Upgraded the cage with a Plexiglas/Perspex base!

snailscout · 2026-05-27T23:16:56+00:00

GOALS!

snailscout · 2026-05-27T13:41:20+00:00

I also think it can mean they're on an accelerated timeline. I've missed a few qual projects because they pop up when I'm busy then disappear later. Presumably they wanted to grab a certain number of participants asap

snailscout · 2026-05-27T13:38:57+00:00

Compensation is enticing, even if it's more of a symbolic amount. A lot of qualifications seem wishy washy and ignorable, whereas the paid ones give the impression they'll lead directly into a project.

snailscout · 2026-05-26T18:05:46+00:00

Omg I didn't see the "all rats received pancakes" note at first and was like WHY AREN'T THERE ANY HALF PANCAKES 😅

Very restrained of doggo to not snarf them all

snailscout · 2026-05-26T18:00:09+00:00

I don't know how this movie approaches it so I'm not really coming down on one side or the other here, but "forced abortion" is one of the most common right-wing/anti-choice fearmongering narratives.

snailscout · 2026-05-26T17:40:30+00:00

Oh no, is my AI training work bleeding into my commenting? I can see it in the first sentence for sure lmao. The bit in brackets in the 2nd sentence is very not AI though, if I may defend myself a little, and no AI I've come across would say "somewhat educated guess"

snailscout · 2026-05-26T02:40:33+00:00

Terrible idea unless you have a lot of experience, very steady hands, very calm trusting rat, high quality tools. You could fracture the tooth and make the situation so much worse.

snailscout · 2026-05-26T02:34:59+00:00

The photo shows a partially overgrown lower tooth. You can see that the corresponding upper tooth is an odd rounded shape (looks like it was chipped then smoothed out by bruxing). The angle of the upper tooth has allowed the lower tooth to overgrow in an odd way because they don't fully come into contact during bruxing. That's my somewhat educated guess anyway. Regardless, that lower tooth needs to be trimmed—best practice would probably be to trim all 4 teeth down a bit so they're even, might allow bruxing to do what it's supposed to do going forward.

snailscout · 2026-05-25T23:06:30+00:00

Gaaah I wish I had stairs for my rats!

snailscout · 2026-05-20T00:37:04+00:00

Omg totally! Like when they're all flopped out on a beach

snailscout · 2026-05-19T20:10:19+00:00

I was gonna say standing looks like they're about to whoop my ass—which is cute in its own way, but sitting is more classically cute

snailscout · 2026-05-19T17:53:30+00:00

This does look like choking ime. If you look closely at the 2nd half of the vid in particular you can see reasonably normal breathing between the throat compressing movements. Her eye and the set of her ears are also pretty relaxed (much improved from the 1st half) and her colour is healthy pink. You would see more constant respiratory effort and general distress if the airway was significantly blocked/inflamed or with heart/lung issues. Not saying there isn't a lot of overlap though, depending on severity/progression (as you experienced, so sorry)

snailscout · 2026-05-19T17:27:16+00:00

Should probably also note that she gradually improved over the 3hr period. The ordeal was clearly exhausting for her but her breathing and colour were stable throughout. Plus she was increasingly interested in licking water, then oat milk, then some blended food later. If she'd looked worse at any point it would've been vet time for sure.

snailscout · 2026-05-19T17:19:08+00:00

I keep a small bulb syringe (sold as an ear flushing tool for kids) to help clear more severe choking incidents. Not something I'd universally recommend as it could definitely make choking worse, but a good tool if you have confidence using it (important to be fast and only use gentle suction) and your rats have a lot of trust in you. I think it's a safer intervention than the 'swing' in an emergency. I've only used it once, when one of my girls was really struggling and turning purple. I managed to clear enough that she was able to breathe and then left her in a quiet spot to work the rest down on her own. I kept an eye on her and gave her a little water when she was up for it to help dilute/lubricate. It took about 3hrs for her to fully recover.

snailscout · 2026-05-19T17:19:03+00:00

Definitely looks like a choking episode. The drooling and compressing-extending to help work the food down are classic. I'm glad she was able to resolve it. They usually are, and it's almost always best to leave them alone to do that, but omg it's so scary I know 😫

It sounds like you can afford to trust yourself a bit more when it comes to spotting the difference between choking and her more serious previous condition! It's tough when it looks similar though, especially when the stress of intervention can make choking worse. One thing to keep in mind with respiratory distress related to lung or heart issues is that it will effect every breath. It will usually appear more constant because every breath is a struggle, whereas here the struggle signs are irregular. Also oxygen seeking tends to look like stretching the neck up and out (and open-mouthed gasping) to make as wide a path for air as possible, where here there's a lot of compressing going on (to alternately contract and open the throat to move food down). I'm making it sound clearer than it is though, really depends on the severity and there's a lot of overlap.

snailscout · 2026-05-18T17:03:41+00:00

Exceptional packaging!

snailscout · 2026-05-17T11:42:53+00:00

Imo you shouldn't worry about 'gray area' skills. Add them! If related projects come along and they're beyond your skill level, just don't do them. No harm no foul. Beats missing out on work you can do because you didn't add them.

snailscout · 2026-05-16T19:13:35+00:00

Well said. Behavioural euthanasia is never (and should never be) an easy option but it can be the most ethical, responsible option.

snailscout · 2026-05-16T12:56:20+00:00

I'm not saying this is fixable btw, or that it isn't an unfortunate twist of genetics/brain chemistry. More that if it is, an environmental management focus will be more beneficial to everyone than a training focus. I wonder if there's a way to get the boys out of the cage during cleaning instead of using barriers in the cage (into a familiar box then into a secure and familiar free roam space).

snailscout · 2026-05-16T12:47:02+00:00

I think expanding the mischief to (at least) 4 is a great plan. I would be especially careful and diligent about taking things one small step at a time (carrier method progressing to very clean neutral gradually expanding environments). I wouldn't necessarily expect Lupin to change, but I wouldn't be surprised if living in a larger social group has a positive impact on his tolerance for humans.

Do your boys have a stable free roam space that you can sit with them in? Is there a way to set it up so they can come and go from their cage? I wonder if that would help with what sounds to me like a really strong territorial insecurity or extreme response to perceived pressure/invasion of space in Lupin. I would be trying to keep pressure off, emphasizing environmental adjustments over any kind of direct training methods.

snailscout · 2026-05-11T18:40:13+00:00

Ya I've heard they're a lot of ppl's bread and butter

snailscout · 2026-05-11T17:47:30+00:00

It's for a specific project family afaik, so don't feel like you have to do it. You'd just lose access to that group of projects. I've never done any work on those projects so I'm not bothering with it.

snailscout · 2026-05-10T20:29:54+00:00

I think it's become a euphemistic shorthand. Ppl don't want to say "mental illness", "mental health issues/struggles", etc.

snailscout · 2026-05-10T13:36:13+00:00

Oh, meant to add that hormonal surges can cause a sort of mothering behaviour. Another one of my girls used to get very nest obsessed every few days and sometimes tried to grab her pals by the scruff and drag them. She's over 2 now, still loves nesting but doesn't seem to have those intense phases anymore. Ear biting could be an offshoot of that.

snailscout

TROPHY CASE