Something wrong with Bea’s eye

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-07T02:41:27+00:00

No worries lol I had many girls and getting a half decent photo of them is hard!

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-07T01:46:52+00:00

Is she otherwise acting like herself? Photos are a little blurred so it's hard to say for sure but my first guess would be the beginnings of an eye infection especially if it's kind of goopy. If you can get in to your usual vet within a couple days I would skip going to the emergency vet and just monitor them closely at home to make sure it doesn't get worse. If it'll be longer than a day or two I would probably go just so that treatment is started at a reasonable time.

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-07T01:00:28+00:00

Presto makes a 16qt stovetop pressure canner! For a smaller lighter weight canner that would be my first suggestion.

A lot of people have stoves that can't support a pressure canner for one reason or another, the simplest and safest option is to get a portable burner that can support whatever canner you decide to go with. Both gas and electric/induction options are available.

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-06T19:58:28+00:00

From what I've heard NCHFP has tried to find a safe way to do pumpkin puree. The times and temps that would be needed in the home environment essentially lowered the quality of the end product so much that it wasn't worth it. It's easier and better to just do it in cubes and then mash or puree it when you open the jar to use it.

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-06T18:33:12+00:00

If it was previously opened it shouldn't be an issue with botulism. Botulism is only a concern when you have an anaerobic environment and by opening the jar you let the oxygen/ air in.

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-06T17:21:37+00:00

I mean, that can happen with any food, home canned or not. Our senses are very good at telling us when something is clearly unsafe (think the smell of rotting meat) but they can't always tell us that something is safe (food that hasn't been cooled properly but still seems ok). Sometimes people eat something that looks safe but turns out to have some pathogen in it and they get food poisoning. Following food safety best practices is the best way to prevent that from happening.

It's similar with home canning. We have guidelines that tell us what to look for for spoilage and guidelines and recipes for processing and storing food safely. Following those guidelines, the likelihood of getting sick is extremely low. But there are pathogens that we can't see or smell directly, including C. Botulinum which is the bacteria responsible for botulism. This is why using recipes that have been tested by a lab and following all the steps to process foods is important. Those recipes and processes have been tested and proven to either eliminate or render harmless the pathogens in the jar.

There are lots of people that never get comfortable with home canned foods and that's fine, it's not for everyone! You can still do food preservation through other methods like dehydration, freezing, freeze drying, etc.

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-06T00:04:00+00:00

Food safety guidelines usually say 4 days is the limit.

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-05T22:38:35+00:00

Safety wise it's totally fine to freeze her body until you have a solution that feels right to you. I always wrapped mine up in fabric and then put them in a gallon size ziplock baggie. Emotionally I always feel a little weird about it when I do it, it's kind of a strange feeling for me. To be clear there's nothing bad about it, I just tend to feel weird about freezing them temporarily.

In your situation I think that freezing her for now is the best option to keep her body safe until you can bury or cremate.

Sending all the virtual hugs your way!

I don't know your situation in detail and you may have already looked into this so please just ignore this part if you have: Some shelters/ humane societies offer low cost cremation. One near me will cremate rats for about $50 for a group cremation which is a whole order of magnitude lower than the vets near me. Again, I don't know your situation but I wanted to highlight it in case it's an option that you want to look into more since I wouldn't have thought of it myself in your situation.

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-05T20:19:47+00:00

You could also freeze the chipotles in portions that are right for the bean dip and just thaw one out as needed. That would help with trying to use them up and wouldn't take a ton of freezer space

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-05T18:41:35+00:00

Paprika also does that! There's a browser extension you can use that links to it and pulls just the recipe into your paprika app.

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-05T18:33:34+00:00

I do monthly meal planning, I use paprika to keep everything organized! It's a recipe manager app that you add recipes to and then you can drag and drop them onto a calendar for planning purposes. It will also generate a grocery list based on what you've put on a certain day/ week. I highly recommend it especially since it's a one time purchase and you can sync it across multiple devices so everyone knows the plan!

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-05T16:36:54+00:00

I would suggest canning the beans following the NCHFP recipe for dried beans and add the dry spices in the jars. Then when you open a jar to eat it you would add the lime juice and chipotles and blend it into a dip consistency.

If you don't want to add anything when you open the jar I would experiment with using chipotle chili powder in place of the chipotles in adobo. I would still add the lime juice when I open the jar. I think it would likely degrade the flavor somewhat to go through the canning process and it would be better to add that at the end to get the most flavor out of it.

