| Training Your Rat |
[11 Nov 2009|09:08pm] |
I need help. James (the youngest) has taken to eating the slipcover off of my couch (which is where they do a good chunk of their free-range time).
He's the only one of three who does it and I replaced the slipcover only a few months ago and kinda hope this one can hold off for a few more.
I've tried redirecting the behaviour by adding paper/boxes/stuff they're ALLOWED to shred to pieces, I've tried picking him up in the midst of his chewing activities to place him elsewhere, and he just goes back to it to eat more of my couch. I've placed blankets that he's allowed to chew to pieces over the area, he decided it was a game of hard to get and gets under them somehow to eat the slipcover. I've stared him down and spoken harshly to him and I admit sometimes I've tapped him on the head so he knows what he's doing is NOT cool at all.
Advice? For the life of me, all my reinforcement strategies are failing and I'm at a loss.
(I still will love him no matter what but I'm debating as to whether to use a spray bottle of water next...)
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[5 ♣'_']
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| one row high stripe? |
[11 Nov 2009|04:24pm] |
I'm trying to knit a hat that has some stripes in it. Is it possible to have just one stripe, one row high, and not have a jog? I've Googled a bunch and come across the jogless stripes technique, but does this work for just one row? I've also come across the barber pole technique, but I want just the one stripe.
Does such a thing exist?
EDIT TO ADD: I'm knitting this hat in the round :)
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[3 ♣'_']
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| Help, parasite problem and freaked out |
[11 Nov 2009|07:15pm] |
Looks like one of my females has lice or mites, I've only notice it on the one but will treat all. Completely freaked, feel horrible, thought it was just old age her losing hair, since no one else was having problems, but now can see the little red marks. Parasites completely creep me out, though I have heard they are species specific with rats, is this true?
Going to the vet tomorrow.
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[3 ♣'_']
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[11 Nov 2009|06:34pm] |
Since ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) iconcreators is not a themed community, each round of our LIMS challenge will have a different theme.
-- Round 2 of our LIMS's theme will be "Young Hollywood."
-- Any actor/actress is acceptable, so long as they are under 25 years old.
-- Animation will not be allowed, but all textures, blends, etc, are acceptable.
-- Please submit one icon in this post (comments are screened).
-- Icons must meet LJ requirements (100 x 100 px, 40 kb).
-- Do not use or show your icon anywhere until voting and results are finished.
-- Do not vote for yourself or ask people to vote for you. Asking more people to vote is great, but do not indicate which icon is yours.
-- Icons must be original and created for this challenge.
-- If you miss a round you'll be disqualified, unless you have a skip available.
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) foukay (2)
evangelinevio (1)
fleriana (1)
this_madness (1)
explodeyy (2)
coldintheinside (1)
momokuro (2)
dudette_in_town (0)
samiicons (2)
andraya (2)
ithadtobeyou463 (2)
espana (1)
musicalpanties (2)
If you'd like to use a skip, please comment here. Remember that you have 2, use them wisely!
Entries will be due SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14.
Have fun & good luck, y'all. If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
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['_']
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| Springtime in November |
[11 Nov 2009|02:53pm] |
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This is what my coffee table/work table looks like right now! I love spring-y, candy-like colors. I really want a coat in a cute candy color but all the coats seem to be in fall colors right now, and fall colors/jewel tones are NOT MY FAV!!!! I'm prepping a bunch of zipper pouches and hair bows to be felted. I need to make a few more pouches before these are ready to be popped in the washing machine!
In other random news, I'd been wearing my hair in pigtails a lot with the bangs down because I am lazy. A) I don't have to draw on my eyebrows. B) I don't have to curl or fluff my hairz.
Today is the 1st day in a while that I actually fluffed again!
Last night, I was on the hunt for a particular kind of red button, but then I fell in love with LOTS of buttons on Etsy!
I really want the heart-shaped ones, but I am holding back since the fundages run low whenever I prep for shows!
