|
|
Shellyane Bryan - A Tale Of Two Rats |
|
Shellyane Bryan is a third year student studying English Literature and Creative Writing at Staffordshire University. She has a love for small animals, especially those of the rat and hamster variety. Learn all about Dumbo The Rat and Mouse The Rat, with occasional cameos by Leon The Hamster.
|
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Researching Rat Fights And Winter Depression
I’ve been reading all about the difference between serious fighting and play fighting among rats to see if I can apply any of it to the way my rats, Mouse and Dumbo, behave with one another. As it turns out, when rats play fight, the initiator tends to go for the nape of the neck and doesn’t really bite, or at least not hard. View Blog>>
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Trouble With Rats Chewing
I’ve noticed lately that my rat Mouse is really starting to get big. I don’t know why it is, but rats seem to reach a certain stage and stop growing for a while, and then have a sudden spurt — though this could be related to how much food they’re eating. View Blog>>
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Rat Scraps
My rat Mouse has been a bit better behaved this week. I’ve been keeping an eye on both my rats when I’ve had the chance. Mouse hasn’t quite stopped biting the ears of Dumbo, but she does seem to be doing it a bit less. View Blog>>
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Holidays For Rats And Battling Rat Stereotypes
Halloween is approaching, and I’ve been thinking about the kinds of entertainment I can give the rats for the season. I would like to get my rats dressed up for the occasion in something that would make them look sillier than they already do. View Blog>>
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Pondering Rats And A Plea For Help
I don’t know what it is about rats, but the bigger and fatter they get, the cuter they are. Don’t get me wrong; Mouse was still cute when she was small, sleek and babylike, but now that she’s gotten a lot bigger and has put on healthy weight, she looks even more adorable. View Blog>>
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Rat Versus Spider
It took some time, but my rats have finally managed to completely obliterate wigwam Number 2. I was serious when I said they wouldn’t be getting another one. From now on they can go back to having cardboard boxes to sleep in (though no matter how often I use them, Dumbo is always afraid of them for the first couple of days). View Blog>>
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Rat Redecorating
For a few weeks now, I’ve been thinking about adding some bits and pieces to the cage of my rats, Mouse and Dumbo. I mentioned a couple of months ago that I was looking for some sputniks, but I couldn’t find them anywhere. View Blog>>
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Rat Research
I’ve been doing a lot of research into rats this week, and I have found out all kinds of things I never knew. For instance, I didn’t even know it was possible to have a dwarf rat! View Blog>>
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Rat Quirks
I really love it when rats kick sawdust. They don’t kick the way most rats do, scrabbling things backward. They kick things forward instead, in a rather erratic fashion. View Blog>>
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Memories Of Pet Rats
I distinctly recall the moment I first saw Fidget and Dumbo when my friend and I decided we wanted to get pet rats. At the time it had been a toss-up between getting a pair of degus or a pair of rats. It wasn’t until we clapped eyes on our baby rats that we knew for certain. View Blog>>
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Rat Bits And Bobs
I find myself these days looking at items of rubbish dotted around the household and trying to decide how I can fashion these into something exciting or cozy for my pet rats. It used to be simple things like shoeboxes, food boxes and jingly cat toys. Now it’s pretty much anything I clap eyes on — candy tubs, old pipes, tea towels. View Blog>>
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Sad And Happy Rat News
Sadly, my friend’s rat Seto died very suddenly just over a week ago. It was very unexpected, as up until the night before he passed away, he had been his usual self. It’s one of those things with rats. Illness takes them very suddenly. We think it was probably pneumonia. View Blog>>
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Rats At War
I had a really nasty shock this week. One night when I went to check on the animals before I went to bed, I discovered my rat Dumbo’s ear was torn completely in half. View Blog>>
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Dumbo And Her Food, And Rats As Pets
I love it whenever people come to visit and are excited to see my rats again. I’m exactly the same whenever I go to visit my friends who have rats. Sometimes I’m more interested in the rats than them – ha, ha! View Blog>>
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Evolving Rat Personalities
I’ve noticed a change in my rat Mouse’s personality just lately. I can’t really remember what my rats Dumbo and Fidget were like when they were very young, but I presume this change is quite normal. View Blog>>
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Rat Nationalities?
