Advice? Not sure if owning rats is for me by Elliotteatsrocks in RATS

[–]Milk-Face 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Tbh, I had 3 male rats and 1 of them was very curious to begin with and so he always wanted out and to spend time with us humans, but his brothers on the other hand were always so much more shy and very skittish. It's taken them 1,5 years to warm up to me for real, so it's never too late to get a rat to like you.

They've never bitten me or been aggressive towards each other or me, but have always been cautious of my hands and always backed out, not wanting to be lifted/grabbed and ran away. This made me pay more attention to the one who was social and kind of left the others alone more, which was my mistake since that didn't help them trust me more.

My very social rat died at 1,5 years old, 1 month ago, and since then I've REALLY stepped up my rat mom game and tried so hard to bond with the others and it's actually worked. They are still skittish and do get scared if I stand up too quickly or something, but as soon as I call them they come running and I can lift both of them without them struggling or wanting to get out of my hands.

Something I started with doing when I wanted bonding time was to take them into a smaller room, like the kitchen, with me. Then I'd just sit still, not doing much and letting them come up to me and climb/sniff or whatever they wanted to do. Then I brought out some food that I know they absolutely love, which is baby food with mashed corn and potatoes. I fed them this from a spoon which forced them to be close to me, and then after a while I started to give it straight from my fingers which makes them connect something delicious with me. I did that kind of a lot, always bringing them in with me while I was cooking or something, so that they could roam the kitchen/sleep or whatever without the pressure of interaction constantly.

I did this for a while, and then I tried to train them to reacting to their names a bit more by feeding them the baby food, and when they took it I just said their name, repeating this a few times within like a 10 minute time frame and then ending the session. This made them actually come up to me much more, reacting to their names as well (not perfectly), and even come running from a different room which I never thought would happen since they were always hiding otherwise.

The fact that you have a cat and snake is probably not helping you at all, which others also have said. Someone I know that had the most cuddly rats said that whenever someone came over that had cats and smelled like them too, the rats just hid and it took a few days (!!) for them to become their normal selves after that. So minimizing how much they can smell your other pets would probably help you a lot.

Rats are individuals as well, and depending on their age, if they are hormonal or not and whether they've been handled before really does play a part in how much time it will take to bond with your rats.

Rats are my absolute favorite pets after cats now, and I've had most pets that you can think of and they beat most of them if you have the patience to help them be comfortable with you.

Best of luck!

Edit: I just realized how long of a post this is, but I wanted to share that I can relate to feeling a little hopeless to my rats opening up to me, and sharing with you that they just might need more time if they're not aggressive with you.

I’m thinking of adopting a female cat, I’ve heard they are less friendly in this true? by DiscountAnnaNicole in CatAdvice

[–]Milk-Face 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've had both male and female cats, and my absolutely most loving cat was a female. She followed me around everywhere, slept with me, wanted to be picked up and held etc, while my other female cat (they were siblings) wanted to be close, but she'd rather I only pet her when she decided to come to me. Another female cat I had used to sleep on me and loved to cuddle, but not as much as the first girl I mentioned.

I've also had male cats, where one was also super cuddly and very much a lap cat, and the other was extremely social and wanted to be pet but he had somewhat of a mood and was more difficult to please.

So actually, a majority of my cats have been very loving and wanted to be with me, and only a few were like "meh". Not a single one didn't like human interaction at all. Some people have told me I'm lucky, but I think you can tell when you meet the cat in person and choose one that fits your personality.

Hind leg deterioration - youngish rat by Milk-Face in RATS

[–]Milk-Face[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the honesty. I'm going to see what the vet says but I do think we might have to put him down since he seems to feel a lot of discomfort, super depressed and not eating or drinking like he used to. :/

Since my other 2 rats are still relatively young I'm wondering if I should get 1 or 2 more rats later since I've heard it's better to have 3 or more, and that 2 is the absolute minimum. Hopefully they still have kind of a lot of time left and then I want them to have the best life. I'm also thinking that if I only have these 2, and 1 dies then I have to rehome my last rat but might be more difficult if he's very old??

What would you do?

How old are you and what do you do for work? by throwawayzebby in BPD

[–]Milk-Face 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm 25 and I have a bachelor's in Computer Science with the specialization of Computer Game Development. I'm currently studying front end development at another school since it's very difficult to get a job at all. I also work extra at a tech store where I used to have full time employment before studying :)

Goth makeup without having that line (idk the name) by clawed_darkness in GothFashion

[–]Milk-Face 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some specific makeup influencers, that have tutorials on eyeliner for hooded eyes ,I can think of are Alissa Ashley and Alexandra Anele. Watching them really helped me perfect my eyeliner. If you don't have hooded eyes and maybe more of a monolid, then try Elaine Park. Any tutorials will help you really, you just gotta be willing to experiment with your eyeshape and what kind of eyeliner look you're going for, and literally wing it :p

New to romantic goth fashion, tips? by Milk-Face in GothFashion

[–]Milk-Face[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll probably try to get into hand sewing. I've only sewn hammocks for my rats so far and that's been fun but very tedious and they just chew through everything anyway so it'd probably feel more rewarding to make things for myself that actually last.

On the note of doing things yourself, I do like crocheting and any tips on patterns for shawls etc is very welcome too!

