A New Rat in My Life

I posted my tribute to my rat Jack, who I lost earlier this year. It's taken awhile and I still miss him a lot. Even after he was gone, I kept hearing ratty noises from the corner of the room where his cage was. It was very sad suddenly not having a rat. Those who've had them understand the love and companionship these rodents will bring to a home!

I have been wanting more rats for some time, but since I don't have my own place to live and don't know where I'll be living in the next few months, I put it off. My sister has been raising baby rats for her snake. (This is another topic completely--I like snakes, but I like rats more, and for this reason will never have an animal that I have to feed rats to.) She had been telling me about a sweet little female that was too friendly to feed, so she had been putting her aside for me. I finally was able to bring her home this weekend! She is a beautiful little black rat with some white on her underside. I was very sure that I couldn't have another black hooded rat like Jack. That seems to be the most common rat color and pattern but it would be too hard seeing someone who looked so similar to Jack.

I have dubbed the new rat Bella. I decided that she was Italian, like me, after she munched down some whole-wheat penne pasta right after I brought her home! She still has some scabs on her ears and nose from a ringworm infection that went around the rat cages. She has been medicated and is doing better.

And since you should never, ever keep such social creatures alone, I will be adding her brother to the cage soon. I don't condone the breeding of animals, including rats, when there are so many out there waiting to be adopted. Her brother, a brown hooded, will be neutered soon and then I'll bring him home. I plan to adopt at least one or two more at the SPCA or a rescue group. Or maybe I'll save a few more from becoming snake food at the pet store.

Here is my little photo album of Bella so far. She's still very shy, so I'm doing some trust training with her to get her used to handling. The unfortunate problem of rats raised as feeders is that they are very deprived of the human interaction that is necessary for them to build trust around humans.

Since there are few good rat cages available in pet stores, and the ones that they do have are ridiculously overpriced, JD and I are setting out to make our own custom rat cage!

An Ode to Jack

Written February, 2009.


I lost a close friend this week, my beloved rat Jack. He had a good, long life and brought a lot of joy to mine. Even so, it’s never easy to let someone go, be it a person or a four-legged companion, so I felt compelled to write. The best part of my time with Jack was that I wasn’t even supposed to have had him at all.

Jack was born in August 2006 to someone who was raising rats to feed to her snake. Jack ended up being particularly sweet and friendly, so the little black and white hooded rat became my sister’s pet. After some time, she realized she didn’t have the time to devote to having a rat and asked me to see if someone I worked with at the pet store would want him.

I couldn’t give him to the store since they would use him as snake food, too, so I started asking coworkers if they wanted a rat. No one did, since they already had lots of pets of their own. Finally, one night it occurred to me that I may as well take him! I’d wanted a rat since I was a kid, and since I was finally on my own AND an adult, I should take him!

Being a vet tech, my sister had him neutered before he came to me. (Just like with dogs and cats, neutering rats can prevent future health problems and it prevents males from leaving urine trails). I was relieved when I found out he already had a name, since naming animals is frustrating to me! But Jack was a perfect rat name and it fit him well.

I wasn’t used to handling rats and was nervous the first time I held Jack. He kept nibbling at my fingers and I finally realized he was giving me ratty kisses! He was very sweet and friendly and enjoyed riding on my shoulder and munching on whatever I was eating. I decided early on that since rats don’t have very long lifespans, he may as well live life to the fullest and I indulged him with junk food from time to time.

Two of my favorite memories of Jack relate to just that! I was eating a cinnamon roll once and decided to offer the rest to him. In his excitement, he grabbed my finger and chomped it instead of the cinnamon roll! Yep, rats give pretty painful bites. But the best part was, when he got the cinnamon roll, he devoured it and was then wired on sugar for the rest of the night! I put him on the floor and he zipped around the living room, crazy from the sugar!

Another time, I discovered that he shared the same penchant for wine that I did. I had him running around on my desk while I was doing homework and he discovered my wine glass. He pulled himself up on it, tipped the glass over, spilling wine everywhere, and proceeded to lap it up!

Apparently, my rat was a wino. From then on, I’d let him lick a bit of wine from my finger every now and then. He preferred white zinfandel and chardonnay. You won’t find that in any rat care books, but as I said, he may as well make the most of his short time in this world.

He was in perfect health up until just about a month ago. I would give him enrichment activities where I would hide food and he’d have to search for it. Rats are extremely intelligent and like to be challenged. Peanuts were one of his favorite foods, and they kept him busy. I tied some peanuts to the top of his cage and took a video of him figuring out how to get them down.

