Lauren

I have a female rat who is 10 months old, very sweet, as well as quick and agile on her feet, like most rats. Up until 2 days ago. I got her and her sister out of the cage to run around, and I noticed that Penelope was walking weirdly. Her back legs don't seem to be in sync with her front legs. She can still run and hop around, but her gait is irregular. She can't climb very well, because those hind legs just won't do what she wants them to do for her. It almost seems like she had a stroke, but that doesn't make sense because she is so young...

Does anyone know what could be wrong? Or have any ideas about where to head from here?

I love this little rat and it is terrible to see her like this.

Thanks in advance.

I am babysitting out of town for the weekend, and traveling along with the family that I babysit for. I am giving up my weekend for this and I also have two finals the day after we get back. I will be actually babysitting inbetween 17 and 20 hours at $8 an hour. But I don't know how much to charge for compensation. Does $200 or $250 sound too high? Thanks.

Or how long do you plan on it?

Also how long were you breastfed as a baby?

I am a high school student that has gotten no less than 6 A's per semester --- until recently. My grades are dropping, I now have a cold from lack of sleep, I am having trouble doing my homework, and I have been missing class because of unintentionally sleeping late from a lack of sleep. All of these things are indirect results of my addiction. I made the connection a few days ago, looked up the signs --- ALL of them apply to me. Basically, if I turn on the computer I am powerless against myself to turn it off. I need to do something about it soon, because my life is being very negatively affected by it. Does anyone have any suggestions? Self-help techniques would be preferred, but I am open to other options. Thanks so much!

i am 17 and have been attempting to orgasm in different ways, but i can't seem to get "there." the closest i have gotten is running hot water on my clit in the bathtub, but i can't hold the position long enough because of the intensity. does this mean that i am simply not ready yet? thanks

i really want to do something that is hands on with little babies, as in under a year. not so much as a neonatal nurse....any suggestions? thanks guys!

so im 16 and i have never shaved or done anything with the hair "down there." i was just curious...do you guys trim "it?" if so, how much? please give me some insight. =/ thanxs!

ok, so my sister is 27 and her due date was tomorrow, but as it turned out, her amniotic fluid was drying up inside her uterus (she told me it was about 4.5 instead of 20), even though she wasn't leaking at all. that's what the doctor told her at least. so then last night they induced her in the hospital with pitocin, and she was up to 13cc's and still only one cm dialated. she said that it made the contractions very painful, and the baby didn't like it either. (she didn't get any sleep the entire night.) so just about a half hour ago she got an epidural so she is completely numb, but after all that only 3 cm! i am also wondering, was all of that really necessary? i know that inducing is very stressful for the baby who tends to come at its own pace. on top of that, my sister is exhausted and she hasn't even gotten half-way yet! please give me some answers on this, i am really wanting to know more details. thanks you guys!

what kind of deodorant have you found to work best? i use the unscented ban, but it doesn't seem to work that well.... =/

like, what things make you say, oh there goes an american!

I babysit for two bilingual kids, they are 2 and 4. the younger one turned 2 in june, and he is still only saying about maybe 10 words clearly. i am just curious about other people's experiences are with bilingual children. thanks!

im clueless on this one.

last week i was at a waterpark waiting in line for a slide. i heard this guy behind me say to his friends, "there's a freakin' lesbian working here, and...she also does it with guys!" i was just so disgusted by these people, #1, have you ever heard of being bisexual, and #2, so what if she's a lesbian? i could care less whether she was straight or gay or bi, and its her personal business who she wants to have sex with. i guess what im asking is, what is your view on gay/lesbian people? and also, does it bother you when people say. "that is so gay!" it annoys the hell out of me. i always like to say, and what exactly is so gay about it? very innocently.........type away, peeps! =)

im 16, and i always use pads when i get my period. i have tried tampons and hated them. last night i was texting to my sister (who is 26) and she said that "nobody she knows wears those diapers, and she swears she could point out someone who did." obviously she was exaggerating on the second part, but now im wondering, does anybody else wear pads?

i have very fine hair, about shoulder length. this afternoon i rode on the freeway in an open jeep for an hour. my hair was pulled back into a ponytail. my problem is that the hair on top of my head is now knoted and severely tangled. how do i untangle it? please help!!!

so my friend and i "scuffle" a lot. can you guys give me a little advice (aka dirty tricks) that i can use on him. =) one of my favorites is bending the pinky finger up and back, but not too hard because it can really hurt...thanks!

(I know that this is in the wrong section, but I value the opinions of the people here much more than "adolescents")

For 4 years I went to a private school with 10 other people in my class. We were all very close, and had lots of fun together. This year we all went to the local high school for 9th grade. My problem is with five of the girls, one of who I've been especially close with since 1st grade, until now. So once school started I would go up to them on the quad and be like, hey, what's up.....and stuff like that, just talking to them, because we were friends. But they would never answer me! I was blown away, because it was like they didn't even notice me. I went through this for three weeks and then I decided that I was not going to do that any more. My plan was to get over it and move on, but I forgot that I am a very sensitive person and its hard for me to just let things go. So all that did was bury the hurt I felt at being ignored by my friends. I didn't talk to any of them for the entire school year, more or less. We had a class get-together last week and I didn't talk to them because I was still pretty upset. It has been so long since it happened, but I still want to talk to them about it. (I care about them all very much.) Do you think that they would be willing to listen this late in the game? And what could I say to make it about me, not like I'm not attacking them? Thanks so much!