripe) seems to have a more complex personality. She is bold, but sweet. She is an adventurer and not afraid of anything. She reminds me alot of my Penelli (Penelope) when she was a baby. Full steam ahead. Her name came from her posture when she's being held in the air, she hangs super straight with her little head and ears kind of tilting forward. L.B. said "She looks just like a Pez dispenser"! Pez is her nickname, her full name is Pezmerelda (because every child needs a full name that parent's can use when they are being naughty and because John thought she needed a diva-ish name to match her temperment).

We get to pick them up this coming Saturday. I can't wait to get them home and introduce them to Luna. I think she is going to be ecstatic to have some nice little friends.

Letter to a Rat

2006-03-25T20:48:00.000-08:00

I found this awhile back on the Virginia Folklore Society website and thought it was pretty delightful. Certainly a more charming approach to wild rodent control than a glue trap.

note: picture is from McGuffey's Eclectic Primer

Communicating With Critters

"In a conversation with an aged mountaineer the subject somehow turned to the destructive nature of rats and the great loss that can be attributed to those rodents. He said, "Nowadays they have chemicals and traps that can help eliminate them, but in earlier times, around our neighborhood, we used special words we called 'giving away the rats'."1

He explained that the procedure required finding a blacksnake which was then killed but kept intact. The snake was then buried near the rat infested house with its head pointed in the direction where the rats should go--a specific residence had to be selected, not a stand of woods, mountain or other uninhabited place. The informant noted, "We done it here, and after awhile people on the farm down the road complained they was being overrun!"

In the same neighborhood, which borders Highland and Rockingham Counties in Virginia and Pendleton County in West Virginia, other elderly residents told of similar practices with minor variants. Some claimed the snake must be buried after sunset or before sunrise, others said special words as part of the process, and still others carried the blacksnake around the homestead three times before burial in its special position.2

As unusual as this practice may appear, it reminded me of an experience recounted by Cornelius Weygandt, Professor of Literature at the University of Pennsylvania, who bought a farm in New England a half century ago and in preparing the place for his summer occupancy found an old letter addressed to rats which asked them to leave the basement of the home.3 Weygandt considered it unique; nevertheless it was a practice known in widely separated places in America and in Virginia too.

One such letter was dated October 31, 1888 in Maine, and addressed to "Mssrs. Rats and Co." The opening paragraph reads: "Having taken quite a deep interest in your welfare in regard to your winter quarters, I thought I would drop you a few lines..." The writer then offered persuasive reasons why the rats should leave, citing the cold winter months, the lack of food, and the planned remodeling of the interior of the home. He told the rats that they would be uncomfortable and perhaps destitute. The writer then recommended an alternative consisting of a specific address of a neighbor to which they could go, adding that "...you will find a splendid cellar well filled with vegetations...a barn with a good supply of grain, where you can live snug and happy." The letter ends with a mild threat, "Shall do you no harm if you heed my advice."

A similar letter written in New Hampshire in 1845 was much less friendly and more demanding (perhaps this was a second or third letter of a sequence), "I have borne with you till my patience is gone...depart from this place with all speed!...Begone, or you are ruined!" The consequences of staying were emphatic, "We are preparing water to drown you; fire to roast you; cats to catch you; and clubs to maul you." Yet the writer offered the rats an alternative by suggesting they "...quit here and go to Ike Nutes!"

In 1882 an elderly Maryland farmer near Cockneyville wrote such a letter which he read aloud to the rats which infested his home. He read it at night in the belief they were perhaps more active and receptive at that time. His occult activities became widely known when his children used the letter as evidence against him in court seeking a legal declaration of his incompetence.

In recent years two specimens of similar letters were made available to this writer. One used in Rockingham County was written on a single sheet and "delivered" to the rodents through a hole in a baseboard of the homestead near rural Tenth Legion. The other was similar in structure and theme and was merely placed in the cellar near food supplies that rats had been eating, on a farm located in western Shenandoah County.

A lifetime resident of the region offered instructions for the procedure, "lf you find rats or mice in your house write them a cordial note saying how bad the facilities are and suggest they leave. Put the note where they will see it. If this doesn't work, write another letter and say it's the second notice and be firm but cool. If this doesn't work, write a third notice but be mean and tell them to "get the hell out!" Warn them you'll use poisons and traps--they'll be gone in just a few days after that!"4

In seeking to reduce the loss of grain caused by rats, John George Hohman's pow-wow booklet (1819) included a method used by many Pennsylvania Germans. This was in a sense a harvest ritual in which the first three sheaves of grain were presented to the rats with an announcement, "Rats these sheaves I give to you, in order that you may not destroy any of my wheat."5. The rest of the harvest was then stored in the barn. This practice assumes the logical and reasonable nature of the rodent. "

Dinky Doodle 2/3/04 to 2/26/06

2006-03-04T19:21:00.000-08:00

I couldn't bring myself to write in here last weekend.

On Sunday night as I was doing my nightly good-nights to everyone, I saw Dink in an unusual position, kind of limply laying with her back to the front of the cage. When I reached in to pet her she was very unresponsive and cool. John and I held her most of the night, talking to her and kissing her, snuggling her inside our shirts to keep her warm. We tried to get her to eat or drink but she seemed to have lost the ability to swallow and seemed semi-paralyzed all over. I made a bed for her with a hot water bottle underneath so she could stay out with us. She never seemed to be in pain but you could tell life was leaving her.