I made Dumbo a Facebook page a few months ago, and she has a surprising amount of friends for a rat. She is very, very popular. Of course, everyone knows it’s really me who is talking for her — I’m like her human vessel put on Earth to bring ratty messages to the world. View Blog>>
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Seto The Rat
I visited my friend over the weekend. She has two male rats, one husky rex and a pink-eyed hooded fancy rat. Unbelievably, her non-rex rat is the bigger of the two. I can still remember when he was a tiny little baby, but now he is huge. The husky is called Seto, and his companion is called Katsuya. View Blog>>
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Adopting Baby Rats And Adult Rats
My friend recently asked me if it was possible for her to buy a baby, male rat to put with her adult, male rats. This happened because we saw some gorgeous, husky rats in a local pet store that were crying out for a home. I know how she feels, because whenever I see a lonesome rat or two, I wonder if they will ever find a home to call their own. View Blog>>
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Hot Weather And Rat Ice Games
Dumbo the rat has been slowing down a little now she’s getting on a bit. She is still a very active rat. As soon as I open the cage door, she is pottering around the work surface as though she owns the place, but I am starting to notice the difference in her. View Blog>>
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Rat Fights
My rat Dumbo received a rather nasty cut to her ear this week. I’m not positive how she managed to do this, but I have a suspicion it has something to do with Mouse’s needlelike claws, or maybe even her teeth. View Blog>>
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Team Rat
My nan came by for a visit today. Being of that generation, she isn’t exactly a No. 1 rat fan, but I always have faith that Dumbo the rat can change anyone’s mind. View Blog>>
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Visiting Baby Rats
I visited my brother over the weekend and was happy to meet his two new baby rats, Sniff and Snug. One is a Berkshire dumbo, and the other is a hooded dumbo, and both are very sweet little creatures. View Blog>>
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
In The Garden With The Rats
With the hot weather we’ve been having here in England, there has been a lot of ice cube production in my household. I saw a program on television a while ago that recommended giving ice cubes to dogs when it’s hot so they don’t drink too much and subsequently wee everywhere. As my rats have quite thick coats of fur and are no doubt baking hot in this weather, I gave my rats some ice cubes to keep them cool. View Blog>>
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Reunion With My Rats
Over the weekend, my brother brought my rats home. I think they were a bit confused when I came home and first let them out. I read that rats only have a memory of around three weeks, so I was worried they had forgotten home (and me!) as I hadn’t seen them for over a month. View Blog>>
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Missing My Rats
It’s been three weeks since I sent my rats Dumbo and Mouse to Yorkshire while I went on vacation, and the withdrawal symptoms are starting to develop. Usually when I come down first thing in the morning, the rats clamber around on the cage bars, desperate for some attention. View Blog>>
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Mouse The Rat Has Her Say
Seeing as my big sister rat, Dumbo, got to type a blog of her own last week, I only think it fair that I, the beautiful Mouse, get to have my say too. View Blog>>
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Dumbo The Rat Speaks!
