Hello readers!

This blog will detail my experiences training both the virtual rat, Sniffy, and a real rat, Remy, for my Psychology of Learning lab. I'm sure we will have good times and bad times, all of which you will get to read about throughout the course of the semester!

In our lab this week (February 10, 2016), we got to hold our rats for the first time and assign them to their own individual cages. Before this class, I have only had one other experience with rats. We used them for a project in my Research Methods class, measuring their athletic performance via how many times they ran around in a running wheel over a short time period. However, one rat in particular was having too much fun in the cage with the wheel and proceeded to bite me when I tried to pick her up to put her back in the holding cage.

Despite this experience, I chose this course because I thought it would be fun to learn how to train an animal using conditioning techniques that we will be learning about in lecture. My first time holding my rat, she seemed a little skittish and very squirmy; she only stayed in my hands for about 10 seconds before crawling up my shirt and onto my shoulder, at which point my professor (Dr. Trench) saved her from what I'm sure would have been a graceful leap onto the floor. At this point, I hadn't yet chosen a name for her.

The next day, I returned to handle my rat and decided to give her the name Remy. Most people who know the name Remy know it from the movie Ratatouille. It is a name of French origins that is used for both males and females, and I thought it would be fitting since I have taken a few French classes over the last couple of years and loved them. Besides, I couldn't keep calling her "my rat" all semester.

I have been back to handle Remy every day since our last lab. My initial impressions haven't changed much except that I am perhaps a bit more confident about handling her and interacting with her. While she has still been very squirmy for these first couple of days and sometimes barely stayed in my hands for more than a few seconds before leaping back into the cage, I finally got a picture with her yesterday.

She seems to be warming up to me nicely! The only problem is that she is very curious and has tried to climb out of the cage a few times to explore the holding room... maybe she just wants a running wheel like that other rat from a couple of years ago.

Stay tuned for more of my adventures with Remy and my introduction to Sniffy!

-Jessica