At one point I looked over at her and there was something...
I don't know what it was exactly...she had been sort of staring blankly for awhile but her eyes looked blank in a different way. I knew she was gone. I think it must have been a stroke like her sister, Gigi.

Ironically, the previous evening we had remarked that we thought she might make it to three because she was running around like a kid and bright-eyed and energetic and happy as could be.

Having rats makes you face your own mortality and the mortality of all that you love.

I made a shroud for her out of material that looks like the night sky and put her in the freezer. She will be buried with her sister in a large flower pot at the Girls' Club where I work. The girls specifically asked for that. She was much loved by all of us, especially "daddy". He used to call her his sack-o-sugar because she was so sweet.

Boys vs. Girls

2006-02-19T13:57:00.000-08:00

Well, my self-imposed weekly publishing schedule was derailed by an uncooperative router that shut my internet down for a couple of weeks. But for those of you who keep track of such things, I am back to publishing every weekend.

I heard a lot of things about boy rats versus girl rats when I was trying to decide which sex to get. Now that I have both I would like to weigh in with my observations. The truth is that rat's are VERY individual and cannot be generalized about with much accuracy, but I have noticed a few gender differences that seem to be true.

Smell:
Boy rats are definitely stinkier. My girls frequently smell like grape soda (this is one of the world's greatest mysteries since they pee on each other and then snuggle up in their hammock together...somehow they have perfected some alchemy that turns pee into a delightful, sweet and delicate odor...amazing!). The boys have the stinkiest poop and the strongest pee I have ever smelled and they always seem to smell slightly like pee. I can clean their cage and an hour later it reeks. One thing that has helped with this is changing to walnut shell litter for their litter box. They are good about using the litter box and the walnut shells coat the raisins and seem to provide a smell barrier. I made a little scoop so that they can be sifted out and tossed daily.

Cuddliness
Although people frequently say that boys are more cuddly I have found both to be equally cuddly and endearing. They do have different styles though. In general, girls have kind of a "hit and run" snuggling. The run around like crazy, exploring everything and come back to kiss and groom you and to be petted. At some point if you have them out long enough or if they are older they will curl up and hang out with you in your shirt or on your shoulder. Some of my girl rats just liked to be close and would perch near your leg or shoulder. The randomness of the affection makes it particular endearing when a girl rattie searches you out for love.

Boys love to be petted and smooched on and will let you mess with them a lot more, tickling their bellies, holding them up in the air, kissing their heads and still come back for more. My boys are still young so they haven't gotten to the couch-potato stage yet, but I can't wait! What could be more fun that curling up with a squishy boy in front of the tube and watching CSI or 24 together?! When my boys wind down, they will often lie down on the pillow near my head and brux at me. I am in heaven, there is nothing like it in the world.

Health
Girl rats get mammary tumors. And they get them often. And it is expensive to have them removed, but must be done or they will have the life sucked out of them. This sucks. The only way to prevent it is to have your female rat spayed before 6 months of age. Choosing a rat from a breeder who has lines with a low incidence of mammary tumors also helps. Bill P., from the ratlist, has mentioned a study that shows that pregnant rat mommies who are given Omega 3's and on a low-fat diet produce babies with a lower incidence of tumors. Hopefully more breeders will experiment with these findings.

My boys aren't really old enough to have health problems yet but I know from reading that they will be more prone to hind-leg paralysis, kidney disease and penis plugs (!). I have to say this last one is not one I'm looking forward to.

Aggression
Although people report that boys usually have more aggression problems than girls, this has not been my experience. My two most aggressive rats have been girls. None of my rats have been aggressive toward people, (although Bon would not tolerate much nonsense and would give a warning nip from time to time, but never hard enough to break the skin) but could not get along with most of their cagemates.

Bon-Bon exploring

Conclusion
I have to have both. I love the spunk and curious energy of girl rats and I love the sweet playfulness of boy rats. I am also realizing the wonderfulness of having rats of all ages. Each stage has its own unique and special qualities.

Happy Birthday, Dinky!

2006-02-04T12:30:00.000-08:00

My sweet girl made it to 2!

Amber's Egyptian Rats

2006-01-29T23:58:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a heads-up from Cindy, a member of ratlist, I recently discovered the website of an amazing artist who draws her rats as Egyptian royalty, has cardboard temples for them and elaborate tomb plans. It is so right in so many ways, it captures their complexity, spirituality and nobleness and is a beautiful and touching tribute to the inner rat that most people can't see. The stylized drawings and sketches are beautiful with small touches that delight.

She also has created a Yahoo group for people who like to draw rats, ratdrawing, which includes the talented Drusilla Kehl of Illustrated Rat , and other lovely people who are either fans of Amber's work, artists themselves, or both.

She takes commissions and has a Cafe Press site where you can have your favorite rat memorialized on a t-shirt or in other ways. Definitely worth checking out.

Rat Style

2006-01-16T18:39:00.000-08:00

I recently visited a site, cuteoverload.com, which features pictures of cute animals. It is a fun site, but I took exception to the following remark in their pocket pet section:

"There are those occasions where a perfect little nose leads to a not-so-cute animal (see possum or rat for instance)..."

As the saying goes, "cute is as cute does". How cute is a hamster when it chomps down on your finger?! Rat cuteness is much more than just how they look (which I happen to love); it is in how they are; how their individual natures express themselves; how they express their affection; their thought processes and interactions.

Simple movement provides a snapshot of each personality.

THE BOYS

Oggie: constant motion, wrestles whatever he is against...your hair, your shirt, his brother. When he's not moving he's staring or running up to be kissed. He is the busiest of boys and not afraid of anything.

