[SmaointeMember@smaointeJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 18]

October 15, 2003 - 8:43 am

They don’t actually eat the lino.. just chew it.

[SmaointeMember@smaointeJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 18]

October 15, 2003 - 4:12 am

Yes, they will probably chew on the lino (particularly if they’re girls), but that’s just par for the ratty course.

(:

[SmaointeMember@smaointeJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 18]

October 15, 2003 - 4:11 am

There was a pet expo on, and they took our photo to go with a small story about it.

The story was AWFUL, it sounded horribly sarcastic.. but at least the picture was nice. It took up half the front page.. people were recognising me in the street as “rat girl”.

[]

[SmaointeMember@smaointeJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 18]

October 15, 2003 - 4:08 am

I think it’s disgusting that people take advantage of the system. I have never considered trying to “get away” with using the FHOG for an investment property.. I see that I have two choices, buy a house for myself and get the FHOG, or buy an investment property and dip out, too bad.

There’s one thing that I find particularly disgusting about this issue of children getting the grant.. parents are USING their children to get money. I think that’s gross.. kids are not investment tools. They are not a way to increase your income.

*shudder*

[SmaointeMember@smaointeJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 18]

October 12, 2003 - 2:54 pm

I don’t want to stick my nose in, but I just wanted to let you guys know – wood shavings aren’t a good idea for rats, the chemicals in the wood can cause respiratory problems. I use recycled paper kitty litter (never the clay kind), you can get it from supermarkets. The brand I buy is Breeder’s Choice, it’s great stuff.

It’s also not a good idea to have a wire floor on the cage (as in most bird cages), because walking on wire can cause a ratty foot problem called bumblefoot, where their little feet get swollen and sore. My cages have wire floors, but I cover them with lino or adhesive tiles, which I can wipe down. Adhesive tiles are great because you can remove them and wash them, and even after washing they retain their “stick”.

How exciting! If I’m not careful I’ll catch new-rat-fever from you and end up getting more ratties

[SmaointeMember@smaointeJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 18]

October 12, 2003 - 2:46 pm

I’m sorry, I don’t have a suggestion Arty, I’ve just finished naming my 6 girls.. I’m fresh out.

But I wanted to say that my heart leapt when I read “Dash”. I had an agouti boy, one of my first ratties, that I named Dash. He was a very special rat, and was even on the front of our local newspaper with me.

Yay for Dashes!

[SmaointeMember@smaointeJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 18]

October 8, 2003 - 4:26 am

AusRFS QLD: http://www.ausrfs.org.au/qld/
AusRFS NSW: http://www.ausrfsnsw.com/
AusRFS VIC: http://www.ausrfs.org.au/vic/
AusRFS WA: http://www.ausrfs.org.au/wa/

How are the new babies going? []

<, ,)~

[SmaointeMember@smaointeJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 18]

October 5, 2003 - 1:35 pm

I just videotaped three of my boys escaping from their cage.

Rats are SO clever – the boys wedged more and more cloth under the cage door to hold it open enough that they could squeeze their fat little bodies through… naughty!

Usually it’s the girls who do all the naughty things. The boys have escaped 4 times in the last couple of days, and I couldn’t work out how they were doing it.. now I have video evidence!

[SmaointeMember@smaointeJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 18]

October 5, 2003 - 9:51 am

Thanks for replying, Del.

While it will be difficult to sit back until July, at least I can keep an eye on what is happening, talk to all the agents beforehand, get everything ready to go, etc.

I think I will really benefit from a few months of sitting back and learning more, too.

It’s all very exciting! []

[SmaointeMember@smaointeJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 18]

October 4, 2003 - 10:01 am

Hi Marco, I hope this is what you want.

The formula for the largest number in a range is =LARGE(A:A,1) but you would replace the A:A with the appropriate range, eg F2:F14. The “1” denotes 1st largest number in the range.

The formula for lowest is =LARGE(A:A,n) where “n” is the number of numbers in the range; ie if you had 10 numbers in the range, the formula would be =LARGE(A:A,10) and the 10 refers to the 10th largest number.

I’ve got a screenshot that might help explain it:

http://www4.tpgi.com.au/users/emmamail/temp/excel.jpg

Hope that helps!
-Emma

Edit: oops, too slow! My version seems a little more complicated than MIN/MAX, but you can also use LARGE to pick out the 2nd, 5th, 23rd, 16th highest numbers etc.

