Weekly Rat Facts: Common Misconceptions

As you probably know by now, I write articles about small animal care. I write about how to care for rats mainly but I've also written articles on hamsters, gerbils, rabbits and mice. Just look back through some of my blog posts to find them. 

Too many times when I tell people that I have rats as pets they get this disgusted look on their face and say things like, "Rats? Really?" or "Don't they carry the plague?"

The fact is they are not dirty, they don't carry the plague and they make great pets.

The truth is, rats are growing ever more popular as pets. People who love them will sometimes take them to rats shows just like a dog show, where they will win ribbons and medals for the best looking rats. Rats are friendly, social, clean and very loving animals. This is Lucky and he gives kisses to anyone who pets him, just like some dogs will when you pet them. He likes to run around and come back to get petted, just like a dog and he keeps himself clean like a cat does. 

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.

This week I won a book, Release Me by J. Kenner as well as some bookmarks in the Fall Equinox Hop giveaway at Fangs Wands and Fairy Dust blog.

I also received some free samples: I found the links for these free samples at Freebie Shark

Sample of Zarbee's Allergy Pills

Nature Valley Oatmeal Squares

And I received two $5 off coupons for any Folger's product. I got these coupons after contacting the company about a stick pack I opened and instead of there being power coffee inside, it looked more like black play dough. So they sent me coupons.

Did You Get Ghosted This Year?

I posted this last year as well but thought it should be posted again. 

I recently heard of getting Ghosted and had no idea what it was. So I looked it up and found this info. When you get Ghosted or you want to Ghost someone else all you do is get two paper lunch sacks, fill them with Halloween goodies like candy, window clings, a card, toys...pretty much anything for Halloween and add either the poem and picture above or the picture and poem below.

Then they are supposed to do the same thing to two of their neighbors and pretty soon the entire neighborhood has been ghosted! How cool is that?

*Just click the pictures to enlarge them*

Review: Black and Blue by Gena Showalter

Today I am a guest reviewer at Fangs Wands & Fairy Dust, where I reviewed Black and Blue for my friend Steph. Please come by her blog and read my review, especially if you love Gena Showalter as much as I do.

Black and Blue comes out on October 22nd. I was able to read and review an advanced copy, which thrilled me.

Kitty Litter Cake

We can't have a halloween party without the Kitty Litter Cake. This grotesque cake is one of my favorites. 

Recipe from Allrecipes.com

You will need:
1 (18.25 ounce) package German chocolate cake mix

1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix

2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix

1 (12 ounce) package vanilla sandwich cookies

3 drops green food coloring

1 (12 ounce) package tootsie rolls

Directions
Prepare cake mixes and bake according to package directions (any size pan).

Prepare pudding according to package directions and chill until ready to assemble.

Crumble sandwich cookies in small batches in a food processor, scraping often. Set aside all but 1/4 cup. To the 1/4 cup add a few drops of green food coloring and mix.

When cakes are cooled to room temperature, crumble them into a large bowl. Toss with 1/2 of the remaining cookie crumbs, and the chilled pudding. You probably won't need all of the pudding, you want the cake to be just moist, not soggy.

Line kitty litter box with the kitty litter liner. Put cake mixture into box.

Put half of the unwrapped tootsie rolls in a microwave safe dish and heat until softened. Shape the ends so that they are no longer blunt, and curve the tootsie rolls slightly. Bury tootsie rolls randomly in the cake and sprinkle with half of the remaining cookie crumbs. Sprinkle a small amount of the green colored cookie crumbs lightly over the top.

Heat 3 or 4 of the tootsie rolls in the microwave until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake and sprinkle lightly with some of the green cookie crumbs. Heat the remaining tootsie rolls until pliable and shape as before. Spread all but one randomly over top of cake mixture. Sprinkle with any remaining cookie crumbs. Hang the remaining tootsie roll over side of litter box and sprinkle with a few green cookie crumbs. Serve with the pooper scooper for a gross Halloween dessert.

Adopt A Nytemare

Have you ever wanted to adopt but couldn't find the right baby creature? Well now, you're in luck because I found a site where you can Adopt A Nytemare! I adopted several...How do you like my new babies?

Reminds me of Dracula. In a, I'm gonna rip your neck out, sort of way...lol 

Cute puppy? Hell hound is more like it.

Grim Reaper? With a side of serial killer...

Crazy Maniac? Better not let him out.

Reminded me of a rat...lol Think he'd let me pet him?

So how do you like my new minions?

Mealy Monsters

*Image source Mealy Monster Land*

While surfing the internet lately, I came across something I thought was perfect for a Halloween post. They are called Mealy Monsters and you can find these and others at her blog, Mealy Monster Land. There are links to order the monsters she has available on her site.

