Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a 'Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to samples like these at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received:

The Vegetarian Starter Guide Magazine
Poise Pads sample
Fancy Feats Broths cat food

And I won a children's book called If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Numeroff. I won this book in the Sun Maid Snack n Read Promotion they had on Facebook.

I also won a $15 Amazon gift card from a blog contest over at Rabid Reads. You should check out her great blog. 

Did you receive anything free this week?

What You Need To Know About First Aid For Your Pet Rats

What you should have on hand in case of an emergency :

Neosporin

Children's Motrin with dropper 1-2 drops for pain, twice daily.

Gauze

Medical tape

Heating pad to place under cage if trying to keep rat warm.

Children's Benadryl Liquid 1-2 drops for insect bites, stings. Not more than two times per day.

Baby nail clippers

Skin Glue for minor rips in ears, due to fighting.

Cotton Pads

Ice Packs, in case of Heat Exhaustion.

Your pet rat can have many injuries and ailments, one common injury is called Degloving. Degloving is when a rat loses some of the skin on their tail. It can be a very painful and a life threatening injury to have. If they lose too much blood from their tail they will go into shock and may die. If your rat's tail becomes degloved, you need to seek immediate Veterinarian attention. You can apply a small amount of Neosporin to the injured spot, but this injury is going to be very painful for your rat and you should be aware he may bite you because he is in pain. You can give 1-2 drops of Children's Motrin with a dropper, twice daily.

How to give CPR to your pet rat:

There are several ways and opinions on how to give a rat CPR, here are just a couple.

First thing is to make sure your rat is not breathing, if he is breathing then clear his airway by opening his mouth and pulling his tongue out slightly and to the side. If he is not breathing, that means his chest or abdomen is not rising and falling, place him upside down in the palm of your hand. With his head up on your fingers, take two fingers from your other hand and rub his chest in a circular motion. This is done to stimulate his heart.

If that does not make him breathe, you can try the Ratty Fling. It's called the Ratty fling because that's what you're going to do, fling your rat while holding him of course.

While holding your rat the same way as before, swing your arm underhanded up to three times. This is done to try and force air into his lungs. Make sure you have a good hold on your rat as you don't want to accidentally throw him while performing the Ratty Fling.

Another form of CPR is Mouth to Nose breathing:

Again check to make sure he is not breathing, his chest or abdomen are not rising and falling. Check his skin temperature, is he cold and stiff? If your rat is cold and stiff then he has been dead for a while and there's nothing you can do to bring him back.

If he is still warm then check his neck for a pulse. If he is not breathing and has no pulse, you need to start mouth to nose breathing. Do this by putting your rat upside down on a solid surface, or in the palm of your hand. Open his mouth and make sure there isn't something like a piece of food stuck in his mouth. Pull his tongue slightly forward and close his mouth, gently hold it closed. Put your mouth over your rat's nose, just his nose not his entire mouth and slightly blow into his nose. His chest should rise, if it doesn't blow a little harder, then lift away and let the air come back out. Excess air will come out of the rat's mouth which is why you can't cover the rat's mouth with your own while performing CPR. Breathe into your rat's nose once, every two seconds. Do that three times and then check the side of his neck for a pulse and stop to watch and see if he is breathing on his own.

Do this until you reach a Veterinarians office or until you feel it necessary to give up. If your rat stops breathing this can be life threatening and you should get medical attention for him as soon as possible.

Although most people think of rats as inexpensive pockets pets or generally a good first pet for a child. They may get sick and need medical attention. If you cannot afford a vet, please do not get an animal. If you think just because they only cost $5.00 at the pet store, you shouldn't spend the money it takes to give them basic medical attention, do not get an animal. If you are thinking of buying a rat and you already know you cannot fit a vet bill into your budget, you should not buy the pet. I can't get anymore frank than that.

How to Make Home Made Hamster Toys

When you first bring a new hamster home the first thing you may want to do is go to the pet store and buy up all the neat looking toys and supplies for your hamster. The only problem with that is not every hamster is going to play with all the toys you buy for him so making a few at home will be fun for both of you and cost you less money.

Hamsters are chewers so whenever you start making your hamster toys you need to make sure to remember that and always use supplies that won't be harmful to your hamster if he chews them.

