In a recent post about Jordan the rat, oakfarm2 mentioned that he didn't know what a rat looked like when it is happy. I've never gotten a good picture of Jordan the rat looking happy/excited, but here are pictures of other rats. In the first picture, the rats look awake and content (sleepy and content is different). The middle rat is just too much ( Read more... )

I apologize for the poor quality of these pictures (the camera on my phone is truly lousy), but I thought you might enjoy some pictures of Jordan the rat, even if they're blurry. The user icon is Jordan the rat cleaning his left ear with his hind foot. Here are some full-size pictures:

Jordan the rat on my knees - "Why are you shining a light ( Read more... )

The house I've been living in is an old brick Victorian. A previous tenant installed a platform bed in "my" room. The sort with drawers on each side, surrounding an empty space in the middle ( Read more... )

Jordan the rat is curled up, sleeping, between my feet. He relocated there after napping in the headboard of my bed. He often does this, sleeping in one place, then waking enough to come be near me and going back to sleep again ( Read more... )

Saw the vet today. Jordan the rat has crystals in his urine and the pH is very high. However there's no sign of blood and his glucose levels are normal. So the current hypothesis is that he has a bladder infection. Potentially (& ironically) it has been caused by the long-term, broad-spectrum antibiotics I give him for the infection in his jaw. (In ( Read more... )

Earlier today, as Jordan the rat followed me from room to room, I thought "Buying this rat is the best decision I've ever made. He brings so much joy into my life." He's been doing so well on his medications I even dared consider, or even hope, that his life expectancy will be better than the vet projected given his underlying infection ( Read more... )

When Jordan the rat wants out of his cage he chews on the bars. I'm training him to ring a bell instead.

How much am I going to regret this?

I am so, very, profoundly in trouble ( Read more... )

Good morning!

I finally got a decent picture of Jordan the rat. This is him, chewing on my thumbnail. I don't know what his fascination is with fingernails, but he likes to nibble on them when I let him.


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Jordan the Rat and I went for a walk this evening, in the 90 degree heat (F). We walked all the way around the block, with a brief layover in a nearby park so that Jordan could snuffle the grass while hiding under my crossed legs, and I could listen to a few lines of Henry V and watch the clouds change color with the sunset ( Read more... )