I just love these. 

Weekly Rat Facts: Candy

Lucky sharing my Cream of Wheat

Since it's Halloween Month, I thought I would talk about giving candy to rats. Most people think that because dogs can't eat chocolate that rats probably can't either. But that's not the case, in fact a little bit of dark chocolate is good for rats if they are having breathing problems because it works as a bronchodilator and opens up their airways so they can breathe better. 

So what about other candy?

I've actually shared had my candy stolen from the little thieves while they've been out and had them eat a bit with no problems. Jasper used to climb my leg to get to the table that had the candy bowl on it. He would take a piece, and run with it in his mouth back to the cage where he would devour it in a few seconds. It was small pieces of candy corn and things like that but they have all had little bits of candy with no problems. 

Rats are not the same as dogs and can have little bites of chocolate and candy without any major problems. So feel free to give your rats a little bit of Halloween candy, as long as it's in moderation.  

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.

This week I received a box of 10-samples of Wisk Laundry Detergent from Smiley360.

I also received a sample of Herbal Essences Body Wash

and

A sample of Prilosec

I found the links for the last two at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark. 

I also won a $12 Amazon gift card from Laura at Book Snob because I won a blog contest. 

Thanks Laura!

Bob Basset

While searching around the Internet for cool things to post this month, I came across a website, Bob Basset's Lair...that blew me away. He makes these masks, handbags and other things out of leather that are just awesome and since the masks are kinda creepy/scary I thought Halloween month would be a great time to show some of his work off to you all. 

Photo courtesy of Bob Basset's Lair

This was one of the first masks I saw on his site and my first thought was, Cthulhu! Love it!

Photo courtesy of Bob Basset's Lair

This Cthulhu Zombie mask is one of my favorites. That would be scaring the little kiddies if as adult wore it while giving out candy to trick or treaters. 

Photo courtesy of Bob Basset's Lair

Red claw gloves. How awesome is that?

Photo courtesy of Bob Basset's Lair

I saw this picture on Bob Basset's fb page and loved the dragon coming out of the egg backpack idea. It's just too cute. 

Photo courtesy of Bob Basset's Lair

This however, this is my favorite by far of any of the things I saw on Bob Basset's website. It's a Dragon in Basket Handbag. I got the other pictures of other angles below so you can see how cool this is.

Photo courtesy of Bob Basset's Lair

Photo courtesy of Bob Basset's Lair

The little dragon comes out so you can just use the handbag part of it too. 

Photo courtesy of Bob Basset's Lair

This Skull Jester mask is so awesome.

Photo courtesy of Bob Basset's Lair

This would make for a great Halloween mask with a black cape or trench coat. That would be scary. 

Now weren't those awesome! If you'd like to see more of his work, you can also find him on facebook. 

It's Halloween Month!

One of my tables with Halloween decorations on it. 

Scary Bride.

Have to have a scary rat for the boys to look at. lol 

Probably my favorite piece of Halloween decoration that I have. Grim Reaper. 

If you haven't visited my blog during the month of Halloween, well, you're in for a treat if you like Halloween because I love Halloween and all month long I will be posting some sort of scary/Halloween related bit of gore for you to read. 

So do you like Halloween? 

What's you're favorite holiday?

Religion

So I think I told you all a while back that I considered myself to be Wiccan. I was Wiccan for years, a lot of years. My grandmother got me on that path when she took me to séances, palm readers and told me that my ancestors were witches that were burned at the stake. *Yeah I seriously doubt that*

I don't really know how it happened but I slowly lost my faith in, well...everything...after my mother passed away. 

I had so many people coming up to me telling me she was in a better place, she was with God, she was happy now and not in pain. 

A better place?

I started thinking about that and realized that I didn't believe that, at all. I no longer believed in heaven, hell, god, fluffy white clouds that angels are dancing on while looking down on us, watching over us. I didn't believe in the power of the universe, the power in nature or earth and I didn't believe in what my Wicca books had taught me. 

I didn't believe that angels are among us, or that ghosts exist, and I didn't believe that we have this great ever lasting life after we die. I didn't believe in reincarnation or that it was god's will or that anything at all happens after we die other than our bodies start to decompose and our brains are dead and we didn't have a clue that we had died. 

I started thinking, If all these people really believed that my mom or their deceased loved one was really in a better place or now happy...why in the hell were they crying? Why were they so upset? She's in a better place, so why aren't you happy about that? She's looking down on you smiling and she's happy, healthy and with god in heaven...so why are you so upset if you really believe that. Shouldn't those people be celebrating the death of people who are in a better place?