When using wood, always use wood that hasn't been treated with any chemicals, dyes or glues. You can use regular food coloring to the wood if you want to give it some color.

Swinging Platform

For this toy you will need a cage that has enough room to have a small wooden platform hanging inside the cage and a cage that has bars going across the top of the cage. First find a small square piece of wood or a stiff piece of strong cardboard and drill four small holes, one at each corner. Use four pieces of thin rope but not string as string may wrap around your hamsters legs or he may choke on it. Thread the rope through the holes and tie a small knot on one end that is on the bottom of the wood or cardboard, the other end should be tied to the top of the cage so the platform in hanging in the cage.

Your hamster may jump on this or he may just chew on it, either way if he does nothing with it after a few days take it out and try a different toy. Hamsters get bored with just one type of toy and their toys should be switched out every once in a while to keep them from getting bored. This will keep your hamster happy.

Cardboard Tubes

There are so many uses for the tubes from the toilet paper and paper towels that you will never run out of things to do with them. Here are just a few fun things you can do with them.

Fold the end of one toilet paper tube inward and fill the other end with hamster food or treats such as carrots, yogurt drops, apples, or pears. Fold the other end of the tube inward so the food is tucked inside the tube and put it inside your hamsters' cage. He will smell the food and start chewing the cardboard tube to get at the food. All perishable foods such as lettuce, apples and pears should be taken out of the cage if not eaten at the end of the day because they will rot and make your hamster sick.

Put four or five paper towel tubes with just a little hamster food inside each one on the floor and let your hamster run from one to the next. He will like the time outside of his cage and you will have fun watching him run in and out of the tubes.

Food String

Although you should not use real string for your hamster's toys, there are a few fun things you can use in place of string. For this food string you will need to have one large carrot and cut it length wise in square strips sort of like a long stick that you can load pieces of food onto like a shish kabob. When you have the carrots cut, then cut small pieces of apples, pears, boiled eggs ect, and push them onto the carrot stick you made. You may need to poke a hole in some of the foods so you don't break your carrot stick. Then give the carrot stick with the food on it to your hamster. Each stick should be about four inches long so you aren't wasting too much food and make sure to discard of any uneaten food at the end of the day.

Paper Shredder

No, don't let your hamster play in the paper shredder but you can watch him become one. Make sure to use paper that isn't treated with any dyes or ink as that can be harmful to your hamster. If you can find blank white paper you can put a half a page in your hamsters cage and watch them shred it faster than your paper shredder would and then play in it, use it for bedding or hide under it. Your hamster might even keep it in larger pieces for hiding under while he's sleeping. You can leave the shredded paper in his cage until he urinates on it. Never leave wet paper in a cage as it will not dry out easily and could make your hamster sick.

Carnival

I do not mean you should take your hamster to a carnival no matter how much fun you think your hamster would have, but to make a carnival for your hamster right at home. You will need one of those little plastic kiddie pools without the water added to it, three empty cereal boxes, three cardboard tubes, and one empty shoe box. You will also need chinchilla dust which you may or may not have on hand but can buy at the pet store.

First thing is to make sure the kiddie pool is clean and free of dirt and water, then remove all plastic from the cereal boxes and cut holes large enough for your hamster to fit through in the sides of the cereal boxes. Place the cereal boxes and the cardboard tubes into the kiddie pool. Now take the empty shoe box and cut the sides down so your hamster can jump in and out of it on his own and fill it with chinchilla dust and then put this in the kiddie pool as well. Now get your hamster and put him in the kiddie pool and watch him play in his homemade carnival.

Hamster love to dig so the shoe box filled with chinchilla dust will keep him busy digging for a long time and since it's in the pool you don't have to worry about the dust getting all over your floor.

So there you have several cheap and easy home made toys you can make yourself. No matter what kinds of toys you make for or give to your hamster, they may or may not play with them. If your hamster is chewing like crazy on the bars of his cage, he is most likely bored out of his mind and wants something fun to do so go make him his own carnival to play in for a while.

Always be aware of how much time you let your hamster spend outside of his cage without food and water as well. You will love watching him play with his toys but make sure to let him take breaks as well so he can go to the bathroom, eat some food, get a drink of water or just rest.