Bunny: sly sneaking (as he steals your paper towel or play nips your hand) and then mad dashing and jumping as he tries to escape, only to whirl around and start the cycle all over. Vigorous grooming of faces, including up the nostril with his unusually wet tongue (blech!). After all the running, he will come up close to my head and lay down like a little dog, staying near me and sometimes bruxing with his loud, clicking brux.

Otis: waddling occasionally punctuated with silly little jumps straight up in the air and 2 second sprints when he gets excited. This little weeble also wobbles when he's trying to see/judge distance to do his most favorite thing...JUMP! Unfortunately, he's either blind or uncoordinated or both, because he usually crashlands on the floor. And at least once during his time out, he comes up and assumes the "petting position" - his hands and chest resting on my arm, head extended and eyes half-closed as he waits to be scritched. Such a little puppy.

Buster: lizard-like motions...creep, creep, stop and freeze...repeat...run like the wind, then turn around from the safety of a small, dark place and STARE. I think this must be a "family" trait. Sometimes he will race around and fly, fly through the air, over the heads of the other rats. He is an odd little fellow. If he gets really scared he will run and jump in your shirt and peek out over the collar.

THE GIRLS:

Dinky: cute, fat little waddle. She'll still try and squeeze through holes that are much too small. When she climbs down my arm to go back into her cage, her soft, warm body sort of oozes downward. She can move amazingly fast when she is in a nest-building mode (or when afraid). When she's doing interior redecorating she races downstairs for newspaper and hops into the hammock with it, then races back down for more. Most of the time, though, she likes to snuggle, especially in your shirt, on your chest, with her little head poking out to be petted. She has a ritual of licking John's nose every night. She will also kiss like crazy when you pet her and she doesn't want you to. Like she's trying to distract you and get you to stop in a non-confrontational sort of way.

Luna: busy, busy, busy...places to go, things to sniff, people to mark. She has gotten much more relaxed around people and will often come up close to your face to say hi and even give a little kiss occasionally. She likes to stay near her buddy, Dinky and they both love to go hang out in their cardboard house when Luna is done exploring.

Bailey: eager to get out and run around - she will run almost the whole time. Sometimes she chases Pickles which usually leads to a fight. Bailey is very attached to Pickles, though, and stays close. She does not seem to need, or want, human contact. She is not afraid of people anymore and will climb on you, but she has no connection. She doesn't really like being petted and will move herself out of range. I blame this on her early life as an orphan.

Pickles: Pickles used to be the same way as Bailey, but one day she looked at me in a really funny way. I don't know how to describe it. It was the kind of look you give someone you don't know who is about to catch you from a second-story window. She made her decision and jumped with a mighty leap onto my chest from her cage door and ever since then she is bonded to me. She watches me from the cage and positions herself to be taken out. When she is out, she always wants to know where I am and if I move she will follow me. If I leave, she will wait for me at the edge of the bed. She is busy, too, but likes to "check in" often and will occasionally kiss or groom. Very agile and can jump up and down with ease. Likes to play, but doesn't know how to be gentle (ouch), but she does love to be petted.

I LOVE RATS!!!

Useful Cage Idea #1

2006-01-07T00:54:00.000-08:00

In my search to protect the walls from projectile peeing I tried covering the back of the cage with fabric, purchasing ferret corner potties and washing down the walls repeatedly.

None of these worked.

However!!! I finally hit on something that works, is relatively inexpensive, cannot be dragged into the cage and chewed and is relatively pleasing to look at (okay, maybe not pretty, lets just say its not completely butt-uggly). They are foam core presentation boards that come in black or white. You can spray them with clear acrylic or cover them with clear contact paper so they can be wiped down easily during cage cleaning time. They are light-weight and rigid and also help to prevent drafts.

You can purchase them at your local office depot but I found some online that are a much better price (although I haven't purchased from here, so cannot vouch for it, maybe someone who has can write a comment and let people know if they are reliable).

Weekly Nutrition Checklist

2005-12-30T18:40:00.000-08:00

This is a checklist I created to keep track of my rats nutritional requirements (according to Debbie D. the Rat Lady). Bold items are essential; the boxes show how many times/week they should have each item. Liver/oysters should be given 2x/wk for adults and 4x/wk for ratkids under 6 months.

Please feel free to use it if it will be helpful. You can download it to your computer by clicking on the picture at the left. This will load the full-size graphic which you can then right-click on and save to your computer. Or I would be happy to send you the Excel file. Just leave your name and email address in the comment section with your request or email me directly.

My next project is a Ratty-Human Diet complete with recipes. In the meantime, if you want some good kale (and other) recipes check out World's Healthiest Foods Recipe section or Food Down Under.

I love IKEA because IKEA loves rats

2005-12-26T21:39:00.000-08:00

Where can you go to buy stuffed rats and rat sheets and rat wrapping paper?

IKEA! All year long.

Are these cute little mice-wannabe's? Are they frightening blood encrusted snarling rodents?

NO. They are adorable rats just like our pets.

Minnen Råtta (roughly translated as Rat Memento or Souvenir).

Dumbo Rat Halloween Costumes

2005-12-21T01:02:00.000-08:00

This probably would have been a better October post, but I came across the pics the other day and it brought back fond memories.

I work at an all-girl afterschool program and my rats (used to) get to come to work with me until a rodent intolerant person nixed that.