If you're so sure you're going to a better place when you die, why do you wear a seatbelt? Why do you stay healthy and want to live for a long time? Why do you take safety precautions on the job or put your kids through the pain of chemotherapy and radiation when you find out they have cancer?

Why not just let them die and be happy, go to a better place? 

I think I know why...because you don't really believe it any more than I do but I'm voicing my true feelings. Is that why, maybe?

I'm not trying to piss off any of my religious friends, I'm really not. I'm just telling you what happened to me and why I now consider myself to be Agnostic. 

It's like a switch turned to off in my head and everything just stopped. Now when I hear someone saying that god saved them from a flood or that when the tornado came down and destroyed their neighbors house but not theirs that god was looking out for them...I wonder if they think god was looking out for them, then does that mean that god wasn't looking out for the person who just lost everything? See, it really doesn't make sense when you look at it like that, does it?

Frankly, I don't think we'll know for sure either way until we die and even then if there's nothing after death...we won't know then either.

Now the really amazing thing for me was a few months ago when I was talking to my dad on the phone. He asked me if I was still a witch...lol I told him no and tried explaining to him what I believed, I broke it down like this:

"I don't think that while we are alive we will ever know whether there is a higher being so I'm not going to worry about it until I die. Then if there is, I'll know."

I was ready for my dad to go into all the reasons why he didn't agree with me, but instead he said, "You know what..I kinda feel the same way but I haven't been able to put it into those words."

Well imagine my shock. Let me give you a little background on my dad. He grew up in a Mormon family, was raised Mormon and was even a Mormon missionary when he was younger. He made me and my younger brother go to Primary school each week and even had the Primary school teachers come to our house for bible study each week when I was a kid.

He's always been of a religious mind so when he told me that his faith had faltered too, I was stunned. But it was interesting because now we have something in common that we didn't have before. 

The Big Baby Club

Earlier this month my daughter told me that the pediatrician said my grandson is as big as a 1 year old...and he's only 7 months old.

Logan is now 29" long and weighs 21 lbs. 

I think he's gonna be big like his daddy. 

This is my daughter and her boyfriend. My daughter is 5'2" tall and her boyfriend is I believe 6'8" tall. So now you understand why we think Logan is going to be a big boy, he takes after his daddy. lol

Weekly Rat Facts: Sneezing, Wheezing, Snorting and Squeaking

This is Marbles and Bandit and this is what they do when I take them out on the couch with me. As you can tell Marbles (The Rex) sneezes, snorts and makes little chuffing noises when he gets excited.

When I adopted them from one of my daughter's friends Marbles and two of his brothers (who have since passed away) all had Upper Respiratory Infections and even though I started them all on antibiotics right away it seems that Marbles has some scarring on his lungs from the URI and that's why he makes little noises. He's made these little noises for over a year but he's a healthy boy.

If you don't catch the Upper Respiratory Infection (URI) in time and get them on Baytril right away the URI can leave scarring on their lungs that never goes away and will cause them to breathe badly and make little noises.

Marbles likes to chuff and sneeze when he gets excited and that can be bothersome to me when he gets up close to my face and starts sneezing on me. I can almost see a little smile on his face as he does it, the little stinker.

However, if your rat all of the sudden starts making sneezy, wheezy noises you should have them seen by a vet immediately. They most likely have an URI and will need antibiotics. I always have Baytril on hand just in case one of my boys get sick so I can start them on antibiotics right away. I've spoken with my vet and she said that's the best thing to do. You can either get the antibiotics from your vet or you can order Baytril online. It's about $15 a bottle but the bottle is liquid which makes it a lot easier to dose out and it lasts for a long time. Enrofloxacine is the generic name for Baytril. I use the 10% liquid. I give 2 drops of Baytril to my boys twice a day, mixed with baby food or jelly.

I was told the amount to give to them was...1 drop twice a day per lb of rat. So if you have a 1lb rat you would give them 2 drops per day. If you have a 2lb rat, you would give them 4 drops per day. For 5-16 days depending on how severe the infection is.

If you are a first time rat owner and are giving this medication for the first time I suggest getting it from a veterinarian and having them show/tell you how much to give.

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.

This week I received a box with 8 stick packs of Folger's Coffee and Minties dog treats. 

I found the links to both of these great freebies on Freebie Shark and Hey It's Free.

The Rats!

Because you know how much I love to share pictures of my rats with you...today's post is all about the boys. Here's Lucky running down the ramp to get to the steamed rice and vegetables I put in his cage for dinner. 

Lucky.

Bandit and Marbles playing on the couch with me.

Marbles my rex rat. Meaning he has soft curly hair and whiskers. 

