I have done a silly thing.
I went and got a rat. It was a strange compulsion. now I have a small female rat who is in need of a rat name that is either a terrible pun (a la Rat Butler) or terribly clever in some other way. I would call her Rattigan (if you can't place that, you can't be my friend anymore) but it's kind of a boy name. Also evil. And I don't want her to be evil. Also Remy is out. I was also thinking Bubble/s because then if I got another one they could be Bubble and Squeak but that's a bit silly plus I'm not getting another one unless this one works out really well. Also if I got two more then they could be Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup. But again. We'll see how this goes. Black Death seems a little overwrought. Big Ben is out, she is neither big nor a ben really. Shit, what was the other rat's name in Willard? Archemides? Aristotle? Plato? Something Greek I think. Socrates! That's it. Apparently in the original there was one named Queenie, but that's lame. Algernon, also out. I suppose there's always Rita. Actually she looks like an Audrey. So yes. Suggestions welcome.
She has a small cage but I don't think it's too small and I have filled with delights. She's got a spinny wheel, a hidey tube filled with fluff that she can tear apart and chew, some attractive wood blocks (also for chewing), and a soft hanging tube thing that was actually for birds but the only hammocks they had were ferret sized and thus too big for her cage. She also has a litter box (I read how to litter train rats) and a hamster ball.
Yesterday I read a whole bunch of stuff about what you should feed rats so I got her rat food and then when I was eating lunch she got some of my leftovers; a pea pod (which I think she's eaten already), some cheese, and some orange glazed carrots and rice. Also the hamster ball came with a treat that's a whole bunch of seeds held together with honey. So yeah, I am already over feeding her with sweet stuff that she shouldn't have. But I figure it's her first day, she's nervous. What could make her feel more at home than a smorgasbord of delicious stuff?
Also the poodle is rehashing her over interested chick behavior. I don't think she wants to eat the rat but she's having a hard time looking away. Hopefully the novelty will wear off. I gave her a treat ball filled with delicious things and then made it as difficult to solve as I could, so she's doing that instead of being a stalker right now.
You'll notice I am posting this here instead of my main blog. That is because I don't really want my mother to find out. I am still questioning my own judgment here. But I would like to clicker train the rat to do amusing tricks. Sit and roll over should be easy enough. Also I kind of look upon this rat as a timer of sorts. They only live a couple years, so when this rat dies I will give myself carte blanch to move out of here if I haven't already. And at that stage I can also reevaluate the whole 'rat ownership' thing.
She has a small cage but I don't think it's too small and I have filled with delights. She's got a spinny wheel, a hidey tube filled with fluff that she can tear apart and chew, some attractive wood blocks (also for chewing), and a soft hanging tube thing that was actually for birds but the only hammocks they had were ferret sized and thus too big for her cage. She also has a litter box (I read how to litter train rats) and a hamster ball.
Yesterday I read a whole bunch of stuff about what you should feed rats so I got her rat food and then when I was eating lunch she got some of my leftovers; a pea pod (which I think she's eaten already), some cheese, and some orange glazed carrots and rice. Also the hamster ball came with a treat that's a whole bunch of seeds held together with honey. So yeah, I am already over feeding her with sweet stuff that she shouldn't have. But I figure it's her first day, she's nervous. What could make her feel more at home than a smorgasbord of delicious stuff?
Also the poodle is rehashing her over interested chick behavior. I don't think she wants to eat the rat but she's having a hard time looking away. Hopefully the novelty will wear off. I gave her a treat ball filled with delicious things and then made it as difficult to solve as I could, so she's doing that instead of being a stalker right now.
You'll notice I am posting this here instead of my main blog. That is because I don't really want my mother to find out. I am still questioning my own judgment here. But I would like to clicker train the rat to do amusing tricks. Sit and roll over should be easy enough. Also I kind of look upon this rat as a timer of sorts. They only live a couple years, so when this rat dies I will give myself carte blanch to move out of here if I haven't already. And at that stage I can also reevaluate the whole 'rat ownership' thing.