Matt and Liz talk about issues in older rats, giant rats, Black Panther, and decluttering the nerd stash.
Ratty News – Our four foster rat brothers got adopted! Yay! By a repeat adopter for Small Angels Rescue. We are so happy that all four bonded brothers got to stay together. 
Liz’s heart rat Toro has been king of the snuggle pile recently – the other ratties are snuggling him a lot in the hammock and he is really happy about it. We think the bonding pouch has helped – PS they are available for sale on our Etsy shop, made by Liz.  
Toro’s long teeth are getting trimmed again this week. Overgrown teeth is an issue to watch out for in older rats. Our older foster rat Nova is showing signs of degenerative back legs which means she is starting to drag her back legs. It’s not painful and is fairly common in aging rats. 
Check out podcast Episode 4 and Episode 20 for more information on caring for elderly rats. 
Local Animal News – Is that an ROUS in the USA? Kind of, yeah! Nutria are giant rodents that can grow up to 20 lbs. Which is great, but unfortunately, they’re an invasive species in the United States and destroy ecosystems by devouring plant life. They were eradicated in Maryland but invading Louisiana and have reappeared in California after a long absence.
National Geographic article on nutria rodents
Nutria eliminated in Maryland
Check out podcast Episode 13 for more talk about Rodents of Unusual Size.
Nerdy Topics – We saw Black Panther this weekend. Not surprisingly, we loved it! We tell you why. 
Liz and Matt are working on decluttering – Liz has started the KonMari method and has worked up to letting go of comics she no longer wants. Matt got inspired and decluttered a lot of Magic cards – but he also made a lot of money selling off some valuable ones!
The KonMari method by Marie Kondo
Site to sell Magic cards – CardKingdom
Matt also fitted out the retro gaming room with a SteamLink. Castle Crashers, here we come! Matt also recently started playing Subnautica. 
And, we got Bon Jovi tickets for May! Which isn’t nerdy news, it’s HARDCORE AWESOME NEWS! 
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.
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