Marbles sitting on the couch with me. Most times they curl up next to me and go to sleep. Lazy boys. lol 

Marbles and Bandit running around on the couch. Bandit has been on a little diet because he's gained a little weight, so I take him out a bit more and let him run around. 

Meet Freelance Writer Mary Kirkland

My name is Mary Kirkland (real name not pen name). I am a freelance writer with 7 years of experience behind me. I have published over 250 articles since I began my writing career. I enjoy writing about small animal care and what to expect after adopting small animals, such as rats, hamsters and gerbils. 

Currently, I live in Las Vegas, Nevada with my husband of 23 years and we recently became grandparents when our daughter gave birth to a 9lb son. On a personal note, I have been battling depression and a Thyroid condition called Hypothyroidism as well as Hashimoto's Thyroiditis for nearly 20 years and was diagnosed with schizotypal personality disorder about 10 years ago. 

I have been using my knowledge of the diseases I have to bring awareness to them as well as mental illness in general, in the hopes it will make a difference and help someone who needs the information because mental illness comes with so much stigma attached to it and is not openly talked about in a lot of circles. 

Free Range Cats?

I heard something against my screen door the other day and looked out the peep hole and saw nothing. I sat back down and heard a weird scraping again, so I opened the door thinking I had a flyer on my door or something. Imagine my surprise when I looked down and saw a cat rubbing up against my door. 

I tried to call her or him over but as you can see he or she just gave me a look. lol So I pulled out the camera and took a couple of pictures. Then all of the sudden my neighbor just 2 doors away from me starts yelling for her cat and chasing her down the sidewalk *this cat* and the cat kept running away from her which I found funny. She, however did not and kept walking by my door giving me dirty looks. 

I have nothing against cats, I really don't. I just think they belong indoors. People who let their cats roam all over the neighborhood are taking chances that someone like me will bring your cat inside my home and call animal control or try to find them a good home on Craigslist. I've done it with plenty of stray cats and dogs in my area.

If you're going to let your cat out, like this one at the very least put a collar on it so people know it's not a stray and don't call animal control on it and can bring it home to you if it gets lost. It's just the responsible thing to do. 

My 1000th Post! And a Giveaway!

It's hard for me to believe but this is my 1000th blog post! I started back in 2005 and I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to be posting about but I was in a bad place back then and pretty much hated everything..lol and thus the name "Dark Thoughts" was the first thing I thought of when making my blog. 

A couple of my friends made blogs at the same time as I did and while all of them stopped blogging, I kept plugging along, even if I did have weeks and months that I didn't have anything at all to say. I think it helped me to write my thoughts out and to find people that had some of the same interests as myself. 

A lot has happened in the 8 years since I started this blog. 

I've had over 250 articles published. 

3 Internet friends passed away. I may never have met them in person but I miss them just the same.

My daughter grew up and became an adult. 

My hubby and I celebrated our 23rd Anniversary. 

My mom passed away. 

We became grandparents. 

When I noticed that I was getting close to 1000 posts I knew I wanted to do something for all of you that have been here with me through the years, left me wonderfully encouraging comments and spent time with me, reading and commenting on my posts.

GIVEAWAY!

So I'm giving away a $25 Amazon gift card to one person who leaves a comment on this post with their email address so I can get in touch with them if they are picked to be the winner. I will pick a winner from all the posts on Oct. 2nd and email the winner. He or she will have 24 hours to respond to my email or another winner will be picked. 

Update: This contest is now closed and a winner has been picked and responded to my email. Thank you to everyone who entered. 

Weekly Rat Facts: Gene Mutations

In rat breeding there are a few gene mutations that have made for some interesting varieties of rats, although their health could be at risk from these mutations. 

Rex

I have a rex rat, Marbles. His hair is patchy in places on his face, curly in other places and completely missing in others. He also has curly whiskers. Most rex rats have soft curly hair or very little hair. Some rex rats have tightly curled hair so it sometimes looks like a perm, while others have beautifully, soft, luxurious waves.

Hairless
Hairless rats are usually made when you breed two rexes together. They are usually healthy but can have persistent skin problems and because they sometimes don't have eyelashes to keep debris from getting in their eyes they can also have eye problems. I knew one lady who had several hairless rats and had to switch to cloth bedding because the Carefresh bedding she was using kept getting stuck under the eye lids of her rats and she would have to take them to the vet to get it cleaned out. 

Manx
Manx are also called tailless rats because they are born without a tail or only have a small finger like appendage that sticks out much like a hamster tail. The major problem with Manx rats is they can be born with impairment to the nerves of the bowels and bladder. They also can be born without hip sockets and pelvic bones. But the biggest problem for Manx rats is the threat of heat exhaustion since the tail regulates the body temperature.