All the girls adored my first 4 girls (Penelope, Bon-Bon, Gigi and Dinky) who got to come with me everyday and the girls bonded strongly with them. For Halloween, two of the girls decided to go as Penelope and Bon-Bon. They looked very cute with their ears and pin-on pink tails. K, the shorter girl in the picture, has kept her interest in rats. She kept a rat journal and wrote down info she found in books and on the net and at one point wrote Bella of Bellaratta's Nest (one of her favorite sites) and got a wonderful reply.

Jane, one of our group leaders and an amazing and creative seamstress, helped them with their costumes. Here's a pic of her modeling her creation.

Bunnyman Sketch

2005-12-13T12:25:00.001-08:00

How does Socar J. Myles do such amazingly realistic rat drawings? I can't get my rats to hold still long enough to properly observe them! I did this sketch while Bunny was in the corner of his cage watching me and falling asleep. He likes to be near me. Probably because he knows if i see him i'll want to get him out.

The Tale of Samuel Whiskers

2005-12-06T03:29:00.000-08:00

I have been looking for a copy of The Tale of Samuel Whiskers by Beatrix Potter ever since I heard that it was written about her pet rat. I found several references to it but never the actual text, until now!

I mentioned Project Gutenberg in my last post (the story of Malmo the wounded rat). They put copyright-free literature on the web for anyone to access freely. They also include the original illustrations for many books, especially children's books. On a whim I searched for it and I was delighted to find that they have a complete copy which can be read online and also downloaded here.

My little Otis reminds me of Samuel Whiskers. Something about that sly little look on the face when they're up to no good.

Malmo, The Wounded Rat

2005-11-27T22:30:00.000-08:00

I found this story online. Apparently it was included in the book (now copyright-free and in the Project Gutenberg database) "Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper and other Stories" and the author was given as anonymous. I would love to know more about the story and how it originated. Anyway, here it is:

A poor man saw, by the roadside, a large white rat. It seemed to be dead. Moving it gently he found it was alive, but had a broken leg. He took it up and carried it to his lonely home. He bound up the bruised leg, fed the poor creature, and soon it was quite well.

Sam Tills trained the rat to gentle ways, and taught it many little tricks. Malmo was the only company Sam had. He worked in a cotton mill, and took Malmo with him. He rode in his master's coat-pocket. It looked droll to see his white head peeping out.

Sundays both went to dine with Sam's sister. Malmo's funny ways made everybody laugh. When Sam said, "Malmo, go sit in my hat," he went at once. He curled himself up in it, and nodded off to sleep.

When his master said, "Malmo, we're going now; slip in," the droll pet jumped from the hat, ran up to his pocket-nest, said good-by in his own fashion, and was ready to start. Evenings, when Sam was reading or singing from his mother's hymn-book, Malmo had a nap on his master's head. When it was time to go to bed Sam stroked Malmo's soft fur. The rat rubbed himself against his master's hand. It was their good-night to each other. Then Malmo crept into his basket, and the candle was blown out. Soon both were fast asleep.

Friends

2005-11-27T10:49:00.000-08:00

I am so happy and relieved. No fights last night and this morning Pickles had climbed in the hammock with Bailey and they were snuggled up together.

Verdict: Mean little friend better than no friend.

Is it Better to Be Alone or to Have a Mean Little Friend?

2005-11-26T21:26:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't write about it. I think I was hoping that if I didn't write it, it wouldn't really be real. For several days I have had 8 rats in 4 separate cages.

There were 3 days of blissful goodwill and friendship among the 3 girls after Bailey was taken out and then all hell broke loose. I don't know what provoked it, but Pickles gave Dinky a fairly serious bite to the neck, although I didn't realize it at the time (pic is of the bite after 3 days of healing).

I saw the ball of fur roll down the ramps. It looked just like those old-time cartoons where you see a ball of flailing arms and legs, exclamation marks and fur flying (and there was actual fur that flew!). I took Pickles out and put her in the travel cage for a time-out (recently vacated by the last inmate, Bailey, for her new custom-built "cage-for-one"). Dinky climbed into the hammock with Luna and it wasn't until the next morning that I saw the blood caked on her neck. That pretty much settled it that Pickles couldn't stay with the older girls. I don't want the last of their lives spent being stressed out.

So, we figured we'd put Pickles and Bailey together in the slightly bigger cage, give the two older girls the new smaller cage, since they're more sedentary, and put the boys in the big Martins.

Um... yeah... well, that was the plan, but it didn't go quite that smoothly. Pickles and Bailey first had to duke it out big time. We reintroduced them. Coated them both with vanilla. Bailey immediately pursued Pickles, mounting her and hunting her down. Her tail was swishing and she seemed excited by the chase. She has an obssessive nature that is difficult to understand.

Pickles didn't initiate the fights but she wasn't about to back down either. Although she is quite a bit smaller, she managed to raise herself up on her tiptoes to be taller than Bailey. She was able to hold the position longer and seemed to win the alpha role after about an hour of them boxing and fighting each other. Both of them pulled out handfuls of each other's hair but there was no bloodshed.

Only towards the end did Bailey start to seem slightly more submissive. They are now in the cage together and it has been quiet so far, but I'm sure it won't be the last of it.

Pocket Lap Blanket for Tunnelers

2005-11-25T13:52:00.000-08:00

Tunnelers are what I call my rats who like to tunnel under things. They are the pushy little rats who insist on shoving their head between your calves to tunnel through, rather than just go over. These are also the rats who seem to like to chew great big holes in your couch and pull out all the stuffing so they can tunnel deep inside.