Review: Precisio Tweezers

I haven't bought a pair of tweezers in years. The last time I had a new pair of tweezers is when I won a grab bag at a party and it had a pair of tweezers, a nail file and a brush in it. That was about 15 years ago, so as you can tell I was in need of a new pair of so I bought the Precisio Tweezers.

My husband is a maintenance man and does things around the house and sometimes when working with wood, he'll get the occasional splinter. Since my old pair of tweezers didn't work well at all, I would end up having to take a pair of nail clippers or a needle and dig the splinter out- not fun.

*This is what the tweezers looked like when I opened the package.*

Hubby just so happened to get a splinter in the side of his hand while cutting wood with his hand saw and I used this opportunity to use my new tweezers and in less than 5 seconds I had grabbed the offending piece of wood and tugged it out. The tweezers worked really well and held on great. 

I don't pluck my eyebrows, I never have. I really have no need to. But that's not the only use for a pair of tweezers. I used my new tweezers to grip seed beads while I ran a thread through them while I worked on making a new beaded bracelet and it worked great. 

These tweezers also come with a case for storage so you'll never have to worry whether or not your tweezers are dirty. 

I really liked the Precisio Tweezers and recommend them. If you'd like to buy a pair you can find them here. 

Review: Crave Naturals Eyebrow and Eyelash Brush Kit

If you use make up then you know that we need a lot of different brushes for the different types of make up that we use. That's why I was excited to try this new Eyebrow and Eyelash Brush Kit. I have an Eyebrow and Eyelash brush but they are about 7 years old so I was thrilled to be able to try and keep these new ones. 

The lash comb works well if you get a little too much mascara on your lashes and you know it's going to clump and look bad. Instead of taking all of it off and starting over, I just used the lash comb to run out any lumps and make my lashes look good and then applied a little more mascara. 

*this is what the canister that holds the eyebrow and eyelash kit looked like when I opened the package*

The Eyebrow Brush works well to apply powder color to your eyebrows or in my case just tame my eyebrows after waking up and they are going every which way. I just wet the brush and comb my eyebrows down so they look nice. 

*this is what my kit looked like when I took it out of the canister*

I don't do a lot of tweezing or trimming of my eyebrows so they can become a bit wild if I don't brush them into submission in the morning and this kit is exactly what I needed to add to my make up kit. 

I have a special 25% off coupon code for my readers. Just go to Amazon and search eyebrow brush and use code: QQMSRCOC at check out. 

The Crave Naturals Eyebrow and Eyelash Kit definitely deserve a 5 out of 5 star rating. 

Disclaimer: I received this product for free from Crave Bloggers in exchange for a truthful review. 

Happy Raturday!

Welcome to a new weekly blog post I'm calling, Raturday! I've seen Caturday and while that's really cute, I think the rats needs some photo time so everyone can see how cute these little animals are. I've gotten permission from Rat Logic's fb page to share their pictures on my blog. So get ready to smile because these are cute. 

*click pictures to enlarge*

*I made this demotivational poster from a post and comments I saw on FB the other day. I blanked out the names because it was too funny not to share. *

Review: Kiss Stick On Nails

So I don't paint my nails as often as I used to because the paint chips off while doing dishes, cleaning cages and my rats love to try and bite my nails when they are painted. I don't think the nail polish is going to hurt them if they bite once or twice but I'm not willing to chance it happening all that often. 

So when I do want fancy fingernails, I either take the time to apply acrylic nails- but that can be time consuming or I apply these press on nails. 

As you can see, they are really pretty and not too long. It's hard to type with really long nails, at least it is for me.

The glue is already on the nail so all you have to do is press them onto your nail. That's it, all done. And they stay on for a few days. Now sometimes if they come off before I'm ready I will just take a little nail glue and glue them back on and they will stay for about a week. 

Here's a close up picture of a couple of my nails. I love this design. It's colorful without being really crazy loud colorful. There's just enough color and design on these to be really pretty. 

I put these nails on in just about 2 minutes. I usually hold the nail down once I apply it so it gets good stick and then go onto the next one. No mess, no drying time. Just pretty nails in a couple of minutes. I've been using Kiss Press On Nails for years and I really like them. I would never be able to paint such pretty designs on my own.

