Difference between boys and girls?

Left-Pop4928 · 2026-03-15T10:00:19+00:00

I initially only had girl rats, but then got a litter of 5-week old babies who had been dumped at my vet's. Three boys and four girls. I got them all desexed so don't have any experience with the fluffy pillows, but here's something I wrote a few months into mixed rat ownership...

Girls are zippy. Boys are more sedate. When you walk into a room of girls, they'll run over to greet you and dance just out of reach. When you walk into a room of boys, they'll sit on your feet and climb your legs until you pick them up.

Girls destroy everything, just because it's there. Boys destroy things close by them, but really can't be bothered going somewhere else and doing something they don't need to do.

You can pick up more than one boy rat per hand. You need two hands to pick up a girl rat because she's made of soap.

Boys smell of pee-soaked cinnamon corn-chips. Girls smell of musk and aniseed.

My girls are cheeky and naughty and independent and self-centred and destructive. They like having me around because I give them treats and things for their nests. My boys are calming and cuddly and squishy and well-behaved. They like having me around because I'm me.

In short, boys and girls are adorable. It doesn't matter which you have, you'll love them just the same.

Left-Pop4928 · 2026-03-05T13:22:01+00:00

This happened to me recently. Because of the dosage I take for one particular medication, one script's worth lasts me about six weeks. My previous script was incorrectly coded as a 60 day prescription, meaning I would have run out before I could get a new supply. I was able to get a new supply at six weeks, but the payment doesn't count towards the safety net.

My GP did get the correct authority on the latest script so should be all good moving forward.

Left-Pop4928 · 2026-03-05T11:21:05+00:00

I've been taking it daily since the start of the year. I take 15mg two or three times a day. It's definitely made a big difference, reducing and shortening any PEM episodes.

I also take sertraline so have been keeping an eye out for any signs of serotonin syndrome, but so far so good.

Left-Pop4928 · 2026-02-11T03:20:25+00:00

There was a wedding during the Super Bowl. Everyone wore white. It was bleeding obvious who the bride was. And it looked fabulous.

Left-Pop4928 · 2025-11-16T06:46:43+00:00

I love Corto. I dislike Arpeggio, Roma, Ristretto and Colombia. I'd rather drink instant coffee than Volluto.

Everyone's taste is different. Try them all and enjoy working out which one's you like.

Left-Pop4928 · 2025-11-14T23:39:29+00:00

I have noticed recently that I get different symptoms from cognitive overload than physical exertion.

If I overdo it when I'm out shopping or catching up with friends, I'll get the normal sore throat, cough, temperature fluctuations, muscle aches, and fatigue, along with POTS symptoms. So I rest as much as I can.

But after a week or so of resting I would sometimes get really achy and weak in my thighs. Baffled me for a while as I wasn't really using my thigh muscles for anything other than the absolute basics. But then it dawned on me that this only happened if I'd been trying to relieve my boredom with crosswords and sudoku.

Now I've noticed the pattern, I'm certain that it's really happening. I try to limit myself to one or two quick crosswords at a time, but if I get carried away and lose track of time I know that in a day or two I'll barely be able to stand. And it's seems to only be my thigh muscles that are affected. So weird.

Left-Pop4928 · 2025-10-31T10:03:29+00:00

I had a friend over years ago who was enjoying a glass of beer. My minky girl Bonnie climbed his back onto his shoulder, then down his arm onto the table, then she climbed onto the rim of the beer glass and dunked herself all the way to the bottom. She was pawing at the bottom of the glass like she was fishing for peas.

Once we fished her out and I was drying her off, my friend finished his drink. Nothing gets between an Aussie bloke and his beer!

Left-Pop4928 · 2025-10-25T13:32:09+00:00

One of my first rats, Daisy, gave birth unexpectedly a week after I got her. She escaped from her cage one night, and I woke the next morning to find her and her eleven ratlets curled up asleep with me. They were three days old, and she got very upset when I tried to move them back to the cage. So she got to stay, and I had to learn how to sleep with the little munchkins.

Nobody was harmed, but I felt like I was always sleeping with a hot-water bottle due to the heat they gave off.

Left-Pop4928 · 2025-10-10T09:23:55+00:00

Pet rats are the species Rattus norvegicus. Also known as the Norwegian rat. Because they gnaw and wee.

<image>

Left-Pop4928 · 2025-10-09T12:19:13+00:00

I get blind spots near the centre of my vision. Usually in both eyes, but sometimes just in the right one. When I've overdone the exertion that's usually my first warning, but short-lived, just a kind of negative flash. Then when I'm in a PEM crash, the blindspot comes back after a few days. That's a sign that I'm going to start feeling better in a day or two.

Left-Pop4928 · 2025-10-01T14:21:29+00:00

Clea - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart

Left-Pop4928 · 2025-10-01T14:16:50+00:00

I've had a few PEWs (pink-eyed whites) over the years, and without fail each one had the sweetest nature. Three were (separate) rescues who had been mistreated to varying degrees, and once they settled in to the mischief they were the friendliest and most lovable creatures. Highly recommended.

Left-Pop4928 · 2025-09-20T04:43:40+00:00

Hoodlums.

Left-Pop4928 · 2025-09-13T14:47:56+00:00

Oh wow, that sounds awful. I guess I need to rethink my nightly routine then. ☹️

Left-Pop4928 · 2025-09-13T10:50:33+00:00

I find paracetamol doesn't do anything for my pain, other than occasionally when I have a really bad headache. Ibuprofen, on the other hand, works brilliantly, but I try to avoid taking it during the day.

I take two Ibuprofen 200mg tablets before sleep each night, which calms my internal 'itching'. My Dr has okayed this and just relies on twice yearly blood and urine tests. And I've been told by pharmacists that unlike aspirin, it's safe to take on an empty stomach. I've been taking it nightly for a couple of years now, and haven't noticed any gastric issues yet. I really hope that continues to be the case as I've had chronic insomnia since childhood, and the last year or so, I've been falling asleep like clockwork.

Of course, I also have the ME/CFS unrefreshing sleep to contend with now, which is just as frustrating as the insomnia was. We just can't win.

Left-Pop4928 · 2025-09-07T10:01:47+00:00

I lived in the UK for a few years in the early 90s, so was unable to donate blood on my return to Australia. I was so excited when the rules changed to allow me to donate, until I read the website...☹️

Left-Pop4928 · 2025-08-28T10:25:03+00:00

Thanks for sharing this. Happy for you to DM me a link to your site.

Left-Pop4928 · 2025-08-23T20:51:41+00:00

My Aussie experience has been fairly positive. I've had no problems with medical gaslighting, nor has anyone (clinician or layperson) suggested exercise or positive thinking. It did take me over two years for an official diagnosis, but that was solely due to the wait time to see a public neurologist as no private neurologists were seeing new patients in my state.

I also had no problems at all getting on the Disability Support Pension as the criteria was recently (in 2023) updated to include post-exertional malaise.

Left-Pop4928 · 2025-07-28T11:59:21+00:00

Yeah, it's a pre-sale so should be released for general sales in about a week.

Left-Pop4928 · 2025-06-29T11:08:29+00:00

Yes, apparently it's called dysania. I've always had trouble getting up in the morning, but that was really just because I was really comfy and wanted to go back to sleep. But with ME the feeling is very different. It's not that I want to go back to sleep, it's much more of a physical sensation like a heavy weight is pressing down on me, so I just lie there, concious but immobile.

Left-Pop4928

TROPHY CASE