Adding A New Rotary Cutter Mat

I have blogged before about the benefits of using a rotary cutter set to cut fabric for hammocks. Today, I was in JoAnn's and they had 40% off Fiskars cutting supplies, including their rotary cutting mats. I also had a 15% off my entire purchase coupon. So I succumbed to the impulse buy and bought myself a new rotary cutting mat. This one is larger than my old one - it is 24" x 36".

For most hammocks, the standard 18" x 24" is plenty big. But there are a few projects, including Critter Nation furniture pad cage liners (top and bottom level) and the pocket hammock that require cutting pieces that are longer than the mat. This mat is large enough that I can cut fabric for those two projects without having to move the mat or fabric during the cutting process. I can't tell you how many times I have accidentally run the rotary cutter off the mat because I wasn't paying attention - hopefully that accident will be a thing of the past.

Rotary cutters are by no means a necessity, but they sure do make things easier. This larger mat is a luxury item, but since I have been working to make new liners in a variety of colors, it will get a lot of use for a while. It is large and unwieldy, so it will probably only come out for those projects that need it, but I think it will come in handy when it does come out.

Rat Safe Play Areas

 

All pet rats need some play time out of the cage. They need a safe place to explore and time to spend bonding with you. Because our homes frequently contain unsafe items (eg, live electrical cords) and things that a rat might destroy (wooden furniture) and because many do not want rat pee soaking into their carpeting and furniture upholstery, it is important to have a designated rat-safe play area.

 

Many people use their bed for out-time. If you throw an old comforter or blanket on top, you can protect your mattress and bedding from pee and allow your rats free range of the bed, throwing the blanket in the wash as needed. Another option is the bathroom. Bathrooms usually are not carpeted and usually do not have items plugged in near the floor where the rats would be able to chew on a cord. They can be easily closed off so the rats cannot escape and are pretty rat safe as long as you keep the toilet lid down.

 

We currently have a play pen set up in a corner of our basement, where the rats can run around and explore and we can sit with them on an old couch that is covered with a sofa cover and then a flannel sheet - both of which can be removed and washed fairly easily. The floor of the play area is covered with old throw rugs that my mom was going to throw away until I absconded with them.

 

The play pen is surrounded by plywood walls, 2 feet high. Our rats cannot jump this high, so it is secure as long as none of the taller toys get too close to the wall. The rats can jump onto the sofa if they want, but will not jump from the sofa arms/back to the floor. However, we must be present to supervise them, just in case. We do not leave the rats loose in the play area unsupervised.

 

If we should need to leave them (to answer the phone or the door or for some other reason), we also have our Martin's Play Pen set up on a children's table inside the play area. We can easily move the rats into the Martin's Play Pen and secure the door and they will be safe unsupervised.

 

We have a variety of toys for the play area that we change around periodically to keep free range time stimulating and interesting. Some of our favorite play area toys are Imaginext toys that my boys outgrew. We have an Imaginext castle and also an Imaginext Gorilla Mountain. The rats love to climb these toys and go through the doors and openings. They can be opened into different shapes, to make new configurations, and sometimes lying them on their side makes them new and exciting. We also have a variety of huts and boxes and a handful of Marshall ferret toys (octopus, alligator, pirate ship, noah's ark, and elephant) that come and go. In addition to these things, we like to use the Super Pet Ferre-Trail tubes (they used to sell these in a large set for a reasonable price, but now only sell them by the piece or two and are more expensive). In the play area, we can build more complicated tunnel mazes than would fit comfortably in a cage setting. We also have a Hagen's Living World Teach 'n Treat puzzle where the rats can learn to move puzzle pieces to find treats.

 

Both the Martin's Play Pen and our play area have their own litter boxes, and the Martin's has a water bottle in case the rats get thirsty. We have a television set up by the play area, so the kids can watch television while the rats are out. If the kids stay entertained while the rats are out, the rats get more out time.

 

This play area is only temporary. I have a bird room downstairs but only have a handful of finches left. This spring, we will be moving the finches out and into an aviary and doing a thorough clean and redesign of the room. The rats will then be getting this space as a rat room. It should be fun to have a whole room to dedicate to the rats that will be safe for them to explore for as long as they like. It will hopefully be a space that is fun for both rats and people, so the family will be encouraged to spend a lot of time there with the rats.



Happy Valentine's Day!

UPDATED - Tutorials for Common Rat Hammocks and Accessories

 

The Tutorials for Common Rat Hammocks and Accessories PDF file has been updated. The file now includes tutorials for the corner hut, which is similar to a cube but fits nicely in any corner. The corner hut is easy to hang because the ribbon loops in each corner can be attached to the bars on the cage walls rather than the cage ceiling.

Also added to the tutorials are the instructions for making furniture pad cage liners for the Dual Critter Nation, Martin's R-695, and Martin's Rat Play Pen with Pan. These liners have been working well for us. They get chewed around the edges, but so far, the damage has been easily repaired. The furniture pad has proven to be absorbent and to handle odors almost as well as towels.

Finally, the new PDF also includes instructions for creating pocket hammocks, tunnel pocket hammocks, double decker hammocks, and tube hammocks with a fleece border at the openings. These tutorials include the steps for creating the border and refer back to the original tutorials for the rest of the steps.

UPDATE: It was brought to my attention that when I added the content, some of the pictured links on the first two pages ended up broken - pointing to the wrong tutorial. I have had a problem with this and long documents in Word - I don't know why it happens. I have gone back and checked all of the links and fixed the broken ones, so it should work better now. I apologize for the inconvenience.

