Meet My Pet Rats

I just came across an interesting article about metacognition in rats: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070308121856.htm Basically it says a study has shown that rats are capable of thinking about whether or not they know something. Here’s an excerpt:

Researchers have believed for some time that people and non-human primates are capable of “metacognition”–reasoning or thinking about one’s own thinking. There have been studies on birds about this kind of thinking process, but results thus far have been inconclusive. The new study is the first that shows a non-primate species has metacognition–a proposal that may well be controversial.

I always tell people how smart rats are, and no one believes me! Now I have proof. It’s an interesting article, and some of the “related articles” next to it are pretty interesting too.

P.S. An update on Pixel - I called the vet earlier to make an appointment, and the person who answered the phone said it definitely just sounds like an ear infection. Unfortunately, I can’t get him in to get some medicine until Thursday But at least it isn’t something more serious.

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I went to take the boys out to play tonight and Pixel wasn’t acting normal. Pica ran right up to my hand, but Pixel stayed in his bed. He just sat there grooming himself for a while until I finally just picked him up and took him out. He seems to be healthy besides the tilt and acting a little disoriented. He’s still eating, playing, and grooming. Here’s a short video of him wobbling around. Sorry for the poor quality.

I’ll keep everyone updated as I find out more about his condition. A lot of sources online say it’s most likely an inner ear infection. Hopefully it’s not something more serious like a tumor or stroke. I’ve also heard that a head tilt can become a permanent condition. I’m going to try to get him into the vet as soon as possible.

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I guess I can’t blame them, I like beer too!

Before I go further, please know that they didn’t actually drink any beer except for the couple of drops left on the top of the bottle after I was finished with it.

They have always been interested in the scent of beer though. I’m not sure why that is, but it is pretty funny.

Pixel: “So is this where the beer comes out??”

Pica: “Maybe it’s behind this label…”

“Aha! Found it!”

“Sweet, sweet beer….”

To be honest, they had more fun playing with the paper packet my tea bag came in than the beer bottle…

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Earlier I got the boys out to play and set them in the kitchen as usual. I went back in their room to fill up their food dish and wipe down the shelves. When I came back to the kitchen I heard a strange rustling noise. I look over at the garbage can and see Pixel looking back me. His little face looked so shocked that he had gotten away with getting into the trash! As soon as he saw me he jumped out and ran next to the fridge… with his prize of course. He had found a piece of pasta from dinner that I’d thrown away. Luckily the only thing wrong with it was that it landed on the stove top instead of a bowl. I’m glad he didn’t make off with something gross or rotten, or raw (like the few bits of raw chicken I threw away, which were buried under a few other things). Well now I know to make sure no boxes are too close to the trash can.

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Here are some pics I snapped of the rat babies while they were playing tonight. I think these came out really cute!

First, here they are trying to get out of the kitchen into the living room where I’m standing. Like the remodeling they’ve done to the doorway?

Here’s Pica sitting in my hand.

And here’s Pica being cuddly in my lap. He loves to have behind his ears scratched.

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So the whole potty training thing lasted a long time didn’t it? I thought with the large blanket they wouldn’t be able to tunnel under it… yeah right. They chewed large holes in it after one day and were able to get under it again. Silly ratties. And even with the heavier dish as a litter pan, they still didn’t use it. At least they didn’t knock it over, but they still pooed everywhere but the dish. I just wasn’t able to stay on top of placing all the stray poos into the dish either.

So now they’re on Yesterday’s News. It’s recycled paper cat litter. It’s not expensive at all, and so far it’s absorbing smells really well. It’s only been one day on it, but it’s working better than Aspen already. The pellet shape makes it not stick to every cloth surface like the Aspen did.

I guess litter training isn’t for everyone!

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Well it’s only been a few days, but I now know this may be a longer road ahead than I thought. My first attempt at potty training isn’t going so well. They kept tipping over the litter box, and pulling up the edges of the fleece. And of course pooing everywhere except the box (not that they could poo in the box, since it was usually on its side). So I’ve made some changes. I got one big fleece blanket from Tuesday Mornings. Now they can’t tunnel under it. And I also picked up a large, heavy glass dish to use as the litter box. It’s much harder to tip over. Overall, it’s a much better set up, and I should have started out this way. I think I’ll need to go get another blanket or two for back ups. We’ll see how it goes…

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After that bad experience with the mites I decided it’s time to do something a little more practical for the rat’s cage lining. I was spending a lot of money and time lining the whole cage bottom with Aspen. Plus, there’s always a risk of reintroducing mites with future bags of Aspen. So I picked up 2 little fleece blankets at the dollar store and lined the bottom of the cage with them after cleaning tonight. I also added a towel under the fleece to absorb urine a little better. Hopefully the litter box is big enough for them and won’t get tipped over. I’m mostly worried about Pixel, though. He may have a harder time getting litter trained. So we’ll see how it goes. Wish me luck!

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About 2 weeks ago I noticed a few tiny scabs on Pica’s neck, and both little guys were itching a lot. I looked them over but didn’t see any bugs , and no scabs on Pixel. I figured it was either mites (you can’t actually see mites, only lice) or Pica grooming himself too hard, so I decided to give it a week to see if the scabs would go away. Unfortunately, Pica started getting more scabs, and they both seemed even itchier. So I got on petshed.com and ordered some kitten strength Revolution. I read that this is the best way to get rid of mites. It finally came in the mail today, so I scrubbed down their cage and put a drop of Revolution on each of them. The stuff smells pretty gross, but as long as it works I won’t complain. I also had to freeze their bedding (Aspen) for 2 days, which Kevin wasn’t so happy about. He didn’t like the idea of rat bedding sitting in our freezer. Hey, it’s fresh bedding! Oh well. Hopefully their itchies go away, and I won’t have to worry about this anymore.

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