Holding Hands

NEW Ratatouille Trailer

A brand-new, LONGER Ratatouille trailer!

Agatha Budgie Bird at large

Not wanting to be left out, Agatha Budgie bird insists on having her picture taken.

Portrait of a Slugo rat in repose

Slugo rat's mid-day nap in.

Genetic studies endow mice with new color vision

Genetic studies endow mice with new color vision
Although mice, like most mammals, typically view the world with a limited color palette – similar to what some people with red-green color blindness see – scientists have now transformed their vision by introducing a single human gene into a mouse chromosome. The human gene codes for a light sensor that mice do not normally possess, and its insertion allowed the mice to distinguish colors as never before.

Mouse Absconds With Maine Man's Dentures

WATERVILLE, Maine

Never underestimate a mouse's determination. There's a mouse in Bill Exner's house that he says he has captured three times. Each time, the mouse escaped, and the last time the rodent made off with his lower dentures.

Exner, 68, said he and his wife Shirley scoured his bedroom after the dentures disappeared from his night stand.

"We moved the bed, moved the dressers and the night stand and tore the closet apart," he said. "I said, 'I knew that little stinker stole my teeth' - I just knew it."

They found a small opening in a wall where they suspected the mouse was coming and going, and their daughter's fiance, Eric Holt, stepped in to help.

"He brought a crowbar and hammer and he sawed off a section of wood and pulled up the molding and everything," Exner said. "It was quite a job."

They retrieved the dentures, and Holt suggested his future father-in-law boil them in peroxide and whatever else he could find for to disinfect it.

The mouse apparently isn't done. It frequently comes out and stares at Exner, his wife said.

"He's taunting him - I swear he's taunting him," Shirley Exner said.

The Associated Press - Saturday, March 24, 2007

Wild Quaker Parrots of Brooklyn

http://www.edgewaterparrots.com/

http://www.brooklynparrots.com/

New mouse in the house

Let me introduce...Mr. Pepe Le Pew!

Woman Lauds White Rats As Pets

Woman Lauds White Rats As Pets
The Associated Press - Saturday, March 17, 2007
BANGOR TOWNSHIP, Mich.
Marylou Morin has no use for mice, but she thinks their bigger cousins make great pets. That's right, domesticated rats. And her dog likes them, too.
Morin, known as the "rat lady," has babied rats for about eight years, ever since her daughter brought home a lab rat named "Wicket" from Western Michigan University. The one-pound, white male rat with pink eyes would fall asleep in her lap while she watched television.
She and her husband, Don, once had as many as 13 rats in their home. It's not uncommon for Morin to have a rat or two on her shoulder. The preschool teacher lets them crawl all over her.
The little animals - her current critters are "Cubby," "Sweet Pea" and "Little Bit" - relieve the stress of the daily rat race.
"They help me relax a whole bunch. They're gentle creatures, and they're just very loving," she told The Bay City Times.
Unlike wild rats, the domesticated rodents don't pose health risks, Morin said. They groom themselves frequently and even groom each other.
Her 26-pound miniature schnauzer, BobbiAnne, herds the three 8-ounce rats like a border collie rounds up sheep.
"She thinks they're her babies," Morin said. "She lets them chew on her beard, and sometimes they'll lie on her back."

Trapped hamster saved by vacuum

Trapped hamster saved by vacuum
A hamster trapped in a kitchen pipe was eventually rescued by being sucked up on the end of a vacuum cleaner.

Piano-Playing Cat

This is Nora, the piano-playing cat. She adores the instrument, rubbing her face against the keys at times. It's more than just a fling, however, as she carefully puts paws on keys and plays her tunes to the enjoyment of all within hearing.

See Nora play...

RAT RIBBONS - Documentary

Rat Ribbons is a documentary by Chrissie Hall, a young filmmaker from Australia.

Chrissie is currently making the rounds of some film festivals showing Rat Ribbons, and I wish her the best of luck for her film, and for the film being an ambassador for ratties everywhere!

Two new mousie girls

Abby mouse and Lizzy mouse came yesterday as the latest adoptions.


Abby mouse is large brindle and very friendly. Abby is also very protective of the little long haired mouse Lizzy and was often seen cleaning her.




Abby mouse, being not-so-shy, and interested in what I was doing.


Little Lizzy mouse may be a bit of a runt, but she not afraid of anything. The first time I picked her up for an examination she bitched me out, but, did not struggle too much to get away. When we tried to mix the two new girlies in with the other females the alpha of that pair, Ethel mouse, almost immediately started attacking Lizzy mouse. Ethel is not much bigger than Lizzy and Lizzy actually fought back. But I decided it would be better to separate them and keep them to their original pairings.


Since Abby mouse appears to be eating well I decided to supplement Lizzy mouse's diet with Pediasure feedings separate from Abby mouse. Lizzy mouse is not too sure what to think about this Pediasure, but after several offerings she started to lick some off the eyedropper or off her front paws.

Hmm ... rats think like humans

Hmm ... rats think like humans
Rats appear capable of reflecting on their own cognition

Comfort Zones

Adam Stennett is an artist who has been inspired by mice and rats.

Award-Winning Film Short Features Rat Story

One Rat Short is an animated film short about love won and lost...all in the space of 10 amazing minutes.

You can see the short in full here...