Weekly Rat Facts: How to Care for Your Rat After Surgery

*Lucky*

There are times that you may have to consider taking your rat to a veterinarian to have surgery, maybe to remove a tumor or cancerous growth. The first thing to consider is if your rat is healthy enough for surgery. If your rat is over-weight, has breathing problems, or is in any other way in bad health, surgery may not be possible. You should discuss this with your surgeon before hand. Finding a Veterinarian that has experience with small animals and has done this particular surgery before is a must. Not all Vets have experience with "Exotics" and therefore finding one who does is a top priority.

It is important to discuss the methods they will use for surgery. What kind of anesthesia will they use? Gas is the most common type used now because finding a vein in a small rat is not likely and gas is much easier to administer. Will they prescribe a post operative pain killer for your rat? It is important to make sure they are willing to give you a post operative analgesic, the pain medicine they give during surgery will likely wear off a few hours after surgery and there's no need for them to be in pain while they heal.

Unlike you and I, rats do not need to fast twelve hours before surgery. They are unable to vomit and can eat right up until they go in for surgery. After surgery they will most likely want some water and you should make sure you are there to help them get at the water bottle if they need extra help. The Veterinarian hospital staff is going to be busy and no one will give your little fuzzy buddy the tender loving care that you yourself will. Make sure they are being kept warm and have food around they can eat.

Make sure to ask what kind of stitches they have used to close the wound. Most Vets will use subcuticular dissolvable stitches which are small stitches under the skin that make it harder for the rat to chew off. Most wounds will heal fast as long as the rat leaves them alone. For larger wounds a vet may have to put in staples or other types of stitches. If your rat starts chewing on them, the vet may tape a piece of gauze around the wound and then use cast material to make it harder for the rat to open the wound back up. Most rats won't bother too much with the wounds and they will heal quickly.

Once you get your rat home you will want to keep them separated from any other cage mates for at least two days. This is just so they can heal before their cage mates start sniffing at the wound or accidentally hurt them while playing. Most rats are smart and will curl up next to a cage mate that's not feeling good.

While you have your rat in its own cage you have to make sure to keep him warm. It's easiest to do this using a single level glass cage. Putting a heating pad on the low setting, that's covered with a towel, under the tank will keep the cage warm. Put the heating pad under only half of the tank so your rat can choose whether they want to lay over it. You rat will be sleeping and may just want to curl up and sleep for a while after coming home, this is perfectly normal. You should wake your rat up every two hours and offer him some water either from his water bottle or from a dropper to make sure he doesn't get dehydrated. Offering some baby food or soft food will also help him feel better and help him heal faster. Mixing any powdered or liquid medicines the vet gives you into a small amount of yogurt or baby food will make it easier for your rat to take his medicine. While also making sure he gets some food.

If your rat become lethargic or won't eat or drink you should take them back to the vets office right away. This is a sign of dehydration and a rat can die from this rather quickly. Your vet can give them an injection to get them hydrated again. If you see any redness or swelling around the wound, this may be a sign of infection and you should take your rat back to the Vets office right away.

The most important thing to remember is to be there for your rat. Hold them, give them all the attention they want, hand feed them if necessary and give them lots of love.

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a 'Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to samples like these at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received two books...
Vampire Trouble by Sara Humphreys for being in Sara's Angels Street Team.
and
One Bite Per Night by Brooklyn Ann. I won this book at SOS Aloha

I also received 5 samples of Nesquik *one is missing because I used it before I took the picture, lol*

So did you received any freebies this week?

Review: The Bouqs

They came in a nice secured box.

I started snapping pictures as soon as I got the box and was pleasantly surprised to find the flowers in really good shape. 

As you can see the flowers come very securely wrapped and looked great when I opened them. 

There are clear instructions on the box as to what to do after you have opened the box.

This bouquet is called BBQ'n and is from the Volcano Collection and if you like it, you can find it here. 

This bouquet comes with 12 Roses and Freesia accents and as you can see, it is quite beautiful. When ordering you can choose this one which is the original, or the deluxe which comes with 24 Roses and Freesia accents or the Grand which comes with 36 Roses and Freesia accents.

