RATS!

FEEDING TIME

Let\’s review Ouroboros\’ dietary concerns during his time with me.
First, we start with fuzzies: tiny mice. He ate about two a week.

The fuzzies are pretty easy to handle. RATS are more substantial. When Ouroboros ate his first RAT, the killing was a sight to behold. Yet somehow, in preserving life, we consume it. In general, we lack experience and understanding of the dying process. That is probably because the topic of death is often silenced rather than discussed. The question I am left with: WHAT IS AN HONORABLE DEATH?

Now we jump to the last RAT that I sacrificed to Ouroboros. It possessed a character more distinct than any dinner I ever encountered! This RAT did not conduct himself like food! For starters, in the time it took to get home from the pet shop, the RAT was popping his head out of a hole he had nibbled in his box! All the others just sit and get scared shit-less (literally).

Ouroboros and the RAT didn’t exactly get a long, however, I would say that they “hit it off” quite nicely. The snake refused to devour the sacrificial rodent, but struck several times, causing the RAT great apprehension. This went on all night. And the next. And the next. At one point I woke to the RAT jumping up and down so fervently that it looked as if he were bouncing back and forth off the ceiling and floor! Ouroboros could have eaten him any time. Instead, there was some sort of stalemate that forced rodent and serpent to coexist.

Eventually I realized that Ouroboros simply would not eat. That’s how the RAT got in my lap. That’s also how the RAT got a name. It was the only thing I could do: LIVE with him! So I had to reach in the tank to rescue Templeton. It’s funny that I was more jumpy about picking up the RAT than handling a snake! Ouroboros had become familiar and friendly, while this finicky fuzzy thing with nails and a long bald tail was jumping up and down – slamming itself against the ceiling in reckless desperation! I understood his anxiety. When I finally reached down to let him up, the RAT and I made immediate friends.

Perched on my shoulder, Templeton was a cuddly neck warmer. He was friendly and the snicker of his whiskers, bubbly. The RAT is always doing something; he looks forever busy with little paws precision preening. Essentially, he is just a little ball of vibrational fluff. He doesn’t bite or scratch, just on with snicker whiskers.

First we went downstairs for cabbage, then for celery. Templeton nestled into the pocket of my sweatshirt, popping his head out of alternating ends while I worked. In time he settled down, poking his head out less and less while warming his nest up more and more, just humming along. Incoming carrot!

Friends came over. They met Templeton and their hearts melded. The next day I got a call. The RAT was given a proper name and home. He goes by Edward Templeton these days. He is a very special RAT.