Rats!

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timh
Posts: 515
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2019 5:50 pm

Rats!

#1

Post by timh »

Here is a very simple tip. Once polar aligned it is often expedient to leave the set up out (with a cover on) awaiting the next clear night. But don't do what I did and leave the Usb3 cable used for connecting to a computer outside as well. Aside from needing to avoid it getting damp the other hazard is that rats seem to like chewing on them. Spent half an hour last night trying to work out why the connection had become suddenly intermittent. Tim
Last edited by timh on Mon Aug 08, 2022 12:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Krzysztof z Bagien
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2022 2:46 pm

Re: Rats!

#2

Post by Krzysztof z Bagien »

Yeah, for some reason rats love cables.

I have pet rats (they are great pets btw, though they live only for a couple of years unfortunately) and I learned it the hard way :D
rockenrock
Posts: 68
Joined: Tue May 03, 2022 12:53 am

Re: Rats!

#3

Post by rockenrock »

Haha, the cables must be tasty with your last snack. Try wiping some diluted bleach on them.
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admin
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Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 3:52 pm
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Re: Rats!

#4

Post by admin »

I've been on both sides of the rat debate...

We also had 2 pet rates back in the 90s and they were great pets. If you can get over the squeamishness they make a much better 'small furry pet' than hamsters, mice, gerbils, etc. They are intelligent and genuinely seem to enjoy playing, learning, etc. I had one that I could carry across the room and put on a table. Then I'd walk back to the cage and put a treat in the bowl and the rat would watch me. Then I'd whistle and she would dash across the room, climb up the furniture into the cage and eat the treat :)

On the other hand for the last couple of years I've had problems with rats under the observatory. I'd built it with a wooden floor and a decent sized gap underneath with the idea that if the gap is big enough for a cat to get in then it supposedly discourages rats from using it. It turns out that a) our cats are useless fat lumps and b) rats modify their environment - in this case by largely filling the space underneath with soil and compost that they brought in through tunnels. I spent ages earlier in the summer lifting the floor of the observatory, putting down 1cm galvanised mesh over the bare soil between the bearer pads the joist sit on then putting down about 3-5cm of concrete over the mesh. Hopefully that'll keep them out in future!

cheers,

Robin
Krzysztof z Bagien
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2022 2:46 pm

Re: Rats!

#5

Post by Krzysztof z Bagien »

admin wrote: Sat Aug 06, 2022 1:00 pm 1cm galvanised mesh over the bare soil between the bearer pads the joist sit on then putting down about 3-5cm of concrete over the mesh. Hopefully that'll keep them out in future!
At least for some time :D

When it comes to rats, I could go on for hours. They are really intelligent (I mean - not all of them, we used to have a few that were pretty silly, but still adorable none the less), but one was some kind of rat Einstein I guess. You see - people often teach rats to do tricks and stuff, but the one I'm talking about actually taught us to do some! When she was eg. sitting on my shoulder, she would pull on my t-shirt in the direction she wanted me to extend my arm - so she could walk over it to get on a table or something, or pull on my trouser leg to get her up (other rats were just climbing it, but she apparently couldn't be bothered to do so).
I'm embarrassed to say that it took me a while to figure that out - that it's not some random rat stuff she's doing, but that she actually wants me to do a specific thing. And I thought I was kind of intelligent too...
Anyway, then our other rats learned it from her and started to command us too :D And they even passed that knowledge to the next generation of rats.
timh
Posts: 515
Joined: Mon Aug 26, 2019 5:50 pm

Re: Rats!

#6

Post by timh »

Interesting to see what comments this thread started :-)! A common problem then -- but also smart animals and good pets. Just as commented above - our cat totally useless as a disincentive.
Tim
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