So I am a Chicken... HILARIOUS Afternoon

[thedeathhippie]

I finally found a medium rat for my adult pastel male. I have been offering F/T mice and he just doesn't like F/T. He has always eaten P/K for the last 5 years of his life. Now I am SCARED of rats. They freak me out. I had a guy that would kill them for me and I would offer. Today I brought home a live rat because I got it from the pet store up here... not Petco or Petsmart. When I opened the box the rat jumped out and ran under the couch. My wife and I chased this little bugger around the house for an hour. It finally went into our Kerosene Monitor heater WHICH IS BOLTED TO THE FREAKING GROUND and hid for about 20 minutes until I spotted his tail hanging out of the side of the heater and pulled him out. I did the "OMG I hava rat in my hands" dance all the way to the chamber, My wife doesn't mind snakes but doesn't want to have anything to do with feeding and she loves rodents so, needless to say, she wasn't thrilled with this afternoon's adventure.

I still have the heeby jeebies from the rat running around but the good news is... Aldous ate a good meal. I feel better because I felt bad that he has been refusing for the last 2 weeks because I cant get him the food he needs/likes. Also The pet store gets rats in every tuesday so I can get them a/n. They didn't used to carry rats but because of popular demand they just started. next time I will borrow a co2 chamber before I go pick up food instead of after. The pet store can plop it the chamber which I can use as a transportation device until I get home and pop on the gas...

[sookieball]

lol.... or just take a sealed tupperware to buy the rat...
i know its kinda barbaric but hey, its gonna die in the coils of a snake, se la vi!

[iCandiBallPythons]

Dont feel bad I do not like rats either, Im not scared I just dont like them

[ladywhipple02]

Totally feel you on this. I had to buy live for all my guys a couple weeks ago---due to a freezer door left open, NOT COOL---and I hated it. The worst was when one of the mice actually swung itself up and started crawling around on my hand and arm. I about freaked out.

Snakes don't bother me a bit, but something about rodents sets my "EW" meter way off.

[JLC]

LOL....we had a couple of rat escapes when I was feeding my big girl live, years ago. It always resulted in wild, hilarious antics. In general, I am not afraid of rats that are calm and used to human interaction....but I've got an awful lot of respect for a freaked-out rat on the run! The fear of getting bit made me miss catching them on multiple occasions, until I finally resorted to setting out live traps. Those worked like a charm, and I highly recommend having one on hand in case it happens again.

I did the "OMG I hava rat in my hands" dance all the way to the chamber,

That line cracked me up!!

[thedeathhippie]

Now I think my snakes is making fun of me... he bit, coiled, put the head in his mouth and decided... nah I'm good. It isn't too big. It is just a bit smaller than his widest part. I am leaving it with him for a while... Hopefully he eats it. I put in a lot of effort to bring home dinner.

[JLC]

Now I think my snakes is making fun of me... he bit, coiled, put the head in his mouth and decided... nah I'm good. It isn't too big. It is just a bit smaller than his widest part. I am leaving it with him for a while... Hopefully he eats it. I put in a lot of effort to bring home dinner.

Haha...yeah, so long as it's for-sure dead...I'd just cover the enclosure and leave it completely alone for the rest of the day. Check back before bedtime to see if the rat is gone. If not, remove it 'cause it'll be stinky by morning.

[thedeathhippie]

Yeah it's for sure dead. Its body is kinked from all the hugging. I will check back by bedtime. Thanks JLC! It is on the heat pad right now is that ok?

[JLC]

Yeah it's for sure dead. Its body is kinked from all the hugging. I will check back by bedtime. Thanks JLC! It is on the heat pad right now is that ok?

That might make it stink a little faster than if it weren't...but that may also entice the snake to eat it, too. I wouldn't risk fussing with it. Other than a risk of stinkiness, there's no harm in it.

[thedeathhippie]

Thanks again! I'm not worried about the stink as much as the stress from toying with the rat. I have so many animals around the house that between house breaking, dogs rolling in things in the woods behind my house, and cats bringing presents... my nose is dead.