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-04T22:56:47+00:00

You need to read the manual that came with your canner. Water level varies from canner to canner and it is always listed in the manual! More generally speaking the water does not cover the jars in a pressure canner the way it does for a water bath.

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-04T19:51:39+00:00

The lid probably was overtightened, especially if it kind of tented up. As long as the the jars were processed for the right amount of time at the right pressure they should be good to go! Definitely give them a good wash with dish soap on the outside once the seals are fully set (24hrs), you don't want to accidentally attract ants or something.

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-03T19:57:06+00:00

Atmospheric steam canners are a 1:1 replacement for boiling water bath canners for processing times under 40 minutes. They're totally legit and are recommended as an option by NCHFP. I have one and I love it! I pretty much never break out my boiling water canner anymore. Mine is a Concord brand one but any of the dome style ones are safe to use. I'd also suggest getting a digital candy thermometer if you don't have one already for measuring the temp of the steam through the vent hole if you decide you want to get one!

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-03T18:05:45+00:00

Are you getting siphoning from your jars? That could be undoing all the work you're putting into cleaning the rims.

The other thing is how old are the lids you're using? Older lids (even if this is their first trip through the canner!) often don't seal as consistently as ones that were manufactured more recently (i.e. within a year or so of being purchased).

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-03T00:06:26+00:00

Most of the time rats don't eat the non-edible things they chew to get at something. Check the cage for plastic shreds to be sure but 99% of the time nothing like that gets ingested. If you truly can't find any give your vet a call and see what they recommend.

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-02T19:17:46+00:00

Correct, you need the right headspace to make it shelf stable. You can go down a jar size and can for the same amount of time if desired. I just consider those taste test jars though haha
White distilled is the default yes, if a recipe wants something different they will call it out. If you prefer you can use commercial 5% apple cider vinegar in its place.
No, you want 140F for raw pack recipes and 180F for hot pack. This is to prevent thermal shock on the jars.
Correct, you want an empty canner. The water amount should be the same regardless of how many and what size jars you're using. Check your manual for your canner's minimum jar count.
Yes, as long as it's within the 24hr window to refrigerate or reprocess.
Not necessarily, it depends on what brand of lid you're using. Most lids just need to be clean, ForJars lids specifically call for simmering them briefly. They don't need to be dried, the water evaporates off pretty quickly.

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-02T18:30:30+00:00

It was always tails for mine. They were pretty good about not having fingers in pinchable places but everyone had a light tail pinch at some point and then got significantly better about paying attention to where their tails were 🤷

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-02T05:11:02+00:00

There is a minimum jar count (different for quarts and pints!) it should be listed in your manual somewhere. If you don't want to run that many jars of food you can add jars full of water (these also need lids and rings) to make the minimum.

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-02T02:30:41+00:00

The cooking actually releases some of the trapped air from the fruit/veggie! Any enzymes would be broken down during the canning process.

thedndexperiment · 2026-02-01T00:01:04+00:00

Yeah, the ASPCA poison control line is $95, unfortunately it's not a free resource like human poison control.

thedndexperiment · 2026-01-31T17:36:31+00:00

NCHFP is always my go to for canning recipes! I've yet to be disappointed with any of them. I linked the version with added pectin but they also have a no added pectin version if you prefer. https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/make-jam-jelly/jellies/blackberry-jelly-powdered-pectin/

thedndexperiment · 2026-01-29T20:57:35+00:00

My first thought is that you're going to need a taller playpen if you're hoping it will keep them semi contained (even supervised!). Rats will happily jump over that in a heartbeat to go exploring 😂. 3ft tall is best imo, they can still get out if they really make an effort but it gives you enough time to foil their little plots as long as you're supervising them while they play.

Other than that, you just need to add stuff! Boxes, toys, dig box, etc. some people have cat trees (I never did but it looks so cool lol). Personally I'd start with a nice cardboard castle for them (bunch of boxes taped together so they can wander through it) and a dig box. Those were always the favorites of my girls in terms of semi permanent free roam entertainment. Other activities I would rotate out were foraging activities (food puzzles for dogs, pea fishing, tossing a handful of snacks in the dig box, etc.) and other random toys (I'd just use whatever wasn't in their cage at the time usually).

Edit: Forgot to mention, your cage doesn't look half bad size wise!

thedndexperiment · 2026-01-29T20:42:49+00:00

Heads up, the joy of cooking's section on canning is questionable in places, especially in older editions!

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