I have a couple of tunnelers and a patched futon that no one has been allowed on since I patched it. Linda B. from The Crafty Rat came up with a new blanket prototype, a pocket lap blanket, and I decided to buy one and give it a try to see if it might be a way to keep my naughty little girls from chewing holes in my sofa.

So far, so good. Pickles tried it out today and absolutely loved it. Dinky will be my next tester. The boys are not real tunnelers and didn't do much but pee on it (making it smell absolutely wonderful to Pickles, I'm sure!). And Pickles liked it much better when it wasn't on my lap. The size is perfect for my girls; big enough to adventure around in and small enough to fit next to me on the couch.

Linda doesn't have this on her website yet, but I'm sure if you're interested she would be willing to make one.

The Prisoner update Sunday, November 20, 2005

2005-11-20T00:22:00.000-08:00

Parole denied.

We attempted to reunite the prisoner with Pickles, the only rat friend she has (make that had). She immediately attacked Pickles and went after her relentlessly and Pickles wasn't having it. Pickles had her mean face on and was seriously fighting back. We were planning on putting them in a separate cage together but that is not going to happen.

I guess we are going to put Bailey in her own cage and put her next to the other rats' cages so she can at least not be totally isolated from them. I am not looking forward to having to clean 3 cages but I don't know what else to do.

On the plus side, Bailey is bonding more with John and I. I guess she figures we're better than nothing.

Pee?..... You're soaking in it!

2005-11-20T00:14:00.000-08:00

I just don't get rats sometimes. It IS true that they are very fastidious groomers, much like cats and don't like to get gooey stuff on their paws or faces. HOWEVER...

and this is a big however...

they pee where they sleep. They're pretty good about using their litter tray for dookie, but they piss all over their nice clean hammocks and then they lay there and marinate in it.

AND...

and this is a big and...

if you give them a particularly delectable tidbit, they will race off with it to a safe place. What place do they pick? Right in the middle of their litter box. How pleasant can that be?

Explain this to me. What survival instinct is at work here? There's gotta be a reason but i sure don't know what it is. They always say that animals don't pee where they sleep, so why do rats?

They obviously like to be clean. They groom themselves and each other continuously. In fact, there is an unspoken rat rule that if two rats are in the middle of a fight or eating or whatever, and one starts grooming, the other one will stop and groom, too. Then they will pick up where they left off.

I just don't get it. Good thing they're so dang sweet and fun.

Ratku

2005-11-13T10:40:00.000-08:00

Meditation time,
tiny rat feet touch my skin,
I drift off to sleep.

Ratku is a nickname for rat-centric Haiku.
Here's a few links.
contest winners
more Rat Haiku
some classical Haiku featuring rats

I wrote this because I used to freak out at the thought of a rat touching me. I used to have nightmares about being a prisoner in some Asian country and having a cage with live rats over my head (probably some scene from a movie). I used to think "...what if a rat came running out and ran right across my bare feet. I was obsessed with rats then, too. Obsessed with how horrid and creepy they were.

It is amazing to me now how the sound and feel of rats so completely relaxes me. For a long time after I got Penelope and Bon-Bon I still had this visceral reaction when they came up by my face. One day I made myself relax and let them crawl all over me. I finally felt free of my fear. It was such a joyful feeling.

I wonder how many other fears I could just let go of?

The Prisoner

2005-11-13T10:38:00.000-08:00

Bailey "i'll- huff- and- i'll- puff" Brown is in prison tonight.

Bailey is one of my rescue rats. I call her my little ship rat and Pickles my little sewer rat cuz they are a bit rough around the edges and are always getting in fights. Bailey has always been on the aggro-side with her cagemates, but lately she is just out of control. She has attacked Dinky and Luna repeatedly until they are screaming. If you have never heard a rat scream, believe me, you do not want to. I am worried that they are going to be permanently traumatized from being hunted down and attacked by her.

One odd side note is Pickles' role in all this. She and Bailey formed a really strong bond when they first arrived and she is like Bailey's sidekick. If Bailey attacks someone, she will come running to join her and will start attacking the other rat with her (even though she usually gets along peacefully with the others). I've never seen that happen with my other rats. Sometimes one will opportunistically power-groom a rat that another rat is already power-grooming, but never have any of them doubled-up on someone during a serious fight.

Poor Luna came from a home with one elderly cagemate who passed away. They never even fought. I think she is about to have a nervous breakdown from all the tension.

And all Dinky wants in life is a cozy hammock, a snuggle buddy, a bowl of good food and out time with mom and dad. Her scared little face as she tried to run away from Bailey (managing to waddle VERY FAST) and into my shirt brought out all my protective instincts. I told John she was Piggy from "Lord of the Flies".

I have been doing small time-outs with Bailey in the travel cage, which have helped, but not solved the problem. Tonight was a bad one. So tonight, the little ship rat is spending the night alone in the travel cage. I feel sorry for her, but I don't know what else to do. It is unbelievable quiet in the girls' cage right now.

I read somewhere that agouti-based rats are more aggressive (found it). John insists that this is racist and dubious. However, out of all the rats we've had, the two who were the cage terrorists were both agouti (Bon, cinnamon agouti and Bailey). Coincidence? Maybe.

Wists Social Bookmarking

2005-11-06T20:16:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd give a shout-out to Wists. One guy does this in his spare time and he is super nice and responsive and always improving the site. Wists is what's called a social bookmarking site. It allows communities to form around shared information.