My apartment smells so good. There's really nothing like the scent of fresh cut flowers to brighten your day and make your home smell inviting.

So if you're looking for company that sends flowers, I can highly recommend this one because my flowers looked wonderful, were fresh and came wrapped very securely so none of the flowers were damaged during transport.

                                  UPDATE: 3 days after they arrived and they still look gorgeous! 
I received this product for free from The Bouqs in exchange for my truthful review. I was in no other way compensated for my honest review. All thoughts and ideas expressed are my own.

How to Tell If Your Rat is Sick

*Marbles*

Rats can get sick just like you and I and when we get sick we go to the doctor, you should also seek out the advice of a doctor for your rat when he gets sick. A Veterinarian that specializes in exotics will be the best one to take him to. They will already have had previous experience with others rats and will be more helpful than a Vet who has little or no experience with exotics.

Respiratory Infections

Respiratory infections are the most common ailment seen in rats. They can get them from being in bad bedding such as Cedar or Pine shavings as well as getting too cold or chilled and being around other rats with an infection. These infections can be fatal so getting them to a vet's office right away is essential. A vet will most likely give you antibiotic medication to give to your rat with a dropper or you can mix with food. The vet will show you how to administer the medication before you leave. If your rat is sneezing a lot, making wheezing noises or you hear crackling coming from his chest you should get a vet's help.

Tumors

Tumors or cancerous growths are very common in rats as well. Sometimes they can be removed. If your rat develops a tumor and he looks like he is in pain or stops drinking or eating and his health isn't good enough for him to make it through a surgery, your vet can humanely euthanize him. While you are playing with your rat you should routinely check him for lumps each week. Sometimes they can be found before they progress too far and your rat will likely make a full recovery after surgery.

Skin Problems

Scabs, cuts and small sores are the most common skin problem with rats. Small cuts can be caused by a rat cleaning himself and his nails being too long or sharp. You can trim rat's nails with baby toenail cutters or by taking a nail file and filing down the very tips of the nail. Scabs should be looked at more closely as they can be signs of a bigger problem. Sometimes scabs are the result of mites or lice and this can be treated with over the counter sprays and medicines from most pet stores, but if it doesn't work you will need to take your rat to a vet to get proper care. A vet can clear up lice and mites very quickly.

If there are two rats in a cage and one of them has bald patches of hair, they might be doing what is called barbering. One rat may excessively groom another rat to the point of his hair falling out. Most times they do this because they are stressed, bored or sick. Giving them plenty of toys, lots of time out of the cage and affection will keep them from getting bored. They may also get abscesses on their feet, also called Bumble Foot. These abscesses will look like small dark sometimes red or brown lumps on the bottom of their feet. Most times a vet can get rid of them by lancing the wound, cleaning it out and giving them topical and/or oral antibiotics.

Broken or Bleeding Toenails

It's quite common for a rat to break or partially rip out a toenail. Their toe will bleed and you may think its worst than it actually is. If this happens the best thing you can do is rinse the nail off, use a styptic pen or powder to stop it from bleeding. Most veterinarian offices will have it and can give it to you. If you don't have this you can always use a small amount of flour. You can also put a small amount of antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin on the wound. Do not pull off a toenail that is hanging on. You rat will do this himself when he is cleaning or it will fall off on its own. A rats toenail will heal surprisingly fast so a vet's visit is rarely needed unless it gets infected.

When a rat gets sick they seem to go downhill very fast so getting them the professional help they require in time is essential. Most rats will make a fast recovery if treated by a professional and you will have many more days with them. Knowing before you get a rat or any animal that you may have to spend money at a vet's office is something you have to think about. Once you bring an animal home you are responsible for their health and well being. Being responsible means being able to take care of all their needs when the time comes.

What Does Your Rat See and Smell?

Rats don't see as well as we do, but they do see things differently. A rat will get a feeling for its environment with his whiskers. Rat's whiskers are the most important thing he has to get a feel for what's around him. A rat will rapidly brush his whiskers along the floor, carpet, cage and even you in order to get a picture of what is around him. Rat's whiskers are more sensitive than humans fingertips in the way they let him know what he is around.