A week later, I noticed that he suddenly wasn’t running up the two flights of stairs in his cage to get his treats. I gently pulled him out of his house and realized he no longer had the use of his back legs and tail. I immediately went online to do research and found out that this was really common in older rats. Rats basically aren’t meant to live beyond about a year and a half. In captivity, we keep them alive with good food and care, but eventually their bodies just give out. The sites I was reading said that rats adjust well to using only their front legs. I bought him a horizontal cage so he could move around more easily and lowered the water bottle and tipped the food bowl on its side.

He seemed to adjust to it well, and I made sure to keep him clean and still cuddle with him as much as I could. I told myself that the day he was no longer happy, I would have him put down so he wouldn’t suffer. One night I came home to find him extremely lethargic and I made plans to have him put down the next morning. Crying, I tried to bring him a great last meal—strawberry ice cream and chardonnay. He immediately perked up and seemed happy with life once again!

While I was out of town, JD called to tell me that Jack wasn’t doing so well and was having trouble breathing. By the time he got home that night, Jack had passed away. I was heartbroken. I was so upset that I wasn’t there for him, but at the same time was glad he was at peace. I can only hope that he went in his sleep, peacefully.
For some people, it’s hard to imagine what is so special about a rodent that most people try to keep out of their homes. For those who have had rats, they understand what is so magical about them. In the few days that he’s been gone, I still hear his happy nibbling, and I find myself putting aside table scraps for him, only to remember a moment later that he’s no longer here. I am glad he lived his two and a half years here happily, and so glad that I was able to spend the time with him that I did. Here’s to you, Jack Rat. I hope Rat Heaven is loaded with peanuts, cinnamon rolls, ice cream and wine!

Make Your Vacation Spot Your Home

This article sums up my dreams entirely!

http://career-advice.monster.com/career-development/Changing-Careers/Make-Your-Vacation-Spot-Your-Home/article.aspx

For years I've either wanted to move to Monterey, CA or Hawaii. Going to Hawaii for a week last summer sure didn't help me any... now I want to be there even more.

Like the article says, for many people this is a pipe dream. And that's true, for a lot of people, it is. A lot of people bloom where they're planted and don't have the desire to pack up and move somewhere else. I guess a result of being a military brat is that now I have the desire to pack up and start a new life constantly. I've been in Central California for almost 20 years now, and I'm more than restless.

Hearing the doctor tell me yesterday that the coastal climate will be much better for me than this place just sealed the deal. Sorry, Kristin and Ericka. But Monterey isn't all that far away. Closer than Honolulu, at least.

Featured in a Treasury!

I have been given the great honor of being featured in a treasury on Etsy! I am proud to share a page with these other great pieces.

Please take a look!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=59254

in-progress watercolor paintings!

I have been working on some paintings for Art Hop tomorrow night at Strands Salon in Fresno. (If you're in the area, check out Art Hop! Free food, wine, art and fun!)

I am not motivated to be painting right now. I want to be sculpting instead! I love painting but not when I know I HAVE to do it. I guess that's the hard part of being an artist for a living--you're constantly doing what other people want you to do, on their time. I would stop taking custom orders, but it's money, and why would I do that!?

Here are a few paintings I did last night. Even though the lighting is better in the daytime, I only paint at night! My best work happens after midnight, and usually with a glass of wine sitting next to my water and paintbrushes.

my visit with the sinus specialist!

Most people close to me know that I've had serious ongoing problems with my sinuses. Basically I've had a bad sinus infection that hasn't gone away in years, and it causes me a lot of misery! My sinuses are always inflamed and lately it's gotten so that the pain NEVER goes away.

The problems first started when I moved to Fresno eight years ago, and I figured the increased pollution in the city was the cause for it. I would get on a round of antibiotics or two and it would eventually get better and go away. Then the infections just never went away and I was in a lot of pain. I had sinus surgery (which is a last resort) in Spring 2006 where they repaired my deviated septum and removed several polyps which had grown. I was so hopeful that the surgery would fix everything, as I'm sure anyone who goes through surgery hopes. Why go through all of that unless there's a really good chance that it will fix everything?

About a year after the surgery, that nagging pain began to return. I remember I was driving when I felt that familiar twinge again for the first time, and my heart sank. Oh no, I thought, it's all starting again!