Finally, please check out this very cute giveaway at My Paper Crane's blog!!! It's really awesome. You won't regret it. I never win giveaways. I don't know why I keep trying :P.
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[6 ♣'_']
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| Atypically Knit HP Scarves |
[11 Nov 2009|05:23pm] |
My brother requested a Gryffindor scarf for christmas, and I was pretty set on knitting him one of the scarves from knit.atypically.net. Alas, the website is offline now and the GoogleCache doesn't work for the patterns, which is really disappointing.
So, can anyone recommend a good Harry Potter scarf pattern? I don't want to do an illusion scarf, just a simple stockinette stitch scarf, so something along those veins would be perfect :)
Thanks.
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[8 ♣'_']
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| Help! |
[11 Nov 2009|04:00pm] |
I am making the Heelhead Scarf (http://carissaknits.blogspot.com/2008/10/heelhead-scarf.html) and I am at the increases, and I don't know for the life of me, what M1LP is, I know its "make one left purlwise" But how?!
If anyone can walk me through it or point me to a tutorial, I searched but to no avail :(
Thanks!
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[6 ♣'_']
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| *Somewhat urgent* |
[11 Nov 2009|10:26am] |
Hey all,
Alice has a bad URI :(
I took her in to the only vet that was open last night. I got a prescription but the pharmacy (that said they'd be closed today, argh!) called and said they don't have Baytril. So before I go take the prescription to another pharmacy, I wanted an opinion on the dosage.
The vet said 2.5 mg for Alice twice a day, but she's just a little thing! She's 8 months old and the smallest rat I have, even smaller than her sister and Cricket (hairless) who is month younger than her. My guess is she's under 300 grams by a bit. Is it just me, or is this dosage too high?
I was thinking it would be at the most 1.5 twice a day, but I've never had a rat with such a severe URI before. Maybe that ups the dose? This is not my usual vet. :(
Thanks!!
ETA: The prescription says she's 9 oz
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[8 ♣'_']
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| Kickass birthday rat drawing |
[11 Nov 2009|06:00pm] |
A friend of mine fro uni gave me this beautiful drawing fot my birthday
( lovely rat drawing )
He and his girlfriend used to have rats so he knows how their hands, feet and tails go. I just love this picture!
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[2 ♣'_']
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| po's adventures pt 2 |
[12 Nov 2009|02:32am] |
So after Po's fridge-scaling exploits i decided to give her free range in the bathroom...
I go in there to check her once and she's balanced precariously on an empty toilet roll holder...
a second time i see her jump and catch an electrical cord that hangs a foot from the floor, shimmy 2 feet up it, do a victory dance on the plug, and shimmy back down
i sit down on the floor with her and she runs up to me, I'm delighted because i think she is finally warming up to me. This is not the case. she merely wants to use me as leverage to explore higher places in the bathroom.
As i write this all i can hear from the bathroom are periodic thumps as she tries to scale the 2 foot wide plank of wood keeping her in. Who knows how long this fortress can last against the Army of Po.
I was told female rats were "more active", not completely insane!
Monty has been snoozing on my bed the whole time.
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[13 ♣'_']
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| 189/365 |
[11 Nov 2009|01:34am] |
I actually don't have anything to say tonight.
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[5 ♣'_']
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| Photos |
[10 Nov 2009|11:42pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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 calm |
] |
| [ |
music |
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The Spider And The Fly by Kenny Shepherd Wayne |
] |
Just some photos I've taken...enjoy. =]
( +7 )
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[2 ♣'_']
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| PLEASE VOTE |
[10 Nov 2009|10:58pm] |
We are still tied up, both for last place AND first. Please, please, please VOTE HERE, so we can finish this challenge and move on to the next one!
THANKS GUYS.