When you're playing with your rat, just watch his whiskers as he walks across the couch, walks along your arm or the floor. They will constantly brush their whiskers along whatever they are next to. They will feel all the tiny indentations, dents, dimples and bumps that we never notice. They know if the surface is smooth, bumpy, or cracked.

Rats have a highly developed sense of smell. As you watch your rat walk around also pay attention to his nose. You will notice his little nose constantly twitching, smelling the air, the carpet, you and any other rats he is around. Your rat may be asleep while you are making dinner but once he gets a whiff of what you're cooking he will most likely be up, jumping around letting you know he smells what's for dinner and he wants some too.

Rats love to stick their noses into small cracks and crevices that hold all sorts of wonderful smells for them. They will try to dig their way through any small opening to find the smell if they like it and they have sharp nails to help with the digging as well as long sharp teeth. Rats love to gnaw on things, so if you let your rat run loose in the living room, expect him to chew on the wooden table legs.

Your rats vision isn't very good, at best what they see more than a few feet away is blurry. That is why a rat will come up to and sniff you, lick you and his ears will twitch when you talk to him.

Because rats are so close to the ground, the things they see are going to be different from what you and I see. If you put your rat on the floor, he isn't going to see just a carpeted floor, he's going to see all the small things on the floor that the vacuum missed the last time you used it, he's going to see a great hiding place behind the couch and a wonderful place to run along the wall.

Rats are very inquisitive, they will seek out fun places to run and climb onto. They will shred your clothes, curtains and any other fabric they find to take back to their nests. They think it would be great bedding material.

Have fun with your rat, but take care where you let him roam as he may get lost, chew up your furniture, wires and walls or just climb somewhere he can't get down without hurting himself.

How To Give A Rat A Bath

Wild rats are very used to being in the water, they will swim through sewers, ponds and even your swimming pool to get where they need to go. Domesticated rats are another story though. While some rats love the water, others will claw your arms and hands and maybe even bite you to get away from the water.

*Lucky got his first bath back on July 10th. He had a little buck grease on his back and so a bath was in order to wash the greasiness out of his fur.*

The best way to make sure you won't have a problem giving your rat a bath if they need one is to introduce them to water long before it becomes a necessity. If you introduce your rats to the water when they are younger and make it a positive experience they are going to be less likely to be afraid when you try to give them a bath. If however no matter what you do your rats don't like the water, you should only bathe them when it becomes necessary. If they smell bad it's probably time to clean the cage instead of giving them a bath. If they get into something that covers their hair and the only way to get it off is to give them a bath, there are ways to prepare.

First thing you should do if bathing becomes necessary is make sure you are in a room you can close off from the rest of the house. The bathroom is perfect as you can close the door. Make sure your rat can't escape and hide under any furniture, get caught behind any appliances or jump from somewhere high and break his leg.

Put just enough warm water in the tub to reach over your rats legs, if your rat is scared, putting too much water in the tub will scare them more. You don't want them to accidentally drown while you are trying to wash them. Make sure the water is warm to the touch and the temperature in the room is warm. Rats can get respiratory infections very easily.

Don't use a human shampoo or body wash, this can cause drying to their skin. Instead get a Critter Shampoo like Squeaky Clean. Most pet shops will carry animal shampoo. Petsmart carries several types of shampoo for small animals. When you start washing them make sure not to get the shampoo in their ears, eyes or mouth. Add just a small amount to your hand and rub all over the rat's body, even the tail. Holding your rat under his body and gently washing him will make him feel more secure. Don't be surprised if you rat poops in the water, they will do this when they are stressed or upset. Just scoop out the pellets and continue with the bath. To rinse your rat off, gently swish some water upon your rat's body with your hand.

After the bath, wrap your rat in a soft towel and pat them dry as much as possible. Some rats will curl up in the towel and let you hold them until they dry. But most will start cleaning themselves right away and will keep cleaning until they are dry.

Make sure to give your rat a treat after the bath, this will help settle them down and make them feel better. You should always talk soothing to your rat and give them treats after they do something that may be upsetting to them.

