Blog

Before we leave the subject of the social rat, I would like to round off with an overview of how the social resilience of a rat develops, and facto

In the previous article, I listed ways in which rats are known to be social – essentially social behaviours.

This article is the fifth in the Social Rat Series.

Having covered the general aspects of social behaviour in article one, and social learning in article two we are now going to begin to look in more

So, what is social learning? The Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning offers the following definition:

We all know that Rattus norvegicus – the Brown or Norway rat – is a social species; colony dwellers who live within either hierarchical or

So, after all our discussion about enrichment and how it works from a rat’s perspective – we are ready to dig down into the nuts and bolts of how w

This is the fifth in a series of six articles about enrichment for rats.

This article (article 4 in a series of 6) explores the role of the rat’s brain and reward systems when providing enrichment.

Safety - the context of enrichment  

Last month, Rachie's Ratirement Home was named as a Finalist in the JetPets Companion Animal Rescue Awards

TD;DR: There is a condition common to patchwork rats called entropion, where the eyelids curl or angle inwards so th

This one was clearly written with passion and exceeded my low expectations, but is still pretty outdated and doesn’t read like a book wri

This article is the second of a series of six, covering the topic of enrichment for rats.

This isn’t a story about neglect, or an accidental litter, it’s one that is bitter-sweet, and out of all the rescue stories there are, in some ways

RRH is opening back up to visitors and volunteers!

“If two are better than one, then four is the definition of perfect.”
– A Squeak Proverb

Most of us are aware of the 5 animal freedoms, s

There are many, many myths and misconceptions about what rats can and can’t eat.

A cool piece of modern children’s fiction!

Hoo boy, strap yourselves in for a laugh and a cry because this book has not aged well.

This book is a pretty neat collection of rat representations in media and (mostly western) culture.

Gong hei fat choy and gong xi fa cai, to all our friends celebrating Chinese New Year!

This is an old museum booklet I picked up from one of my favourite secondhand bookstores;

This book is an immediate favourite for me.