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[2 ♣'_']
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| Cage Questions... |
[10 Nov 2009|10:33pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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 curious |
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A brief intro: Ten years ago I got my first pair of rats. They're amazing little creatures and I've been lucky to share my home with four pairs over the past decade. It's been two years since my last rattie baby, Gypsy, passed away. I miss having rats so much that I am now looking to adopt a trio and restore the rat reign to my house!
I have a dog crate that is 24 inches high, 21 inches deep and 30 inches long. I'm going to cover the sides with one inch hardware cloth and bind them to the original bars with wire that can't be chewed up. I want to make a U-shaped second floor with a big space where I can install a big hammock. The second floor will be made of plywood with laminate tile over the top for easy cleaning. I'll also be putting a laminate floor in the bottom of the cage with a two inch "wall" to keep bedding in.
My question for you all.....what items in their cages do your ratties enjoy the most? My last girls had a thing for a PVC pipe to hide in, but I'd like to hear what everyone else's ratties enjoy in interior decoration. :)
<3 Mare - Currently Looking For Ratties
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[7 ♣'_']
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| Nimoy's vet visit |
[10 Nov 2009|09:40pm] |
| [ |
mood |
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 busy |
] |
It turns out the poor little guy has what could be termed "ruptured discs" in his spine, with little calcified pieces between his vertebrae. He got upgraded from Metacam to Prednizone (sp?), and he's been moving around a lot better since he's had his doses (a lot more energetic too!).
The vet loved him, and even told us how much he was squeaking and complaining when they were trying to x-ray him. Always been a feisty, bossy one, and it seems he's not going to give that up. I know the medicine isn't going to last forever, but I'm glad he's getting more comfy with his environment.
(I tried to get a picture of him sleeping in the folds of the comfortor on the couch, but he woke up as soon as I reached for my phone, the sneaky little devil!)
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[2 ♣'_']
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[10 Nov 2009|09:55pm] |
Dear people of laceandflora,
My aunt is opening her own jewelry store and she needs a name.
"I make from ballroom glitz to very earthy things."
I was wondering if any of you could help.
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[14 ♣'_']
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[10 Nov 2009|09:11pm] |
New England is teasing us with warm 60+ degree weather this week. Crazy! Buys a little more time for getting rid of the compost/dirt pile that has been in the driveway, though, for the past month and a half.
Our newest creation is this garden bed, inspired by fellow flickr friend Xao_T. It sits in the side yard, right on the border of our property. In the bed there are already a few lilac trees which I trimmed back. They are sad looking so I'm hoping they'll make a comeback, along with the roses, next year. In this garden is my rhubard, some perennial sorrel, thyme, and a few bulbs. Next year I plan to put in a whole bunch more perennial plants.
I love this garden bed. Nate and I decided to use wood for the border. It will eventually rot out, but that's ok. I love the uneven rustic look of them. To make this bed, we took up the grass, dug a shallow trench for the logs, put in the logs unevenly in the trench, pouding them in a little with a rubber mallet. Next, we filled the area with dirt. It took a LOT of dirt to make it even since this area was kind of a hill. Then we stuck rocks in the holes on the outside of the border of logs and stuck some dirt there as well. Wah-la!
It is surely fall because the garden hillbilly is covered with leaves!
Last, I wanted to let you all know that I now have yarn available in a wonderful little art gallery in Rochester NH called artstream. Its a great place to take a class, browse or buy art. The owners are also awesome women.
My apologies that my etsy shop is seriously lacking. The truth is, I have to make more yarn, b/c mine is either in shops or on their way to new homes from the godwin non-raffle! I have to get on that, but my shoulder has been bothering me so its slow going.
Don't forget to become a fan of misshawklet on facebook too!
Happy Tuesday everyone! Its a very busy week at work, but hopefully that means it'll fly by!
