It’s Halloween on The Nerdy Rat! Liz and Matt talk about their favorite Halloween movies, Ikea’s new pet line, Flash Season 4, and more.

Ratty Topics –  We share updates about pet rat fosters and share our sadness that we had to put our beloved rattie Krysa down due to congestive heart failure and mammary tumors.

Local Animal News –  IKEA releases a new line of pet items. Also, good news for rat lovers – Washington, DC is one of the nation’s most rat-infested cities!

Ikea releases a line of pet items
DC is one of the country’s most rat infested cities.

Nerdy Topics – We talk about Halloween bonuses in our current games – a decor pack for Gardenscapes and a very elusive headless horseman mount for World of Warcraft.

What are some of our favorite Halloween movies? Classic Universal, the Christopher Lee Dracula series, Goosebumps with Jack Black, and of course the classics – Halloween, Living Dead, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street. We are attending a live appearance by Count Gore de Vol at the AFI Silver Spring this weekend for a werewolf double feature with I Was a Teenage Werewolf and American Werewolf in London, so tune in next episode for our reviews.

Also, Matt’s Extra Life stream is this weekend which benefits our Washington, DC Children’s Hospital. All donations go directly to patient care so please support this great cause!

Matt’s Twitch Channel

If you like our podcast, please consider supporting our two favorite charities.

Small Angels Rescue, Inc., is a Frederick County, MD based 501(c)(3) non-profit, no-kill, all-volunteer organization dedicated to rescuing and re-homing gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, and rats.

Extra Life unites thousands of players around the world in a 24 hour gaming marathon to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Email us questions and feedback at thenerdyrat@gmail.com !

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Liz and Matt talk about new pet rats and rat health issues, Blade Runner 2049, the SNES Mini, and more.

Ratty Topics –  We talk about how our little baby girl pet rat Dawn is fitting in and who’s protecting her in the cage when Pinky got a little aggressive.

Have you ever seen little scabs on your rats and not known what they were? Chances are your rats have mites. We talk about how Cat Revolution is the best treatment for mites, where to obtain it, and how to apply it.

Local Animal News – the two Washington, DC bald eagles have returned to their nest from their summer hiatus! Can we expect another batch of babies soon?

Nerdy Topics – There’s a new goose stealth game due for release in 2018 which looks amazing. It doesn’t have a title yet, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated on new developments. Also in gaming, we created a Nerdy Rat Steam group! We hope to see you there!

And of course, we share our lack of enthusiasm over Blade Runnner 2049 (spoiler – we weren’t impressed!)

Un-named Goose stealth game
The Nerdy Rat Steam Group
Star Wars Battlefront Loot box article

If you enjoy our podcast, please consider supporting our two favorite charities.

Small Angels Rescue, Inc., is a Frederick County, MD based 501(c)(3) non-profit, no-kill, all-volunteer organization dedicated to rescuing and re-homing gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, and rats.

Extra Life unites thousands of players around the world in a 24 hour gaming marathon to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Email us questions and feedback at thenerdyrat@gmail.com !

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Liz and Matt talk cautionary advice for owners of pet rats and discuss a special screening of The Princess Bride as well as the movie It and gaming fun.

Ratty Topics – We give foster rat updates, talk about baby pet rat Dawn moving into the big cage, and unspayed rat Krysa’s mammary tumor surgery. Also, we stopped using the Snak Shak – a loyal listener alerted us that it is toxic if rats ingest it. We also offer some tips to prevent your pet rats from biting.

7 popular rat products you didn’t know were dangerous toys

For more information about dangerous toys for pet rats, check out Podcast Episode 3. 

Local Animal News – Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary’s upcoming Open House is on Sunday, October 1, 2017.

Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary

Nerdy Topics – We saw Cary Elwes live at a 30th Anniversary screening of The Princess Bride.

Check out Episode 21 for more talk about Rodents of Unusual Size. 

On a darker note, Matt discusses the new movie It. Liz and Matt discuss what movie they can compromise on for Halloween since Liz doesn’t like true horror but will watch zombies, some vampires, and classic (hilarious) horror or Mystery Science Theater. We wonder if Count Gore De Vol will be doing some monster movie screenings this month at the AFI Silver in Silver Spring.

In gaming, Gardenscapes has a new companion app game called Homescapes, where Austin the butler renovates his parents’ dilapidated mansion. And, Matt has been playing League of Legends again with his friends.

Matt’s Extra Life stream is coming up the last weekend of October! For every dollar you donate (100% of which supports the DC Children’s Hospital patient care fund), you can request that Matt play 1 minute of any game you choose (that is free or that he currently owns.) Last year his mom made him play Candy Crush for an hour.

If you enjoy our podcast, please consider supporting our two favorite charities.

Small Angels Rescue, Inc., is a Frederick County, MD based 501(c)(3) non-profit, no-kill, all-volunteer organization dedicated to rescuing and re-homing gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, and rats.

Extra Life unites thousands of players around the world in a 24 hour gaming marathon to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Email us questions and feedback at thenerdyrat@gmail.com !