So, for instance, if you and a group of people are interested in the same thing, lets just say.....RATS!...you can share your bookmarks, include a picture, put in keywords and write your own description of the website, and if you see someone else's website that you like you can click to add it to your own list.

I am a visual person and looking at my bookmark lists was getting impossible. This is way more manageable and interesting. I have an "Add to Wists" shortcut right on my browser menu bar. The image at the top left of this post is a screenshot of one of my entries.

If you are interested in rats, art or teaching you can check out my links at http://wists.com/eileen2000. You get to them by clicking on show tags at the top and then click on the word rat, art or teaching (or anything else that strikes your fancy).

And think about joining. Its free, the guy who runs it is a really nice person and its an easy way to share good rat websites, besides being a great way to keep track of what you already have bookmarked.

Review: The Scuttling Gourmet (2nd edition)

2005-11-05T16:35:00.000-08:00

I was interested in this book when I first read about it on the Shunamite Rattery website (the owner, Alison Campbell, is the author), but because it is located in the U.K. I didn't order it. If you are on that side of the globe, the website has several sources that stock it linked at the bottom of the page.

I recently discovered that Linda from The Crafty Rat has it here in the U.S. and is reselling it for $15.00, so I purchased one from her. She doesn't have it listed on her site, so she may have a limited number of copies available. (update 11-5-05: Linda informed me that she has added it to her website. She also passed on an interesting link to a breeder feeding rats a natural, raw diet, Sparticles Rattery.)

I am so happy I bought this book. I've been trying to read as much as possible on the web and elsewhere to figure out what a nutritious rat diet would really look like. I've found that there is a lot of conflicting information out there and much of the information has no explanation so that you cannot really make an informed decision.

This book is very thorough and goes into detail outlining the nutritional needs of rats at different stages of development and with specific medical conditions. There are several examples of good diets and healthy snacks and lots of recipes. There is also a fun section on food toys.

And there was also important information that i'd never heard or read before. One example is that mango flesh is as dangerous as oranges to male rats because of the d-limonene which can cause kidney cancer (more info about d-limonene and male rats can be found here).

Lots of people say "just feed lab blocks, then you don't have to worry". I've always felt that approach was wrong somehow, but didn't know how to argue against it. I like this author's philosophy. It is gratifying to see that a well-known and respected breeder feels that the pleasure that rats get from eating is reason enough not to feed just lab blocks and that rats can eat healthy and enjoy their food.

As a large person who is trying to eat healthier, I see it as the rat taste equivalent of the difference between a "Jenny Craig or Slimfast"-type diet compared to a well-balanced diet, high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, with minimal and healthier snacks, and more exercise.

It is my personal belief that 'balance' should be interpreted as feeding a diet wide and varied enough to provide overall balance, rather than needing to find a homogenous, pelleted diet, where every mouthful contains the same balanced nutrients (but also the same flavour, smell and texture)...Like us, rats are omnivores, who naturally eat extremely varied diets. They also seem to derive a great deal of pleasure from eating.

-Alison Campbell

My only suggestions for future volumes would be an index and reviews of commercial mixes that are available in the U.S (oh, and maybe a couple of blank pages for notes to add interesting information such as ways to grow and feed sprouts - *thanks Linda).

Buster Brown is a Momma's Boy

2005-11-01T23:34:00.000-08:00

OK, I know I shouldn't encourage it and I try not to. I really do. But he is so sweet. He climbs down my shirt and snuggles up close to me. He makes the tiniest little bruxing sounds and sometimes he peeks out and looks right at me and I can see in his face that he feels safe and happy. He is just different than the other boys.

He likes to play. He'll even rough-house and wrassle sometimes, but most of the time he likes to snuggle. And what's wrong with that, anyway?!

I love my tiny little momma's boy. When he gets a little older his dark points should become somewhat more noticeable. Isn't he a pretty boy?

Oggie the little crazy man

2005-11-01T19:35:00.000-08:00

Oggie is a nut. He is the one who makes me laugh the most. He is this little, tiny Black-eyed Siamese rat who thinks he is something else. He kind of reminds me of the Walter Mitty character. I imagine him having dreams of himself as a spy as he peers out of the blanket trying to sneak up on your hand or a space cowboy when he launches himself off of some high perch into the air. Climbing the backscratcher he is an aerialist performer. He goes so fast that almost every picture of him has motion blur. Even when everyone else is in focus.

John found a way to make him zoom. Oggie likes to stare at people. I don't know why exactly. If John looks at Oggie when Oggie is staring at him and says "Oggie!", he will race around like he just got caught in the act.

I used to roll over during the night and would wake up with some sense of being looked at. I would look over at the cage next to the bed and there would be odd, little Oggie looking at me.

Oggie loves the big boys. It was love at first site. I think his brother, Buster, is a little too tame for him. He likes to chase them and harass them until they have to catch him and turn him over and power groom him. And then he hops up and starts it all over again.

When Oggie gets older the dark points on his nose and rump should be more evident. One breeder I spoke with said that she didn't breed Black-eyed Siamese because of temperment issues. She obviously never met Oggie!

Otis, the rat formerly-known-as Ziggy, formerly-known-as Mr. Bubbles

2005-11-01T01:02:00.000-08:00

Rat naming is a royal pain in the ass. It seems like it would be easy but there are several criteria which must be followed:

the name must fit the rat
it must be easy to say
it must not sound too much like another rat's name
it cannot have any unfortunate connotations or connections

In addition to that, all the good names have already been taken, so finding a unique name adds a whole nuther layer. Sometimes names that seem good on a cognitive level just don't fit on an emotional level. And sometimes after a week or so it just isn't right anymore.