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[2 ♣'_']
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[10 Nov 2009|08:30pm] |
I have no idea what to do :(
I've cried for the past hour. Earlier I had cleaned the levels of my cage. I was in the process of putting them back when one of them, Luna, ran out. To keep her from going under my dresser, where she'd never come out, I quickly crawled (with large plastic level in hand) toward the dresser. In my haste I wasn't watching where I was going and my other rat ran out under me and I smacked her with the level in my hand. She immediately curled up in shock on her side and started shaking. I immediately started crying. when she stopped seizing (which felt like forever, but was probably only 20 seconds) I thought she was dead. I realized she wasn't and gently put her back in her cage. she lay there, unmoving, for about 15 minutes. when she first started moving around again her body was severely tilted to the right. I gave her food about 30 minutes ago, and since then she's gotten a lot better. her body is still a little tilted and she's very skittish, but she finally came out of her cage again after an hour.
She's almost back to normal, but is there anything I should check for? It was obviously a terrible experience for her and I feel horrible. there's no obvious swelling and she's not favoring any limbs, but should I take her to the vet tomorrow? is there anything he could do for her?
I know this is long . . . thanks for your advice :/
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[7 ♣'_']
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[10 Nov 2009|08:31pm] |
55 Icons
Doctor Who, House MD, Merlin, Spooks, True Blood, Torchwood - Emily Blunt, Billie Piper, Keira Knightley, Jennifer Morrison, Marion Cotillard, Liv Tyler, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson
  
here @ squaredmc
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['_']
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| Increase issue |
[10 Nov 2009|08:24pm] |
I'm having some trouble with increases. I'm making a scarf that will be wider in the middle than at the ends. It's in 2x2 ribbing, and I want to make the ribbing wider for the wider bit. Problem is, every kind of increase I try leaves a hole underneath. :( I've tried m1-r, m1-l, bar increase/Kfb (doesn't leave a gap but I *hate* that little bar), a modified kfb that goes back into the stitch and slips it purlwise. I've tried purl increases, which seem slightly better, but still with the hole. The gauge is fairly loose (Drops Merino (dk) on US 5 needles), but not so loose that a gap like what's happening won't bug the hell out of me every time I see it.
Is there a trick to increasing on ribbing that I'm not getting, a magic increase that won't leave a hole (some of the ones I've tried normally don't, which is why I'm stumped)? Or will I just have to deal with either the bar or the holes? Any advice/opinion/commentary would be appreciated. :)
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[11 ♣'_']
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| Mites/lice more questions |
[10 Nov 2009|05:02pm] |
I've been skimming through the mites and lice archives and I don't think that this has been covered - but my bad if it has already.
So ive just discovered that some of my rats seemed to be exhibiting signs of mites or lice. Not sure which one, anyways Ive treated them with some Revolution. as well as my mice (i have mice too). And my ferrets because I wanted to be safe.
Ive disinfected everything : cages, toys, whatever. (water+bleach, rinsed well), i have frozen the bedding. Ive washed all the fabric with bleach once, and then washed again.
now i was wondering what next. Once ive dosed them with the Revolution, do i just wait, and see if they are gone? Or do I re-dose in a couple of weeks? Ive read that they should be good after the one dose but how can i be completely sure?
I was housing them on paper towel for a little bit but they seem to really hate it. and ive been changing that every day. They already look SO much better, they seemed to be almost anemic when i first noticed they had mites/lice.
Just now i have washed their temporary cage, with dish soap, and a vinegar water solution. i guess i'll coat it with paper towels until I figure out what the best thing to do next would be.
So my main questions are:
What do you guys recommend now?
-Should i wash them with a gentle dish soap and rinse well?
Or, -should i coat them in Olive oil? Do you just leave the olive oil on? is "100% pyure cold pressed extra virgin olive oil" the right kind? (yeechhh this stuff is greasy, this should be fun)
-DO you recommend i do both? just to be safe? i am so paranoid, i really want them to be gone for good.
-When do you recommend reintroducing bedding? i have Aspen btw. And it has been frozen for more than 48 hours so far.