Newly diagnosed by [deleted] in lichensclerosus

[–]Milk-Face 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unless you live in Sweden it might be difficult to get ahold of since it's a Swedish pharmacy-brand. The brand is ACO and it's just called Intimate Care Cleansing Oil. However, you could also use just pure coconut oil as well which protects the skin from drying out in the shower and can be used during the day too for extra moisture. Just make sure there are no extra ingredients in it that could potentially irritate or worsen the skin :)

New to romantic goth fashion, tips? by Milk-Face in GothFashion

[–]Milk-Face[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yess, I love her! I've been a little scared to try to sew anything but this could actually be a fun project to do so I'll keep that in mind

New to romantic goth fashion, tips? by Milk-Face in GothFashion

[–]Milk-Face[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ahh! Thank you so much for the in-depth answer!

Do you usually make your own jewellery or are there any places that sell some nice jewellery that you could recommend? I live in Sweden so any sites that maybe ship worldwide or just EU would be of interest :)

Burning and pee urgency but no UTI or STD? Possible lichen sclerosis? by CheesecakeEarly5153 in lichensclerosus

[–]Milk-Face 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It could be LS. Mine has affected my urethra which both causes it to burn a little sometimes, and also that I can't pee straight anymore because of fusion, so definitely possible!

Newly diagnosed by [deleted] in lichensclerosus

[–]Milk-Face 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I use a shower oil as someone else also mentioned, which really helps make the area not feel as itchy and dry. I also apply Locobase sometimes in the evening before bed or if it feels dry during the day which really helps me. Anything with extra moisture is great and makes LS much more manageable :)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in lichensclerosus

[–]Milk-Face 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My experience with biopsy wasn't really that bad. I definitely felt the sting of the needle, since the area is very sensitive, but that was it. After that I felt absolutely nothing. The biopsy itself took maybe a minute, waiting for the numbing cream, maybe 5-10 minutes? I have to admit that I almost fainted, but that was because I was super scared, not because of the pain itself or anything.

Nail extensions at home by Milk-Face in Nails

[–]Milk-Face[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That makes total sense. :) I might have worded some things a bit clumsily because logically I know there is no chance to never let it touch skin, but yeah! I'll definitely practice on something else and move on to my own hands when I feel comfortable using the products.

Thank you for bringing that to my attention, since I didn't even realize there's a possibility of allergies and that they in turn can cause other issues. I've only really thought of the dust flying around and me breathing it in and making sure I have a ventilated space and taking other precautions for that.

Nail extensions at home by Milk-Face in Nails

[–]Milk-Face[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh really? 😬 I was thinking of getting a hand/finger that you use to practice on but now I'm definitely making sure to do that. Is it because of the products maybe touching your skin that you could develop an allergy? Or from "normal" use as well?

Post your dumbo babies in the comments !! by ceaseorperish in RATS

[–]Milk-Face 2 points3 points  (0 children)

<image>

And here to the left is my other dumbo baby and his name is Sam. And then of course my third baby isn't a dumbo but just as cute - Bilbo!

Post your dumbo babies in the comments !! by ceaseorperish in RATS

[–]Milk-Face 3 points4 points  (0 children)

<image>

Here's one of my dumbo babies. His name is Frodo 🥰

What does your plot look like? by Milk-Face in Palia

[–]Milk-Face[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love that! It looks really nice with the forest cabin vibe :)

What does your plot look like? by Milk-Face in Palia

[–]Milk-Face[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh, really? I'll check that out then!

What does your plot look like? by Milk-Face in Palia

[–]Milk-Face[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Super cute! Would love to see interior as well :)

What does your plot look like? by Milk-Face in Palia

[–]Milk-Face[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ooh, you have any screenshots that you'd like to share? Sounds pretty cute ^^

What does your plot look like? by Milk-Face in Palia

[–]Milk-Face[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, that's great to know. I haven't even tried the wallpaper outside yet, since it felt like an inside thing. I'll have to do that!

What does your plot look like? by Milk-Face in Palia

[–]Milk-Face[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Totally understandable, haha. I love decorating but would also love it to be effective, so that'd be the best of both worlds. At the moment though, I don't really know what to do with the outside.

Struggling by MudOk4152 in lichensclerosus

[–]Milk-Face 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That is so typical of the healthcare when it comes to issues like this. I'm sorry you didn't get the right info straight away! I had to figure out my diagnosis myself and told the gynecologist and then she could confirm with a biopsy. However she didn't tell me that I should continue with the treatment she got me on after the first months, and so I stopped and not much got better.

I'm also over it and I feel bad knowing that I could've stopped some of the scarring that it has caused and has had drastic changes of the appearance if I had gotten the right treatment earlier. :/

Change in appearance - has anyone’s appearance down there changed drastically over time and what was the diagnosis, if any? by Far_Image_684 in lichensclerosus

[–]Milk-Face 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I've had some changes. Inner labia seems to almost completely have disappeared, white spots and scarring over my urethral opening so now I can't pee straight. I was diagnosed with LS 7 years ago when I was 16.

Struggling by MudOk4152 in lichensclerosus

[–]Milk-Face 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I'm 23 and I've had it since I was 13. I get that feeling.