My doctor who did the surgery had told me to begin therapy for allergies because since my sinus passageways were larger now, allergens could get in much more easily. So I began seeing an allergist and got on regular allergy medications and also began immunotherapy (allergy shots) twice a week. Allergy shots are tricky because they're meant to gradually make you immune to whatever you're allergic to, which in my case is cats, grasses native to the Valley, and olive and walnut trees.

The allergy treatment seemed to help a bit. My cats have been a big controversy in all this, though I'm careful to wash my hands after petting them and they don't go in the bedroom. I knew that giving up my cats was never an option, even though I thought the constant exposure to them might be causing things to get worse. Then I remembered that the problems began long before I ever had an indoor cat.

Over the past year, the sinus pain has become unbearable, and seeing me with an ice pack to my face has become a common occurrence. I've started researching every possible cause for my pain, including chronic sinusitis, inflammatory reaction to a fungus found only here in the San Joaquin Valley and a few other isolated areas, polyps, cancer, you name it. I had several theories of my own but wanted to see a specialist and find out for sure. Most people who know me know that I've had an insatiable desire to pluck myself out of this miserable Valley and land over on the coast, where I always feel great.

Primary physicians really can do little in the way of treating chronic conditions, and the more I go to the doctor, the more I realize how little they actually know. I have known more about my condition than any doctor I've seen. I was tired of being on antibiotics constantly, and in the past year I've only been off of them for about a month or so.

Around December, my best friend Ericka told me I needed to see the sinus specialist that she works with at Central California Ear, Nose and Throat, Dr. Sherman. She told me he is the BEST and he could figure out what was wrong with me once and for all.

Since December, I was counting the days till I was able to get in and see him. I finally got to meet the famous Dr. Sherman today. He was the first doctor who didn't minimize my misery and pain, and actually understood and realized how awful I've been feeling. He asked me all sorts of questions which I had plenty of answers to! I've already tried everything, including my daily sinus rinses (which is a horrible process in which you squirt sterile saltwater into your nasal passages and sinuses, much like getting ocean water up your nose).

He did the nasal scope and found that yes, my sinuses are very inflamed and yes, I did have at least one polyp growing back. He told me that your passageways are actually alive, and millions of tiny fingers called cilia work in concert and move all sorts of mucus and other nasties out of your sinus passageways. Sometimes the cilia get damaged from being dry (such as from desert air like here in the Valley) and they die off and mucus can't get removed and it just sits in your sinuses and causes pain. He told me that by rinsing with saltwater more frequently, I can actually begin to repair them and that will decrease inflammation.

He also told me that some people simply cannot tolerate the high level of particulate matter here in our air, and that I'm one of them. The San Joaquin Valley is essentially a large, irrigated desert in which air sits stagnant for much of the time. Due to the high agriculture here, there is a lot of pollution from diesel vehicles which also just hangs in the air. This is part of what's causing my misery, much as I had suspected. He told me that yes, indeed, being at the coast would be a whole lot better for me since I just can't tolerate the air here.

So there you have it, I have doctors' orders to move to the coast. It's pretty much what I've suspected all along, too. For now I'm rinsing more, and I have a CT scan scheduled to make sure there's nothing else going on in there. I'll keep you updated. Thanks for checking in!

Feelin' Owly!

One of my favorite books when I was in first grade was called Owly. It was all about the adventures of a baby owl. Recently I finished the book Wesley the Owl, which I completely recommend to any animal lover. It was extremely moving and comforting to me as I was grieving the loss of a pet.

I have been inspired to make a lot of owl artwork. These owl magnets are the latest of my creations. They will happily adorn any fridge or magnetic surface!

Rainbows and Snails

These are some of my latest tiny polymer clay creations. There is a five-year-old trapped within me who still loves rolling clay into snakes and snails! If I'd had polymer clay when I was a kid... forget about it!

Recently I bought a polymer clay snail from a seven-year-old child on Etsy! His or her mother helped her kids list their items, which I thought was so cool. If I'd had the internet when I was little, I hope I would have been able to do the same thing!

These little guys can be made in just about any color. I think I'm going to make even tinier ones (these are 1") and sell them as scrapbook embellishments. If I ever saw something like them in a scrapbook store, I'd buy them!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25016121

snails in the rain!

It's raining today! Of course, because J.D. finally washed his truck yesterday, it is raining now. It never rains here.

But I found this cool little snail creeping across the sidewalk, enjoying the moisture. Being a desert, essentially, our relative humidity here is usually under 50%. Everything is dry all the time--skin, plants, everything!

So when it does get moist, everything gets a little crazy! Even my hermit crabs are more active than usual today because it feels tropical here.