-Should i freeze their food?
I think thats it.
Once again sorry if this has been covered, and thanks for all your help!
I appreciate it
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[5 ♣'_']
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| New People Artist Village info!! |
[10 Nov 2009|05:00pm] |
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*****
So basically, there is an art show opening, and a bunch of crafty vendors will be piggybacking the opening in the form of the New People Artist Village, so if you go, you'll get to see some cool art, and maybe do some cool shopping with us! Looks like you need to RSVP if you want to come to the preview night on Friday! You can sign up in the lower right corner of the New People home page. The only other Artist Village vendor I know is Shrinkle. Come visit us and we'll talk about our big heads.
The vendor list with pics and bios can be found HERE!
Hope to see you Nov. 20-21st!
*****
Saturday, November 21st – January 17th
at SUPERFROG Gallery
TOKYO CREATORS MARKET: SUPERFROG Gallery presents an exhibit of the works of seven unique artists from Japan distinctive in their mastery and originality. These creations come in many dimensions and reach ambitious heights of expression.
Get invited to the private opening party!
Sign up to receive the NEW PEOPLE newsletter ASAP and get invited to the private party on Friday, November 20th 6pm – 8pm and meet the artists from Tokyo! NEW PEOPLE ARTIST VILLAGE will also have its sneak peak on that night! Its an all-floor event! sign up into the email slot on our homepage (bottom-right) !
NEW PEOPLE ARTIST VILLAGE: Starting the holiday off in festival
fashion, NEW PEOPLE and Bazaar Bizarre SF create an all-day, all-floor vertical art village. Come join the shopping fun! Information is available on our event flyer.
A New Store is Born!
A new shop for NEW PEOPLE! Art makes us grow our imagination, our creativity, our wisdom. Enjoy a stroll in our new GARDEN of art gifts and enjoy the bounty! GRAND OPENING! Also on November 21st, we open TOKYO CREATORS GARDEN accompanying our TOKYO CREATORS MARKET exhibition. The new store is located on the 2F of NEW PEOPLE.
TOKYO CREATORS MARKET Artists Introduction:
Junko Mizuno
Kim Songhe
Mikito Ozeki
NORITAKE
ON ZA LINE
KAZMO
YUICHI YOKOYAMA
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['_']
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| A difficult decision |
[10 Nov 2009|05:09pm] |
I'm sad to say that I have realized I need to rehome my four rats. I really do not want to do this but after moving out and not getting quite the pay I was hoping for, I'm realizing that if my rats get ill, which is most likely to happen, whether it but tumor or what not, I'm unable to pay their vet bills.
I have one male dumbo and 3 females. Uno, the male, is neutered and nearly 2 years old. I really feel bad for having to rehome him as this will be his 3rd home.
Breve, my siamese, is about a year, and Cybil and Toffee are about 6 and 5 months (born this past summer/spring). These three females I took in after bonding with them a bit too much at the pet store I had been working at and couldn't bare to watch them become snake food (yes I know its how things go).
Breve does tend to be a biter as i got her when she was a bit old and not used to being handled. Cybil and Toffee are total sweet hearts, as is Uno.
I'm not looking for any adoption fee, I just want them to go to really good homes, preferably together, and to someone who will be able to meet all their needs as I am now unable to, unless something changes quickly.
If anyone is in need of a second cage, I have a SuperPets cage (purple and green type http://www.smallanimalchannel.com/images/ferrets-magazine/product-spotlight/superpet-60248-bg.jpg) that's almost brand new. They've only been in it for the last two months that I'm willing to sell for $70 and I also have a ferret nation cage that they were in before I moved. The pans are pretty chewed up, but otherwise its in great condition, and I'm willing to sell it for $100 (or make an offer).
Uno and Cybil. Cybil is the more silver one.
Toffee
And Breve
x-posted to other rat communities
Edit: i'm Austin, Tx
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[20 ♣'_']
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