[SmaointeMember@smaointeJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 18]

October 3, 2003 - 4:18 am

I keep this one in front of me at work:

“Obstacles cannot crush me; every obstacle yields to stern resolve.” – Leonardo Da Vinci

[SmaointeMember@smaointeJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 18]

October 3, 2003 - 2:51 am

If there can’t be an official chatroom on the website, it’s not difficult to set up a room on IRC (eg Austnet).

I would love to talk to people in real time. Forums are great, but sometimes you just want to have a nice chitchat with people.

Would it step on anyone’s toes if we set up a chatroom on IRC?

– Emma

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October 3, 2003 - 12:11 am

Hi Pinky – I love PEWs, they are very pretty. I don’t even notice the pink eyes these days, but I know it creeps some people out.

Whether a rat bites depends a lot on how it is handled as a baby. When I breed ratties, I make sure I handle them from day one, and as they get older, they are subjected to a lot of rough-and-tumble play which makes them very tolerant around humans.

Some pet store rats don’t have this nice “childhood” because their breeders don’t realise you can handle the babies as soon as they are born (they think the mother will reject or kill them), so they haven’t had a lot of contact with humans early on, and as a result they aren’t as docile. I have some pet store rats that are a little shy and nervous, whereas my pedigreed rats are very docile. Having said that, though, I have had some amazing pet store ratties!

I’ve only had one rat that was truly a biter (she was pedigreed). Most gorgeous rat you have ever seen, but she was a real nasty one!

Sometimes rats are territorial – they may bite if you put your hand in the cage, but outside the cage they are fine. You just need to respect their space! Also, pink eyed rats have poor eyesight (worse than dark eyed rats), so never sneak up on a rat suddenly, they may bite. I have an old rat who is nearly completely blind now, and she is the most docile rat I’ve ever had – but she WILL bite if she doesn’t know who is poking her. Another thing to be careful of is strange smells on your fingers – either other rats or food. Even my most docile of boys will snatch at fingers that smell like a treat.

Sometimes rats bite to find out what something is – bite first, ask questions later. These bites are quick and don’t hurt, they’re just a bit of a shock. When a rat really wants to bite you’d know about it. Again, I’ve really only had a couple of rats that truly bit hard, one was poorly bred, and the others were cranky about me invading their nests.

Generally though, rats will not bite unless they are hurt, scared, or have been mistreated in the past.

[SmaointeMember@smaointeJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 18]

October 2, 2003 - 7:30 am

Sounds like the girl knows nothing about rats!

Eye colour has nothing to do with lifespan. In fact, pink eyed white (PEW) rats aren’t actually albino at all. The pink eye gene acts to dilute the coat to white, but they’re not true albino.

You can also get rats with ruby eyes – they look black, but in good light they are a deep red.

Lifespan doesn’t have anything to do with colour or eyes!

[SmaointeMember@smaointeJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 18]

October 2, 2003 - 6:43 am

Why, in my bedroom, of course! []

[SmaointeMember@smaointeJoin Date: 2003Post Count: 18]

October 2, 2003 - 5:04 am

*grin*
Thanks for the welcome!

I have 18 because with rats, “you can’t stop at one”. They are all different colours: mink (grey), agouti (brown), silverfawn (orange), cinnamon (another brown!), and champagne (cream). I’ve also had pink-eyed-white and black ones before. Most are mink at the moment because we had a mink litter and kept 9 of the babies.

Rats are the best little pets.. they are so affectionate, cheeky, naughty, cuddly, playful, silly little bundles of fuzz.

There’s nothing better than letting 9 girls out to run on the bed, and having them run to the edge to try and get to you – they really are very affectionate.

I am at work at the moment.. can’t wait to get home and play with them… although 5 rat cages to clean is not my idea of fun.

(:

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October 2, 2003 - 4:15 am

Hello! I’m new here, I haven’t been brave enough to post in the general section, but I couldn’t resist answering this topic!

I have 18 rats, and they are the most fantastic pets that you could ever EVER own. You can see some of them at http://www.rockabyeratties.com .

Arty: actually you should always have at least two rats (of the same sex, of course), because they are very social animals and MUST have a friend to live with. Three would be even better.

…. or 18…

Famous last words: “No more than four, I SWEAR.” []