Oh, Rats. It’s Spring Break and I’m Stuck at Home.

It’s officially spring break at the Academy.  I suppose I should be more excited by this, but it came at the worst time!  “Why?” you ask.

(A) I have no vacation planned (thanks bank account/economy for that one)
(B) My friends already had their spring break
(C) My room is a mess and my mother has demanded I clean it by the end of the week
(D) I was actually starting to enjoy my homework
(E) Also….have I ever mentioned how much I love lettered lists?

Anyhow…I am hopeful that my jewelry sales will pick up and I’ll be able to use the money to buy my animals some new toys and some treats.  We’ve gone on the rations system as of late with regards to treats/toys since my car has gone into disrepair  Thankfully I got a decent paycheck and a gift certificate to petsmart this past week.

Oh well. What can you do?

… … …

Actually, I’ll tell you what I can do. I can talk about my pet rat, Bean.  Since his arrival, Bean has become the unofficial mascot of my art studio and a constant source of joy and inspiration.   Allow me to introduce you to Bean.

This is Bean. The end.

Just kidding.

Bean is an adorable little rat that my neighbour rescued from the “evil clutches” of her friend’s pet boa constrictor.  This little adorable gentleman came to us a pitiful bundle of nerves, and so tiny he could fit in the palm of my hand no problem.

When Bean was a wee one he would squeal, scream, and squirm whenever you touched him.  I can 100% understand why.  He was kept in a cage within full sight of his predator, and came from a petstore with a mass stock of “feeders” (where hands surely meant impending doom.)  When my neighbour Emma called me and asked me to come rescue this sweet little furball, she was under the impression that it was a female.  Emma wanted me to take the little baby in and have my two female rats Zinnia and Ginny take care of it.  When I got to her friend’s house I discovered it was not a girl but in fact a boy, and a very well endowed boy at that.  I was all set to soldier up and say no.  And then she handed him t  He had giant ears, giant paws and giant eyes that looked up at me with such a pleading look…  Between Emma’s begging and the rat’s terrified shivering, I broke down and agreed to take him home.  Little Bean spent the rest of the afternoon hiding in a little hot chocolate box trembling in fear.

We went out the next day and bought him a bigger cage (he was living in a travel cage and previous to that, a cardboard box next to the snake.)  This was supposed to be a temporary living arrangement, but anyone who knows me understands that once I name something…IT’S MINE.

A few weeks went by and poor little bean still had no home; mind you this is not for lack of trying.  I called everyone!  (To those of you who I phoned frantically, I’m sorry!)  It tured out to be a good thing because the poor little thing somehow managed to get mites.  My guess is that the petstore he came from probably didn’ take all that good care of their animals.  The little dude was itching and scratching and biting himself.  Poor thing!  After a few rounds of Revolution from my vet Dr. Anecker (whose name I can NEVER spell correctly btw) little Beanie was cured.  It was clear that he was grateful for our hard work and efforts.  He rewarded me with lots of kisses and snuggles and adorable photo ops.  Mom and I tried a few more times to find him a home, but they were definitely half-hearted attempts.  Neither one of us could bear to see him go.  I mean how could you possibly resist this face:

I’m so glad we rescued this little booger.  Ain’t he just the cutest lil’ thing?!! I certainly think so.

Side Note:  I love snakes as much as the next person, but really now?  Why anyone would choose to feed their pet snake live food is beyond me.  Snakes will 100% definitely convert to a frozen diet if you work on it.  There’s this website and this website and this website which offer advice.  Not only is it a horrible, cruel way for these poor animals to spend their last few moments, but it can lead to injury for your snakes.  Please, consider making this change!  I also think it’s cruel to keep a snake as a pet; they’re much too wild and free to be kept in a small, tiny tank.  But that’s another discussion altogether.

~ by ArtKid on March 16, 2009.