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Didn't Simon Drake use rats in his TV shows yonks ago?

Robbie, show's gonna be in Ukraine. You won't believe how far one can push it when it comes to weird stuff. There are very little or no regulations regarding those things, so much you can pull off here compared to say western Europe

Le Petit Bateleur, I've got one, however I'm not quite happy about the method I've chosen. As daleshrimpton pointed out rats are smart. They won't sit still in your pocket or in any sort of bag, So it has to be a rigid box. So I'm thinking towards a set of two nesting boxes.

Btw, I've come across Tom Mullica's "mouse" gig recently
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfmFXoxSUMw
So if there was a way to turn a napkin mouse into a live animal that'd be a killer

Chris wrote:I have a question, I just got to pet rats two weeks ago, and one has settled the other ones just wants to bite...its a bit annoying?

Just give him time. Be gentle - put your hand into the cage with a nice treat, let him take it from your hand but don't try to handle him until he is ready to be handled. He will come around unless you freak him out.
A good treat is a bit of stale bread (white bread has a sweetness that they like) or a bit of biscuit. I also give them pizza crusts which they like.
I often let the rats out on the sofa while I'm watching television. At the start they were a bit nervy, but now they crawl all over me, perching on my shoulder. They are great fun.

Will-o-Wisp:

It's been a while. Did you have any luck producing your rat? I've been trying for quite a while and can't find a method that works.

Hey guys. Thanks everyone. And here is what I've came up with and what I currently use in my show. There are slight variations however.
one is that I fold a "mouse" of a cocktail napkin, much like Tom Mullica does in his tape. I also have a dove pan on a table (I use a pan to store props. Good reason to have a bowl out there in a first place) I fool around with a "mouse" pretending it's alive then accidently it runs away into the pan. I cover it up so it doesn't go any further and when I take a look at my pet I freak out for there is a live rat instead of a paper one lol

the other one is almost the same but instead of paper mouse i use a puppet "Juddy mouse". People go nuts when I start to animate her. The best part is when everybody realizes it's a puppet and relaxes it then turnes into a real critter(via same method) Can't possibly get a bigger reaction.

Btw, before I change Juddy into a live rat I use a cavity of a puppet to preload a card, a dollar bill or something simmilar there to do that "something to an impossible location" effect where I can get away having duplicates. (torn and switched corners of a card or a dollar bill is always a killer)

Cheers if you've seen some ideas fit for your own routines

TonyB wrote:

Chris wrote:I have a question, I just got to pet rats two weeks ago, and one has settled the other ones just wants to bite...its a bit annoying?

Just give him time. Be gentle - put your hand into the cage with a nice treat, let him take it from your hand but don't try to handle him until he is ready to be handled. He will come around unless you freak him out.
A good treat is a bit of stale bread (white bread has a sweetness that they like) or a bit of biscuit. I also give them pizza crusts which they like.
I often let the rats out on the sofa while I'm watching television. At the start they were a bit nervy, but now they crawl all over me, perching on my shoulder. They are great fun.

Agreed. I used to have pet rats. Assuming you have 'fancy' rats and not feral ones, you will be fine. They are very easy to tame. They love seeds. Especially sunflower and hemp.

I had one of mine trained so she could be put on a table, I would kneel down a few feet away and tap my shoulder and she would jump to me. I'd go for walks with one on my head and one my shoulder.

They love humans, but give them time, and bribe them with ratty treats!