Adventure Time with Sujana & Ratna: The Big Finale!

This has been one heck of an experience! It has been about a month since I first met Ratna. Ratna has taught me a few things, and I have taught her a few tricks as well. I have thoroughly enjoyed interacting with Ratna. She gained trust in me as I handed and cared for her throughout these past few weeks. As for me, I learned how to be a good trainer. She has taught me to be enduring even during frustrating times. I learned various learning techniques such as magazine training, shaping, ratio, and interval schedules. Not only did I learn the concepts in class, but this lab allowed me to fully apply those techniques to use. It was really exciting to observe Ratna’s learning process. Even though she only partially got through shaping, it was still amazing to see how she picked up on what I taught her. I did, however, wish Ratna could have gotten farther because I could see she had the potential to improve significantly. As mentioned in my “problems blog post”, one way to resolve this issue would be to have longer training sessions. The only misconception I had about training was how much time each schedule would take. Based on Sniffy, I thought shaping Ratna would be quick and easy. Furthermore, I had a misconception that once an animal learned a certain behavior they would remember it forever. I quickly realized that rats are just like humans. They have their own unique personality and learn at different rates. Ratna has shown me that learning and training takes patience, dedication, and time.

I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would be able to train a rat. It’s pretty amazing that I can tell people that I was able to train a rat. Even though I once had a very disgusting view on rats, I have a newborn veneration for this species of animals. Furthermore, I now fully understand how important their role is in scientific research. This experience has prepared me with the fundamentals of training, so I can apply this to real-world life experiences. Chance, Pryor, Sniffy, class discussions, and readings for this class will help me in life for sure, especially when I have a child or dog. This experience is one I will never forget, and I will cherish the bond I have developed with the one and only “gem”, Ratna! :)