Lucky seemed to like his bath, he just laid in my hand and let me wash him and then when he was all done he licked, licked and licked his fur some more until he was dry. 

Happy Raturday!

Welcome to a new weekly blog post I'm calling, Raturday! I've seen Caturday and while that's really cute, I think the rats needs some photo time so everyone can see how cute these little animals are. I've gotten permission from Rat Logic's fb page to share their pictures on my blog. So get ready to smile because these are cute. 

*click pictures to enlarge*

Review: Private Selection Blue Corn Tortilla Chips, Salsa and Select Blend Nuts

This week I received a Bzzkit from BzzAgent with all kinds of Private Selection goodies in it. This is what it looked like when I opened the box. 

Inside the box was an assortment of coupons including coupons for free products like Private Selection pie, bacon and frozen fruit. I also received a bag of Private Selection Blue Corn Tortilla Chips, Private Selection Salsa and Private Selection Mixed Nuts. 

Hubby and I dug into the tortillas and salsa right away. *can't really expect us to wait until after dinner, right?* 

Now this is my first time trying Blue Corn Tortilla Chips and I have to say I was a skeptic but they were actually quite tasty. I've had the salsa before so I already knew I would like it. I like the Private Selection Salsa because it has a great flavor, a lot of chunky vegetables and isn't so hot and spicy that I can't eat it. It has a great mild flavor to it and for someone who doesn't eat a lot of spicy foods, that's a plus for me. 

We also opened the Private Selection Select Blend Nuts *you know, because the can was sitting there mocking us and we pretty much had to because the temptation became too much for us* and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the mix of nuts was a good one. There were cashews, pecans and macadamia nuts in this canister. 

Not only were there a great selection of nuts in the can but they tasted very fresh. They didn't have too much salt on them and they had a great flavor. I would definitely recommend all of these products to you to try for yourself. 

I received these Products from BzzAgent. Have you signed up with them yet? No, well what are you waiting for? You could be getting free products to try at home just like I do. Just click here and sign up for an account, it's simple and easy to do and all you have to do is share your thoughts, write a review and share on social media about the products you receive from them. 

Disclaimer: I received these products for free to try at home from BzzAgent.com in exchange for my truthful review. I was in no other way compensated for my honest review. All thoughts and ideas expressed are my own.

Review: Cassani Fogless Shower Mirror

 *This is what the box looked like when I got it.*

Ken painted our bathroom a really nice light green color not too long ago and I've slowly been upgrading things in the bathroom to make it look better. I even painted the frame around my little flower pot a light green to match the new look and bought a new green rug.

So I'm always looking for new things to put in the bathroom to spruce it up a bit more. So when I got the chance to get this Cassani Fogless Shower Mirror for free to try at home, I jumped at the chance. I've never had a mirror in the shower before and why would I when it would just fog up and I wouldn't be able to use it, right?

So when I read that this one was fogless and shatterproof, I really wanted to try it out. I used to have a handheld mirror but it got dropped and broke some time ago so this is a great replacement for that.

This mirror was easy to install in the shower and nice to have around not only for hubby who can now keep his razor in the shower instead of on my perfume shelf but once the mirror is installed, it's going to stay in place. It came with adhesive holder that all you have to do is clean off the area of the wall you are going to stick it to and then place the backing on the wall and hang the mirror. Much better and safer than those suction cup holders that never stay where you want them.

*This is the mirror, mirror holder and razor holder*

I like it because I can also use it to see what I'm doing when I use a face wash or scrub on my face while showering.

I received this product for free in exchange for my honest review.

Weekly Rat Facts: Accessories and Toys

While it's important to give you rat some toys for their cage, it's just as important not to put so many toys and accessories into the cage that they have no room to move around. The best thing to do is to put a couple of small toys in the cage and see which ones they will actually play with, then once a week when you clean out the cage take the toys they don't play with out, and replace it with another.

This will keep your rat happy as well as give them something to do when you aren't playing with them. Keeping your rat mentally stimulated will keep them happy and therefore healthier. Keep in mind you don't have to spend loads of money on cage accessories and toys. Hand made toys can be just as effective as the store bought ones.

