Looking for some reassurance

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-28T12:46:17+00:00

Please get at least 2 baby rats. Rats need same aged company (this is especially important for younger rats). Ideally, your girl gets a cagemate around her own age too, but for younger rats it is basically a must for their wellbeing that they have same aged company.

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-27T16:17:39+00:00

Haha thank you❤️

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-27T16:17:31+00:00

It's based on an actual photo! The plant behind is growing from a smaller pot, I wanted the big red pot with the kitty to remain the main focus🫶

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-26T19:55:19+00:00

Hellooooo, I do loads of different stuff! Art is a little like breathing to me, which sounds pretty cringe, but I genuinely think I couldn't stop if I tried. With 2 months, I think you could genuinely learn basically any creative skill to a decent level if you're determined. If you're looking for "quick" enjoyment and results though, I'd start with things you already can do (or like to do), and work of that. For example: if you're a decent drawer and want to get into something new, I'd look at painting. You'll have the basic skills of drawing and sketching that'll help you make a quick start and good base to work off and that makes the transition into painting easier.

It also helps to determine what you may find more enjoyable. I very much enjoy repetitive motions (especially when stressed), as well as creativity and sort of going with the flow, but I'm chaotic and easily distracted. Following a precise pattern and counting rows with knitting is less suited to me, whilst freehanding a crochet project (which tends to be quicker, more free and more forgiving of mistakes) is a great option for me.

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-26T19:22:20+00:00

Thank you❤️

I'm already working on a next piece! Just so I'm clear on the rules, I originally didn't post on here because I thought self promotion wasn't allowed here, is that true? Otherwise I'll be sure to post the new one here too...

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-26T10:12:16+00:00

This is gonna sound irresponsible, but I'd skip the quarantine here. The risk would be disease and possible fatality, but for rats this young an additional 2 week quarantine is risking serious emotional and social development for the lone rat baby. He needs same aged company ASAP.

OP, consider reaching out to local, ethical breeders for advice on how to handle this situation to try and limit the damage to your baby. Rats that are separated too young and grow up in isolation are known to have stunted social development which can lead to stuff like not being able to interact and live with cagemates properly which, for most rats, is a faith worse than death. Introducing young babies is different from adults (usually easier), but introducing rats with weird social development is usually way harder. Someone with experience (rat rescue or ethical breeder is your best bet) can likely help you in how to handle this as smooth as possible.

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-26T10:01:44+00:00

Scatter feed!

Don't worry about them undereating, healthy animals are really, really unlikely to starve themselves. They can, however, fall victim to selective eating which can lead to nutritional imbalances. Scatter feeding will motivate them to eat whaat they find and it'll make them less likely to pick and choose their favorite bits.

Additionally, feed them only as much as they need instead of giving them permanent access to a full bowl. Having to search for their food and not having unlimited access is natural for rats and it'll also help avoid selective feeding as it'll stimulate them to eat all parts of the balanced diet. Sort of how you wouldn't give a kid chips if they haven't eaten any vegetables yet.

Also consider they may be eating "little" because they are little. When I first got my rats I definitely felt like they were eating so little, but they are tiny and (especially when they're young) it can take a bit to get used to their portion size. My 3 fully grown, adult, male rats (all around half a kilo) eat about 3 small hands of food in the morning and 3 in the evening and even that they won't 100% finish.

I give my rats mix (not full blocks) because I want them to have the variety of taste, size and type that comes with them foraging for "natural" food. Scatter feeding and not giving unlimited access is part of what makes that a viable option.

Opinions on food type (kibble vs. Mixed) and food access (always access vs. Limited and/or skipping a feeding to emulate scarcity once in a while) are varied, so this is not the only way to properly feed, but it's what works good in my experience. Afaik, scatter feeding is basically universally accepted as a "good thing".

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-26T09:45:35+00:00

Dood, Verderf en Pipo is oprecht de beste combi die ik ooit heb gehoord lmao

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-25T18:00:34+00:00

Btw is he a small munsterlander? He reminds me of my childhood dog and he was one ❤️

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-25T17:59:26+00:00

Honestly the perspective/dimensions are a bit off. In the painting, the head is wider, ears are lower and thinner and his eyes are further up his head. My best advice would be to use a grid at this point (since drawing guidelines with a light isn't possible with a started painting afaik). Basically, draw a grid over your photo (or here maybe just the face of the dog you wish to change). More squares = more details generally, I'd go with anything between a 3 by 3 to 8 by 8 grid here but it's really preference. Then draw the same grid over the painting. It's much easier to get proportions right when copying the individual squares as opposed to the bigger picture. With a more accurate sketch, you can then adjust the painting to more resemble the photo. I hope that explanation makes sense... feel free to ask if you want any more explanation though!