Some rats resist telling you their names. Perhaps it is because of some superstition that if you know their name you will have power over them. Perhaps it is because their real true name is unpronouncable in human-speak. I don't know. Some rats tell you right off, others prefer to be mysterious.

Such was the case with Otis and Bunnyman. No names sounded right. For the longest time they were the blue boy and the scruffy boy.

So we finally ended up with the name Otis because he's a blue agouti and we decided to name him after a blue's singer. (actually his full name is Otis "Bobblehead" Brown, most of our animals have Brown as a last name. No, I have no idea why.)

I thought he should be Stevie because he does this odd Stevie Wonder move with his head, sort of swaying it back and forth. (I have heard of pink and red-eyed rats doing that to see better, but he has black eyes so I'm not sure why he does it). Otis seemed to be the first name of several well-known blue's singers and then I had a dream conversation where someone said the name should be Otis. Maybe my subconscious was sick of thinking up new names. Anyway, that clinched it.

Otis is an interesting little guy. He is very sweet and very playful. He is the one who loves to hand-wrestle the most. Sometimes he will do little, gentle play nips and then run away like crazy and then run back for more wrestling. He loves to be scritched and will scrunch up his eyes and hold very still.

How does someone with 4 rats end up with 8 rats?

2005-11-01T00:06:00.000-08:00

Well, I got a little ahead of myself and already introduced you to Bunnyman, so i guess its time for you to meet the rest of the boys.

When my sweetheart Penelope died I was really depressed. She and I had a special connection that is hard to explain. While I love all of my girls, none of the ones who remain are especially people-oriented. Dinky is the sweetest and most affectionate of the lot, but she is still sort of shy and would rather hide out than hang out.

I decided to get another pair of rats. Boys this time so that we wouldn't have the tumor issues that have plagued the girls and because I wanted to experience a group of boys.

I contacted a couple of breeders to let them know I was interested, Linda B. of the Crafty Rat in San Jose and Connie Perez of Rat Genesis in San Francisco.

Linda had some adorable blue dumbo boys that would be ready soon and arranged a play date so that we could meet our prospective adoptees when they were 3 weeks old.

Right after I heard from Linda, I heard from Connie. She had pictures of some beautiful Burmese and black-eyed Siamese and Himalayan pups that would be available. I somehow convinced John that we should get one of these guys too, but then realized that one would be lonely during quarantine, so it should really be two. (hmmm.... you see the pattern here???)

I was so anxious for our first play date that I couldn't stand it. Every day I was counting down how many days were left before I could go. When I got there I met Linda in person and she invited me in. Rat heaven. Three cages of adorable baby rats. One was the blue litter, one was a down-under litter and another litter had just been born with more potential down-unders. I played with the boys and girls in the blue litter. It was hilarious the way they swam out of their cage. I really enjoyed talking to Linda, very knowledgable, funny and down-to-earth. She handed me a little agouti-hooded rex guy from the other litter. He curled up on me and started bruxing. I fell in love with him right then but I figured he must already be spoken for. On the next play date the same thing, came out, cuddled up and started bruxing as soon as I petted him. I tentatively asked if he was available. Linda said "Well, I hadn't told anyone about this litter, but yes, he's available." That was it. I knew Bunnyman was coming home with me. I still couldn't decide which of the blue boys was the one, though. They were all cute and sweet and playful. John came with me on the second playdate and fell in love with a little blue agouti hooded guy, Otis.

I told Connie the personality types I was most interested in and let her choose which boys to bring. We met midway at the San Mateo train station. It was also the first time I had met her in person. I have admired her knowledge and kindness on the list serves where she posts and it was nice to have the chance to meet her.

Oggie and Buster were so tiny. With their big eyes and ears, they almost looked like little mice. Initially they were shy, but soon warmed up to us.

We introduced the two pairs of boys after they had both had a chance to settle in and they bonded immediately. No huffing, puffing or posturing from anybody. In fact, the two bigger boys of Linda's seem to realize that they need to play a little bit more gently with the little guys and are very tolerant of Oggie's relentless Kamikaze attacks on them.

The beginning

2005-10-30T18:41:00.000-08:00

I owe a great debt to a little rat that I don't even have one picture of. He didn't even get much of a name, Ratty. Even though we knew nothing about rats he lived to be almost 5. He will always be my angel. The picture on the left is one I borrowed from the internet because it looks like Ratty. The sketch was a design for a carved eraser rubber stamp in his honor.

B.R. (Before Ratty) I was extremely ratphobic. I panicked at just the thought of being in the same room with one. I had had mice growing up, but imagining a rat as a pet was beyond me.

I think it was the early 1990's, sometime when my son was in elementary school. His classroom rat had had babies and he begged me to bring one home. I refused at first, but after much pleading on his part, I relented... on ONE condition. NO pink-eyed white rats!!

As you've probably already guessed, Chris got the last baby rat and it was a little pink-eyed white baby boy. YUK.

I told him he had to keep it in his room, I never wanted to see it, hear it or smell it, it was completely his responsibility...YADA, YADA (fill in more parental nonsense here).

A couple of months later, John discovered Ratty without water in Chris' room, desperately dehydrated. After that I brought Ratty out to the kitchen and took care of his basic needs, but still was careful not to let him touch me. Chris managed to get me to gingerly pet him once, but that was more than enough for me. I did talk to him, though, and called him by name. He would wait at the bars like a little prisoner and I felt sorry for him.

