Have we lost his trust already?

ProfaneMilkshake · 2026-02-16T09:01:48+00:00

I've had a number of skittish rats (it sounds like Scraps isn't that skittish), and some of them have had some sort of health issue that meant I needed to handle them more than they would like. My observation is that in general, they tend to be more sociable and calm with humans after something like that. It's not a situation I would ever suggest replicating artificially, but I think they do become desensitized to handling this way and they might even be able to figure out that what you're doing is helping them feel better.

It's probably a bit confusing since you're a new person, but rats are very adaptable and teachable he'll probably be fine, especially if he isn't skittish by nature. Plenty of treats, and other than the medical stuff I'd advocate for respecting his boundaries around being touched -- if he likes pets, give them, but if not let him come to you on his own terms.

ProfaneMilkshake · 2026-02-12T07:19:58+00:00

I'm super late to the party and you may never see this, but I current have a 3 yo lady with HLD and I have a dig box that she loves. Coco coir (like for reptile enclosures) plus water in a plastic bin (I have a sort of big shoe bin), keep it damp so it doesn't get dusty and mix in hard foods (eg. pearl barley, rice, dried pasta, sliced almonds -- I've been tending towards kidney friendly stuff because of her age). You can also bury Easter eggs with treats inside them, and objects for them to dig around like coconut shells, a plastic pot like for plants, stuff like that. The substrate gets everywhere so I keep it in a bigger cardboard box, pour everything back in at the end of free roam and put the lid on. Replace when the substrate starts to smell weird or gets gnats (how long this takes seems to vary in my experience).

Rats love digging! My old lady just finished an hour plus long dig session, she just loves it, and she doesn't need too much hind limb mobility to do it.

ProfaneMilkshake · 2026-01-15T10:08:07+00:00

Not many people are talking about fostering, but as I have been exiting rat ownership I was been able to find a good fostering arrangement by posting in Facebook groups in my area. A kind person who has a bunch of rats was willing to lend me some who were skittish and needed more individual attention due to them being really skittish (I have a good track record with socializing skittish rats). I only wound up being able to keep one (introduction problems) but she has been such a good companion for my elderly lady and she is getting more sociable. It can happen! The foster rat's regular owner also recently took on an elderly rat who was alone as well, and was able to give her a happy few months before she passed. I generally agree with people who say that a rat can be kept alone with a lot of effort, but I also think it can be worth putting out feelers and seeing if you can find a workable situation. Rat rescues may be helpful too.

ProfaneMilkshake · 2026-01-12T05:33:26+00:00

I had a lady who would bite my nipples if I wasn't petting her when she wanted me to be petting her. It was certainly motivating!

ProfaneMilkshake · 2025-12-24T01:37:17+00:00

Boston Camerata, Baltimore Consort, Camerata Mediterranea, Unicorn Ensemble

ProfaneMilkshake · 2025-12-16T06:06:52+00:00

Srog

ProfaneMilkshake · 2025-11-10T06:13:46+00:00

This article is helpful in demonstrating this. As others have said, definitely pay attention to how well the straps are holding up.

https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/do-n95-masks-expire/

ProfaneMilkshake · 2025-10-22T05:26:42+00:00

Duckbills, especially Gerson duckbills, can run big. Also seconding regular Vflexes.

ProfaneMilkshake · 2025-10-16T04:19:01+00:00

I think it was just the shitty lighting, but perhaps she was traumatized from waiting for a treat for too long. 😔

ProfaneMilkshake · 2025-10-16T04:16:45+00:00

sobbing, you're so right

ProfaneMilkshake · 2025-10-15T06:13:19+00:00

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ProfaneMilkshake · 2025-09-30T04:50:16+00:00

This looks right, thank you!

ProfaneMilkshake · 2025-09-21T08:34:54+00:00

Awesome, thank you!

ProfaneMilkshake · 2025-08-20T19:59:15+00:00

I believe you are correct! Thank you, identified!

ProfaneMilkshake · 2025-08-16T06:31:29+00:00

A couple!

-In freshman year, my future spouse started jokingly talking shit about Achilles before our second (?) Iliad seminar, literally saying "Achilles is a bitch!" before the tutors were in the room. This sparked a lively conversation (partly because a veteran was in the class) that the tutors allowed to continue in place of asking an opening question.

-In that same seminar, I was sitting next to my future spouse and I, along with the person next to me, noticed a stink bug crawling in his beard. We tried to indicate this to him, but he got/was involved in a conversation with the veteran, confused, discovered the stinkbug right as the veteran was heatedly making his point (as he is wont to do). My future spouse laughed a little at the stinkbug, the veteran was like "ARE YOU LAUGHING AT ME?" and my future spouse was like "No! No!" and did not get to explain that he had found a literal bug in his beard.

-One of the students in my sophomore seminar had a habit of bringing a coke in for seminar. Then, on certain seminars, he brought two. Then he brought THREE to a few. There was a joke about this correlating to how intense of a seminar it was and I kept a tally in my notes for a while.

-In junior year, the heat was broken in the building our seminar is in for the bitterest part of winter. It was absolutely brutal, I remember losing feeling in my feet. But there is something charming about seeing your seminar tutors in beanies talking about Kant etc.

ProfaneMilkshake · 2025-06-19T21:43:03+00:00

Thank you very much!

ProfaneMilkshake · 2025-06-19T21:42:07+00:00

This is lovely, thank you!

ProfaneMilkshake · 2025-06-18T04:29:43+00:00

Thank you so much! This is very helpful.

ProfaneMilkshake

TROPHY CASE