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Liz and Matt talk about good and bad pet rat accessories, a local Facebook hero, Castlevania, and more.

Ratty Topics – We talk about our new foster rats and why bonding pouches for pet rats are great (check out Liz’s Etsy shop). Also, we discuss sprains in rats and bumblefoot (and what causes sprained feet – don’t put Dollar Store plastic Halloween baskets in your cage!).

Local Animal News – We recently discovered local Facebook hero Otis T. Squeaks (a stuffed hippo) and we’re loving his photo posts. Also, did you know that there’s a hotel which offers pet goldfish for your stay?

Hotel offering goldfish services

Nerdy Topics – We talk about the new Castlevania Netflix series, a clown-only screening of the movie It, and Rick and Morty.

Clown only showing of It

Under gaming we review Gardenscapes, Magic Jigsaw Puzzles, Ziggurat, and Destiny 2.

Magic the Gathering: Arena

If you enjoy our podcast, please consider supporting our two favorite charities.

Small Angels Rescue, Inc., is a Frederick County, MD based 501(c)(3) non-profit, no-kill, all-volunteer organization dedicated to rescuing and re-homing gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, and rats.

Extra Life unites thousands of players around the world in a 24 hour gaming marathon to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Email us questions and feedback at thenerdyrat@gmail.com !

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Matt and Liz talk about their newest pet rat Krysa, The Defenders, the H3H3 lawsuit, video games  and much much more.

Ratty Topics – Doing introductions with new rat Krysa. Intros can be slow and we took our time. We also discuss why neutering male pet rats reduces their aggression towards each other. Foster rats Willow and Hummus are now doing great and have stopped fighting.

For more tips on doing rat introductions, check out podcast Episode 1 and Episode 6. 

Local Animal News – Check our our YouTube Channel featuring videos of our very own rats!

The Nerdy Rat Youtube Channel

Nerdy Topics – Liz is playing a plethora of inexpensive or free Steam games – Hero of the Kingdom, Legionwood: Tale of the Two Swords, and Building the Great Wall of China 2.

Popular video team H3H3 wins their lawsuit. Why is that important and what was it about? We’ll tell you! Matt tells us what Grimmz and the Honkapalypse is (Liz has no idea.) And of course, we give you our review of Netflix series The Defenders.

H3h3 wins lawsuit
Matt’s dream arcade cab

If you enjoy our podcast, please consider supporting our two favorite charities.

Small Angels Rescue, Inc., is a Frederick County, MD based 501(c)(3) non-profit, no-kill, all-volunteer organization dedicated to rescuing and re-homing gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, and rats.

Extra Life unites thousands of players around the world in a 24 hour gaming marathon to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Email us questions and feedback at thenerdyrat@gmail.com !

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Email | RSS

Matt and Liz talk about our new foster pet rats, rat enrichment DIY, Valerian and The City of a Thousand Planets, and more.

Ratty Topics – We had to put down our beloved pet rat TippyToe due to old age and congestive heart failure. We miss her so much!! Rats are so empathetic to each other when they are sick and Pinky and Baby Groot took good care of Aunt TippyToe her last few days.

We had some biting rats as fosters and we share some tips for how to make them bite less. Let them settle in to their new environment without forcing interactions, make sure they have enough wood toys to chew on, and gently push back on their mouth when they bite. Very gently and with love! Parent animals check their youngsters like this when their play biting gets too aggressive and you can do it, too.

We also give some tips for DIY rat enrichment.

For more rat enrichment ideas, check out podcast Episode 19.

Local Animal News – Rats care for kittens at a special cat cafe! We tell you all about it.

Rats caring for kittens

For more news about cat cafes, check out podcast Episode 20. 

Nerdy Topics –  We groan and moan about Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and the SNES Mini. But on the bright side, Liz loves her newly discovered iPhone game Gardenscapes.

Mads Mikkelsen wants to play Doctor Doom

If you enjoy our podcast, please consider supporting our two favorite charities.

Small Angels Rescue, Inc., is a Frederick County, MD based 501(c)(3) non-profit, no-kill, all-volunteer organization dedicated to rescuing and re-homing gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, and rats.

Extra Life unites thousands of players around the world in a 24 hour gaming marathon to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Email us questions and feedback at thenerdyrat@gmail.com !

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Liz and Matt talk about pink eyed white pet rats (PEWs), our new fosters, and Spider-man Homecoming.

Ratty Topics – What’s the deal with those albino pet rats? Pink-eyed whites have a few special characteristics besides their coloring. Have you ever seen your rats scoot up sideways to each other, crouching down low? That’s a submissive pose. We talk about why Pinky did that to Fieval.

Local Animal News – A young bald eagle was found injured in the DC area and taken to a rescue rehabilitation center. Was it one of the DC eagle babies from last year? Also, the DC Eagle Cam is raising money for new cameras. Please help them out!