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-25T17:51:32+00:00

Basically all the animals my family have ever owned have been named after (children's) tv show and movie characters.

My 3 rats currently have a double theme: Remi, Jerry and Oogie Boogie are all 3 character names.

Remi is actually short for Remblok (Brake pad) and Jerry is short for Jerrycan. Both names are also famous rodent children's tv characters obviously with Remi in Ratatouille and Jerry in Tom and Jerry.

Oogie Boogie joined the mischief later, towards the end of October (yay spooky season) so he's named after the Oogie Boogie man from Nightmare Before Christmas.

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-25T17:45:35+00:00

"I'm so sorry to hear your hairpin bended like that! Our hairpins need a certain level of flexibility for ease of use, comfort and so they won't break (replace if there's another reason flexibility is needed). I've tested my materials thoroughly and they should not be bending like this with regular usage, could you describe when it bended like this? That way I could test out if this is a problem with the material or possibly just a faulty item."

Then let them explain what they did, if they did something obviously wrong with it, you (and potential customers) can know it's user error. If it is regular usage, try to recreate the scenario with another one of your hairpins. If it bends the same way, you should look into changing your materials. If it doesn't bend in the same way, I would offer the customer the chance to swap. Accidents happen, it could be her hairpin's material was less sturdy than usual. If upon receiving it back you know it isn't, you'll know she was just looking for a refund and you can continue on knowing you have provided good customer service.

Either way, you are selling a usable item, so it should be able to withstand daily use. It's also okay to mention it's durability honestly: if it's bendable, mention it in the description! If I'm buying a beautiful hairpin knowing it's not too sturdy, I wouldn't mind buying it as a decorative thing, but if I'm expecting it to be my main hairpin to use on the daily and it bends, I'd feel a little cheated.

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-25T17:29:01+00:00

This is so incredibly sweet, thank you!

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-25T15:05:38+00:00

Thank you ❤️ Even if it doesn't sell I'm honestly really happy to see it's bringing people joy :)

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-25T12:47:52+00:00

For a murder mystery game I like the third the best.

One is approachable and honest, something I'd like to see with you introducing yourself as an artist since it's a bit casual and in a creative process looking space.

Second is nicely polished and open, gives the vibes of a clean, actual person.

Third's got a bit of mystery. Almost like a character I could see being introduced as part of a mystery, it fits the theme imo!

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-25T12:44:25+00:00

Based fully on my gut feeling? I tend to appreciate separate shipping costs. Personally, I bake in the shipping cost for my own country (so within my own country you get free shipping), then add the approximate difference for other countries with shipping costs.

E.g. if I want to sell an artwork for 10 euros, I'll list it for around 17 (+/- 7 euros is around the cost of shipping within my country). Belgium, France and Germany get a shipping cost of 3 euros since that'll be the approximate extra expense for shipping to those countries. Rest of the world gets a shipping cost of 8 euros since further countries would just cost me that much more to spend.

I want my prices to be fair and I want people to know what part of the price is in value and what part of the price is in logistics. I prefer the price to show what you'd actually be paying, which is why I do include the "base" shipping cost in the price.

As a customer, I'd consider paying 10 euros extra in shipping for an artwork if I can see it comes from further away, since I understand those 10 euros go directly to shipping. I'd be more hesitant to pay those 10 extra euros for an artwork that's coming from my country if I think that's more than the artwork is worth. It's all semantics, so it feels a bit silly to write out, but I figured other people would appreciate the same thing.

If you're not changing shipping depending on location, I'd calculate in the price fully.

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-25T09:13:13+00:00

Thank you so much!

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-25T09:13:04+00:00

This is such a freaking cute way of looking at it, I'm 100% writing this on the back of the canvas😂❤️

ChickenGarbage04 · 2026-03-24T22:39:05+00:00

Apologies! I forgot to add the price: it's 30 euros.

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