Rat TB

[+gazzNsam]

I've just ordered my first tb dog tag set, and i'm trying to find a suitable fancy rat figurine,

 

the reason i want to do this tb.... we were traveling around germany last year, and fell in love with a husky rat in a pet shop in brandenberg (berlin) we got him, and hence called him Branden.

we got a cage for the motorhome, and he traveled with us down the old east germany, into austria, switzerland, and halfway back up germany's western side,

 

where he became very ill, and died at just over 4 months old, he's burried in frankfurt, and we were and still are very sad he didnt get to travel with us more or see england.

 

So i want to do a tb as a memorial to him, and have this one travel where he couldent go, i'll put his full story on the tb page, which would be a condnsed version of http://www.kampenwagen.co.uk/branden.htm but i'm worried someone seeing a rat figurine in a cache would chuck it out because they dont like rats or something,

 

i had some calouse people e-mailing me after reading his story on my web site saying it's a good thing he dies, one less vermin rat in the world etc, and i understand some people just cant see the differance between a pet fancy rat and a wild rat (imagine your pet dog, and a wolf) and don't understand how much they bond to their keepers.

 

i would like a lifelike figurine, but maybe i should go for something different? but still rat shaped, maybe a pewter rat, this being the chinese year of tha rat and all that.

Edited June 18, 2008 by gazzNsam

[+Eartha]

Don't make it with anything fragile, like a porcelain figurine. It will get broken. I suggest a plastic realistic looking rat, or metal. Something you can attach a sturdy chain or cable through for the dog tag. I don't think that would bother anyone.

 

I found these in a search for TBs using the keyword rat. The rest that came up were mostly piRATe and CommemoRATive ones.

 

There's Benny the Rat.

 

MirMar's Cache Rat.

 

Ratatouille.

 

Ratatouille Twins.

Edited June 19, 2008 by Eartha

[+ncfinn]

I think a cute cartoony-looking figurine would be the best. Plush toys end up wet and stinky. A realistic-looking rat would probably not get picked up as much, but I can't imagine a cacher actually throwing it away.

What ever you do, be emotionally prepared to lose the item.

[+KoosKoos]

I'd never have a pet rat (fancy, vermin or otherwise), but I think it would be a sweet memorial to your pet and I'd gladly move a bug like that around. Definitely don't make it anything fragile or anything that gets nasty when wet (cache travel can be rough). I can't see how a realistic one would cause any problems.

[+gazzNsam]

Here's the sort of thing i had in mind

 

 

Don't think he'd stay in a geocache for too long tho, and he does look a bit like a wild rat, but he dosent act like one at all, he's the softest nicest sweetest thing around.

[theSnooze]

I have been lurking/reading for a while now. TB seem to have a habit of sometimes disappearing, so as long as you are prepared to lose the TB without being emotionally devastated then I personally feel that honoring someone, pet or person, who made an impact on your life in a way that helps you to grieve could never be a bad thing.

 

So you get a +1 from me for going ahead with the memorial TB as I myself was thinking about releasing a TB to honor my uncle.

 

I know that plush toys can be less than ideal for a TB due to the weather (and this one is a big large) , etc but I can't imagine anyone being offended or not wanting to help something like this keep on moving Rat Plush Toy

 

Take care, and happy caching!

[+TeamLoveBird]

I wouldn't do the plush type. As theSnooze said, they get wet and moldy and yuck. I have seen some TBs that are photo keychains sealed all the way around to keep water out. Those are nice because they're the right size to fit in different types of cache containers. Or you could just laminate some cardstock with a photo on one side and a little note explaining the TB on the other side - maybe attach a metal charm or some other small traveler item? I hope you'll let us know when you release it.

 

*edited to say *HI* to theSnooze and welcome to the forums!

I ended up posting under the wrong name, as I changed over to this one a few days ago, oops...but thank you for the warm welcome

[+Eartha]

Here's the sort of thing i had in mind

 

 

Don't think he'd stay in a geocache for too long tho, and he does look a bit like a wild rat, but he dosent act like one at all, he's the softest nicest sweetest thing around.

 

It's been done. Here's an old thread post I thought you might get kick out of. In case you ever hear reference to Hamster caching, this isn't the original thread, but I couldn't find the original. No hamsters were injured in the playing of this game.

[+ArcherDragoon]

Here's the sort of thing i had in mind

 

 

Don't think he'd stay in a geocache for too long tho, and he does look a bit like a wild rat, but he dosent act like one at all, he's the softest nicest sweetest thing around.

 

It's been done. Here's an old thread post I thought you might get kick out of. In case you ever hear reference to Hamster caching, this isn't the original thread, but I couldn't find the original. No hamsters were injured in the playing of this game.

I saw the pic and had the same thought...

.

.

.

Hampster Caching is the Best!!!

[+gazzNsam]

Well, i'm getting a baby ratty to add to my 'collection' in a couple of weeks time, when she's old enough to leave her mum, but i aint putting her in a cache.... dont want to start rat caching

 

decided to put the branden memorial tb on hold, i really want to find just the right pewter rat figurine, and i think i'm in for a bit of a wait.

 

so in the meantime i've ordered 4 rat fridge magnets, each one is a differen colour/marking patern to match my real ratties... including the little baby ratty that will be living with us soon,

 

So i'll release all the ratties TB's at the same time and have them race each other around the world,

 

Now, should i release all 4 of them in once cache? or in different caches, i dont have any caches of my own,

 

i guess if there was a caching event near nottingham in the next few weeks, i could release them then, but i aint looked yet, but whats the best way to release multiple tb's at the same time?

[+midnightrosefashions]

your branden was very cute. i thought it was a mouse at first as my thoughts of rats aren't so pretty. indiana jones thing i guess. as far as doing a tb, i would be taken back finding something like that in a cache, but hey, so what. i wouldn't throw it, especially if it had a tb tag like a dog tag on a collar or something. i seen a rubber rat, plain white, at a dept store a couple weeks ago. it had some kind of beads inside that made it lifelike and squishy. looked and felt real, but smooth and no hair. i didn't get it as i figured it would get dirty and nasty looking fast, but the thoughts of making it a tb was really strong hehehe. so make your tbs as lifelike as you can, just take the elements into consideration and i hope they make it across the see so i might find it one day.

[kimandmilo]

We rats! Our pet rat, Yoshi, is the fattest and most spoiled rat I've ever met. He comes with us in his travel cage when we go on weekend trips. Anyone who tells you that it's a good thing your pet died (no matter what species) is very cruel!

[+Castle Mischief]

We would totally pick up a realistic looking rat TB. We had four a few years ago that we were very found of. They were some of the most interesting pets we've ever had.

 

Heck, this account name (and the avatar) is partly in their honor.

[+TeamAtlas]

I'm sorry for the loss of your pet and sorry someone was so cruel as to tell you they were glad he died. I love snakes and have had many pet pythons over the years (um, yeah we fed them mice, sorry!) but people don't understand having them as pets either. When my last one died I had a few folks say the same thing. I think the laminated picture of Branden, attached by keychain to the TB, is a great idea. Most of the TB's we find are in plastic bags, so even if you go with a realistic or plush rat, you could put it in a baggie and hope for the best. Good luck!