DC bald eagle saved
Raising money for new DC eagle cam

Nerdy Topics – Joan Lee, wife of Marvel Comics Creator Stan Lee, passed away. They had been married for almost 70 years! What a love story. Speaking of love, we loved Spider-Man: Homecoming and we’ll tell you why. We were less enamored with this season’s Supergirl finale. But we re-watched Aliens which was a lot of fun.

Very nice article about Joan Lee (wife of Stan Lee) who passed away

If you enjoy our podcast, please consider supporting our two favorite charities.

Small Angels Rescue, Inc., is a Frederick County, MD based 501(c)(3) non-profit, no-kill, all-volunteer organization dedicated to rescuing and re-homing gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, and rats.

Extra Life unites thousands of players around the world in a 24 hour gaming marathon to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Email us questions and feedback at thenerdyrat@gmail.com !

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Email | RSS

Liz and Matt talk about dealing with pregnant pet rats, baby rats, and unexpected rat babies, baby eagles in Washington, DC, Supergirl, Doctor Who, Transformers 5, video games and more.

Ratty Topics – OMG! Do you have unexpected rat babies? Maybe you thought you had two same sex rats and now one is pregnant? It happens frequently when pet stores don’t know how to properly sex rats. We give you lots of tips on caring for pregnant mommas and newborn babies.

Most importantly, identify the sex and separate the males and females at 5 weeks. This is sexual maturity and if you do not separate out the males at 5 weeks, they can impregnate their sisters AND their mom! Yikes! Don’t let that happen.

Local Animal News – We talk about the Washington DC bald eagles who have an eagle cam on their nest.

DC Eagle Cam

Nerdy News – One of our favorite charities is Games Done Quick and their summer fundraising runs are about to start.

Summer Games Done Quick starts July 2

We also talk about the Supergirl series, Doctor Who, and Transformers 5. Finally, we discuss some video games (and our issues with them).

Dead Cells on Steam
Don’t Pre-order Battlefront 2
Nintendo announces and discontinues to the SNES Mini

If you enjoy our podcast, please consider supporting our two favorite charities.

Small Angels Rescue, Inc., is a Frederick County, MD based 501(c)(3) non-profit, no-kill, all-volunteer organization dedicated to rescuing and re-homing gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, and rats.

Extra Life unites thousands of players around the world in a 24 hour gaming marathon to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Email us questions and feedback at thenerdyrat@gmail.com !

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Email | RSS

Liz and Matt talk about new foster pet rats, Wonder Woman and more. PS we know the illustration is of Captain Marvel! 

Ratty Topics – We talk about our new foster pet rats and some exciting news for It’s A Rat’s World Magazine.

It’s a Rat’s World Magazine

Local Animal News – We share some updates on the DC Bald Eagle cam which Liz is obsessed with. Also, we talk about healthy food options for cats with fewer carbohydrates.

DC Eagle cam
List of food for diabetic cats with carb listing

Nerdy Topics – We saw Wonder Woman! And LOVED it, of course. We tell you why.

Also, we discuss some gaming topics – Gigantic and a popular streamer, Sheriff Eli.

Gigantic computer game
Sheriff Eli

If you enjoy our podcast, please consider supporting our two favorite charities.

Small Angels Rescue, Inc., is a Frederick County, MD based 501(c)(3) non-profit, no-kill, all-volunteer organization dedicated to rescuing and re-homing gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, and rats.

Extra Life unites thousands of players around the world in a 24 hour gaming marathon to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Email us questions and feedback at thenerdyrat@gmail.com !

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Email | RSS

Matt and Liz talk about their new pet rat Toro, traveling with Kitten, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Alien Covenant, Flash, Shield, and Doctor Who.

Ratty Topics – How to handle difficult rat introductions (hint: a lot of patience with the intros is needed – it might take weeks to fully integrate your new pet rats with your existing pack.) Also, why it’s not good to own a single pet rat and why introducing them to friends might be extra difficult (but definitely possible and soooo worth it!) A bonding pouch can be helpful to force loving snuggling.

For more tips on doing rat intros, check out podcast Episode 1 and Episode 11. 

Have you experienced leaking water bottles? We have a great tip for how to fill plastic water bottles so they don’t leak. No more stinky wet bedding!

Local Animal News – Liz rescues (another) lost cat and we explain why we are against letting your cat be an outdoor cat. Also, we love the Washington DC Eagle Cam Watchers Facebook page! And in personal animal news, we took our cat Kitten on vacation with us to Ocean City.

DC Eagle Cam Watchers

Nerdy Topics – We talk about Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Alien Covenant, and the current seasons of Flash, Agents of SHIELD, and Doctor Who.

The Fifth Element is 20 years old

If you enjoy our podcast, please consider supporting one of our two favorite charities. 

Small Angels Rescue, Inc., is a Frederick County, MD based 501(c)(3) non-profit, no-kill, all-volunteer organization dedicated to rescuing and re-homing gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, and rats.

Extra Life unites thousands of players around the world in a 24 hour gaming marathon to support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Email us questions and feedback at thenerdyrat@gmail.com !

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Email | RSS