Dumbo the rat here. My owner has deserted my little sister rat, Mouse, and I for 10 whole days and packed us away to the chilly north, in South Yorkshire, while she enjoys a holiday in sunny California. View Blog>>
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Rat Mischief
This week, I have been incredibly busy working, (I have officially finished university forever!) but instead of properly concentrating on it, I have been playing with the rats far more than I should. They have done all sorts of strange and often irritating things this week! I like to sit on the floor with my laptop, and when I do, the rats get into all kinds of mischief to distract me. View Blog>>
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Rat games
I’ve been doing some more training with my rat Dumbo this week. It’s been a busy few weeks for me because my final deadline for university is April 28 so I haven’t had a lot of time to spend teaching my rats some new tricks. Dumbo appears to be better at walking on her hind legs, even though she hadn’t had any practice for at least three weeks. View Blog>>
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
My Rats' Easter Egg Hunt
My rats went after my Easter egg, and I can’t really blame them, because it’s super tasty this year. As they were busy clambering over me to get to it, I had a thought. What would be more likely to stop them going after my egg than eggs of their own? View Blog>>
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Rat Fights
My rats have been fighting an awful lot during the past few weeks. Mouse has been the one instigating the fights, whereas Dumbo just lies on her back and tries her best not to get bitten. View Blog>>
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
What Rats Eat
I gave my rats Mouse and Dumbo a miniature, bacon sandwich this week - all beautifully crafted to resemble a normal-sized one. I would have taken a photo of just how much they enjoyed this treat, but they gobbled it down so quickly I didn’t get the chance! As a rule, rats eat absolutely anything you put in front of them. View Blog>>
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Thoughts About Rat Breeding
I’ve been thinking about becoming a rat breeder in the distant future – maybe in my retirement. My mum used to breed hamsters when she was younger and always tells me how much fun it was. View Blog>>
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Bath Time For Rats!
Something both hilarious and unfortunate happened to my rat Mouse earlier this week. I bought a new water bottle for the rats’ cage, because the water bowl gets knocked off the bars so often. View Blog>>
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Rat Paraphernalia
After my friend Jessica decided she was interested in getting rats, we started looking at some suitable cages for the future pets. This reminded me that I never liked the cage I got for my first two rats, Dumbo and Fidget. View Blog>>
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Teaching Dumbo Rat Tricks
I’ve been looking into teaching my rat Dumbo tricks. About a year ago I tried to teach Dumbo and Fidget to respond to certain sounds, and to some extent it worked. View Blog>>
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Observing Other Pet Rats
I visited my sister-in-law, Liz, over the weekend. She also has a pair of rats that are around the same age as my rat Dumbo. Her friends, Jess and Steve, also have rats - five total! View Blog>>
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Rat Personalities
Dumbo. Is scared. Of boxes. She is also scared of wheels, plastic bags, slippery floors, Leon the Hamster and the kitchen sink. The latter is a justified fear. View Blog>>
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Rat Behaviors
I’ve been doing research into rat behavior this week. I researched everything from what it means when rats grind their teeth to what it means when rats lie on their backs on the bottom of the cage as if they are dead. The most commonly known rat quirk is bruxing, which is tooth grinding rats do when they are both happy and stressed (confusing, huh?). View Blog>>
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
The Misunderstood Rat Tail
I understand the stigma that surrounds rats. Mention rats to the average Joe, and the image instantly conjured is that of the fearsome, wild rat - the kind that carried the plague around the streets of London in 1665, or the kind that made women of the 1920s leap onto chairs brandishing a broom. View Blog>>
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Dumbo And Mouse At The Vet
I’m going to be one of those mothers that drag her children to the hospital at the slightest sign of a cough or cold. It’s already begun with my rats. But on this occasion, my neurosis did me a favor. View Blog>>
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The Introduction Of Mouse And Dumbo
Not too long ago I bought a new baby rat to keep Dumbo company. I noticed that Dumbo seemed bored, even though I let her run around the bottom floor of my house for two hours twice a day. She had started to get an unhealthy amount of blood-like discharge from her eye. View Blog>>
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
My Quest For Female, Dumbo Rat Babies!
Usually, when I get an idea, it won’t leave until I act on it. When I woke up on the penultimate Monday in December, I decided I wanted a new baby rat that very day. I invited my friend Jess along so we could begin our quest, and what a quest it was! View Blog>>
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The Life of Queen Dumbo Duncanson-Bryan
My rat’s name is Dumbo. I’m sure she likes to be called, Queen Dumbo Duncanson-Bryan, because the world revolves around her. I know Dumbo seems like a twee name for a dumbo rat, taking into consideration her enormous ears. But nothing could have been more appropriate considering the first thing she did when my housemate and I brought her home was dart under the sofa forcing us to coax her out with various tasty treats. View Blog>>
|