A Tool for Ensuring Our Rats Are Healthy

I ordered this stethoscope and received it from Amazon a few days ago. It is a new tool in my rat arsenal. If you have ever heard of "telephoning" your rat, it is my hope that this tool will make that job easier.

It might seem like kind of an odd thing to get for the rats. After all, I am not doctor and I don't try to be one. When our rats get sick, it is into the vet they go. But sometimes, when symptoms are mild, they are difficult to notice. And sometimes, you might notice a sneeze and wonder if it is just a sneeze or if there is something else going on.

One of the techniques we use to try to figure this out is "telephoning" our rats. This is just a cute term for holding their chests up to our ear like a telephone and listening for any unusual lung sounds. I've never been very good at this - especially if you have a squirmy rat who doesn't want to play telephone. So I figured a stethoscope may be a better option.

Please be clear that I am not recommending trying to diagnose and treat your animals yourself. I have always believed that if there is something wrong, a vet is the best person to diagnose it. A vet can prescribe the best antibiotic for the particular problem. A vet can assess progress and whether or not treatment should be changed - dosages increased or medications switched. A vet will ensure that dosages are calculated properly based on the weight of your rat and the severity of illness.

Instead, I am just advocating a technique for detecting problems earlier than you might otherwise. Early detection often means it is easier to treat and there may be less long-term damage done. Early detection is always a good thing. When I worked with birds, early detection was essential. Birds are even better at hiding illness than are rats - especially small prey birds like finches. There is a saying that a sick finch is a dead finch. This is often true, because by the time they are showing symptoms, there is often little a vet can do. The illness has progressed too far and treatment is often unsuccessful. With finches, I had to invest in a microscope and learn to do my own fecal smears. Most finch illnesses that are treatable are related to the digestive process - parasites, bacteria, yeast - and are therefore detectable in fecal smears before the birds show any symptoms. When I could find the problem via fecal smear before severe symptoms showed up, they could often be treated very easily. Rats don't suffer from gastrointestinal problems as often as birds do, but they do suffer from respiratory problems quite often. So instead of a microscope, a stethoscope is called for.

Of course, I don't know yet what exactly to listen for. So this is a learning process. I figure the best way to start is to periodically listen to the rats while they are healthy. If I am familiar with what a healthy rat sounds like, then I will be more likely to recognize something that it abnormal. I am guessing that a lower respiratory infection (one that involves the lungs rather than just the sinuses) will be a bit obvious if I know what normal sounds like.

When picking out a stethoscope, I wanted something inexpensive but that has good sound. I picked out this Omron Sprague Rappaport Stethoscope for a few reasons. First, it was inexpensive. I am not going to be using it every day for several hours, so I don't need the top of the line in medical diagnostic equipment. It is just for hobby use. Second, the reviews claim it has good sound. Many complained that it is uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time, but since I won't be wearing them all the time, I can put up with a little discomfort. Third, it had a pediatric bell (along with an adult bell). A pediatric bell is smaller and more suited to small animals. There is even an infant bell included with the accessories, although I have not yet investigated what all these accessories do or how they work.

Hopefully, with the help of this new tool, I will be able to stay on top of respiratory infections and catch them sooner, so our rats will stay healthier.

Hammocks for Valentine's Day

Over the last several months, I have been working on creating hammock sets for holidays and seasons. I recently created a few nice sets of winter hammocks, made with flannel instead of regular cotton prints for warmth, featuring penguins, skiing raccoons, and snowmen.



But it is February now and I am tired of focusing on snow this winter. I'm sure we will have more winter to come, but we have taken a break from the winter theme to add some Valentine's Day hammocks to our cages. The following is the resulting set:

This is a double set, meant to fill both the Dual Critter Nation and the Martin's R695. This set also includes a floor mat shaped like a candy heart, with the message "BE MINE" embroidered on the front. This floor mat is made with the same materials as the liners and is meant to dress up the cage floor a bit. I am very happy with the way it came out.

Some of the hammocks installed in the DCN

This set also includes a corner hut, a cross between a corner hammock and a cube. While I usually set my cubes flat on the ground and use the ribbon loops to keep it erect, the corner cube works well hung in a corner, as it has ribbon loops to support both the top and the bottom. I make mine with windows on the sides (if I don't, my rats will chew their own windows). I took pictures as I built this hammock, and will be adding it to the list of hammock tutorials soon.

Corner Hut from the front (top) and side (bottom).

Next on the agenda, St Patrick's Day Hammocks.

Meet Burt!

Check out those awesome whiskers!

We want to welcome Burt into our family!

We all miss Loki terribly and his absence has left a huge hole. What is more, we really miss having a big squishy boy around. So I started looking around. The first pair of rats I found that were in the area ended up being adopted before I called inquiring about them. Then we found Burt.

Burt had a great home with his buddy Ernie, but sadly Ernie passed away, leaving him as a lone rat. His family is really attached, but didn't want to adopt new rats and didn't want Burt to have to live alone as he is a very social rat. So I thought he would make the perfect fit for us.

We will eventually be introducing him to our girls (all spayed), after quarantine. He came from a really good environment that is low risk for exposure to illness, but we still want to do a quarantine just to be safe. He will be using the Martin's R695 cage for quarantine and until he has been successfully introduced to the girls, when he will move into the dual Critter Nation.

Burt is super friendly and very trusting. He is a great eater, snacking on peas and corn and blueberries on the way home. He has already tried and liked the Oxbow Regal Rat, so I have no doubt that he will adjust to it just fine. He is a black variegated (similar to hooded, except instead of a stripe down the spine, he has random splashes of color) dumbo and I can already tell he will fit right in here. I know he will miss his first home, but hopefully he will come to adapt to ours. We will be sure to give him lots of love and attention and all the things he needs to stay healthy.