One day he got out of his cage and was racing across the kitchen floor. In my past experience with small creatures, once they were out of the cage you were on a day-long journey trying to coax or catch an unwilling and fast critter into a box or some such thing. Without thinking I said "RATTY!" really loudly. To my absolute stunned amazement, he turned around and came right to me like a little dog and let me pick him up and put him back in his cage. After that I did a complete turnaround. I tried to learn more about rats, but at the time there really wasn't a lot of information anywhere. I didn't know that rats really need another rat companion. I still feel guilty thinking about how lonely he must have been.

When he died I was devastated. I decided I couldn't keep rats as pets anymore. Someone recently referred to them as the "Heartbreak Pet" because of the combination of incredible personality and short life-span and thats how I felt. For the next 10 years or so I kept my fond memory of Ratty, but rats were not a part of my life.

Then, due to a strange quirk of fate, it all changed.

I am an artist and teacher and in 2001/2002 I had a position as a visiting artist where I taught art in a third-grade classroom. I also have a permanent position working with girls in a non-profit after-school program in East Palo Alto, CA - a predominantly low-income, ethnically diverse community. Since we are usually underfunded (as most non-profits are), many of the teachers in the higher-income schools I went into would donate items. This particular school was renovating and getting rid of several things.

My back was turned and the teacher said "Do you want some mice?". Now you have to understand, my position at the afterschool program is Art and Technology Coordinator, so when I heard "mice" I was thinking the round plastic thing that attaches to a computer. I said "Sure, we can always use mice!"

The teacher was so happy. She went on and on about how glad she was that someone could take them, that all the students had bailed out at the last minute and she hadn't known what she was going to do, etc... etc...

Uh, oh...

Oreo and Mischief came home with me. I was delighted with them and could watch them for hours. I devised wondrous scenes and homemade toys for them when I cleaned their cage out. I joined an email list to find out more about how to care for them. They were sweet and would let you hold and pet them, but were much too busy to stay for long. I realized that I wanted something more. I wanted rats again.

2003. Enter Penelope and Bon-Bon from 3 Girls Rattery in Washington, officially known by their breeder designations as 3GR Lioness and 3GR Bon-Bon (that's them together looking out of their cage door when they were babies). I can't write much about them right now because I lost them both this year just as they were approaching their 2nd birthdays and it is too painful. Penelope, the black and white one with the jester blaze, was my very special girl and I still miss her every day. Bon was a curmudgeonly little girl and I miss her rattie ways and her strong presence.

Next came Gigi and Dinky.

This is Gigi's baby picture. Gigi was a Russian Blue self from Lil' Rugrats Rattery, formerly in Davis, CA. She died very suddenly at 8 months of a stroke. It was one of the most traumatic experiences I have ever had and I hope I never have to see another rat go through what she did.

Gigi was actually G.G., short for Goofy Girl because she was such a silly and playful baby. She was extremely affectionate. John used to say she had the spittiest kisses of any rat he knew. She would brux and boggle at me (rattie equivalent of a cat purring and kneading) from the corner of the cage nearest to my computer until I couldn't resist and would take her out of the cage. She loved to wrassle with your hands and do rodentistry and was an escape artist.

I never got a grown-up picture of her, but I think she would have looked like the rat on the red background (only with dumbo ears)

Her sister, Dinky, a mink self, is extremely sweet and very kissy, but much more shy. She is still alive and doing great. She will be two on February 3, 2006. She used to be the runt, but she has gotten quite squishy lately. She loves to climb in my shirt to be petted and waddle around looking for food that may have gotten dropped. She has dinky little eyes with light areas around them that make her look as if she's wearing goggles. She is one of the most endearing rats I have ever met.

Eventually, after Bon and Gigi died, I decided to adopt some rescue rats from Rattie Ratz.

Enter Pickles (black Berkshire with little white gloves) and Bailey (cinnamon agouti Berkshire). They were literally scared shitless when I adopted them and fear-pooped regularly for about the first week whenever we took them out. The day I adopted them, Bailey let loose a load of the most evil-smelling poop I have ever smelled on the front of my shirt. It was so bad that I had to stop at Ross and buy a new shirt so I could change before I could stand to drive home.

They have really come around since then and are very friendly with us, but I'm sad for them that they never got the early socialization that they needed to feel truly comfortable around humans. If I ever find myself in a time when I am without rats I will foster to ensure that rescue rats get the kind of early socialization they need.

Around the same time, I came across a listing in Craigslist, looking for a home for a lone girl rattie, one-year old, who had just lost her elderly cagemate. The woman who posted the ad had a small child and was pregnant and just didn't feel that she could give her the time and attention she wanted to. I figured that since she was about the same age as Dinky she would be a good pal for Dinks. Welcome Luna (formerly Sweetie). I found out later that she had originally come from one of the breeders we got our boys from, Linda B. of the Crafty Rat.

Bunnyman wants to be a model

2005-10-30T18:28:00.000-08:00

Bunnyman got his wierd name because he is a weird rat and he has weird rat parents. I wanted a name that captured his sweetness and his craziness and he has these unusually big back feet and hops around like a bunny rabbit when he plays so I thought "Bunny".

John (my SO) said "nope...sounds like a girl's name, that won't work". He was thinking names like "Chopper" and "Spike" because he said that B-man looked like he came from the wrong side of the tracks with his wacky hair and sort of manly burliness.

"Well, what could we add to Bunny to make it sound more manly?" I asked.

Bunnyman.

I laughed so hard, but you know, in some wierd way it fit and so it is.