The most important accessory and the first thing you should get for your rat's cage is a nesting box for sleeping. Rats sleep a lot and having a safe, secure place to sleep will make them happy. Rats like to hide inside something while sleeping and there are several store bought things you can get that your rat will love. Things like log cabins, houses made from wood, and plastic igloos are just a few.

Make sure to look at other animal accessories, like ferret, chinchilla, guinea pig and even birds will have nesting houses, toys and accessories that you can use for your rat. Once you have the nesting house you will need to add some nesting material, such as extra bedding, shredded paper towels, and even torn pieces of paper are appropriate. Never use wood shavings as bedding or nesting material. Soft bedding made of paper products, such as Care Fresh works best. You will have to clear out and clean the nesting box material more than once a week if your animals are urinating in the nesting box. Rats like their environment to be kept clean.

Getting toys for your rat's cage is essential and will give your rat as well as you hours of fun. They will have fun playing and you'll have fun watching them play. Some but not all rats will like the wheel. Make sure to get a solid metal wheel with no wires. Rats can catch their tails in between the wires of some wheels and get injured.

Making treat boxes is another fun way for rats to play. Just take an empty toilet paper tube, put some treats inside it like nuts, fresh veggies or small dog biscuits and fold up the sides. You rat will love to tear the tube apart and get to the treat inside. There are also treat boxes in most pet stores that have a wide variety of treats in them. Store bought toys like wood chews, treat sticks, exercise balls, and plastic tubes are just some things you can get.

Hanging bird toys are another great thing you can put into your rat cage. Just hang the bird toy from the top and let it hang down, you rat won't be able to stop himself from chewing and tugging on it. Make sure you have a sturdy food bowl and give them plenty of food. They like to munch several times a day. A water bottle is a necessity; make sure your rat has a clean supply of water every day. Putting water in a free standing bowl is not a good idea as they will tip it over and get their bedding wet. Hard plastic or glass water bottles are the best to get. Rats like to chew so if you get a soft plastic water bottle you may find holes in it soon after you put it in the cage.

No matter how many toys you give your rat, make sure they get plenty of attention and playtime out of the cage with you. Rats are social animals and love to have time out of their cage, hanging around their humans, riding on your shoulder and getting bits of your food.

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a 'Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to samples like these at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received:

Nivea Lotion
Garnier 5 Second Blur
Garnier Anti Age Skin Corrector
Fructis Marvelous Oil
Waleda Skin Food
Garnier Clean Nourishing Skin Oil

I also cashed out some points on Chatabout and turned them into a $5 Amazon gift card.

Did you receive any freebies this week?

Digging Box For Rats

First of all you may be asking yourself, what is a digging box? Well that's easy, a digging box is a box filled with sterile potting soil that you let your rat dig in. You can plant grass and let them eat it, or just leave it as soil and hide treats in the soil for your rats to dig and find.

You may never have heard of giving your rat a box of soil to dig in, but wild rats dig and forage for food. Giving them a box full of soil is a great way to let them indulge in a behavior they will find quite natural.

So how do you create a digging box? It's very easy, just get a plastic box, such as a Tupperware or kitty litter box and fill it half way to the top with a bag of sterile potting soil. It is very important to make sure the soil you use has no additives or fertilizers as this may make your rat sick. You can add grass seed to grow grass or grow oat grass, wheat grass or just add bird seed as a treat. Adding a handful of rat food into the soil will be fun to watch your rat digging to find the food as well you may see some of the seeds sprouting, making a little ratty garden for your pet to devour.

Water the soil just enough to grow your grass, but don't let the soil grow mold or fungus. This will harm your rat. You can partially bury plastic tubing large enough for your rat to crawl through into the soil, as well as burying assorted rocks, treats, and toys.

You may want to put a smooth rock on top of the soil for the rats to sit on at first if they don't seem to like the soil, this will also give them a starting point to start their digging as rats like to dig underneath things.

The digging box should not be used to house your rat, you will need to have a rat cage to let them sleep and live, but having a digging box will be a fun thing for your rat to look forward to. If you make a digging box and your rat is scared being in it, don't force the issue. The best thing to do is to leave it out where they can get to it themselves while they are playing on the couch or floor. Leaving it up to them to find the box and find out it can be fun may take time but its well worth the effort.