iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Look at her weird foot.

A rat foot. One of its digits is partially missing.

ear drops did Nothing so she's been upgraded to oral antibiotics and im so glad vanilla ice cream masks it enough for her it already smells and looks better lol it's been like a day

A fluffy gray pet rat licking melted vanilla ice cream that's been spiked with medicine from a small bowl

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 14h

sable sleeps like she's dead and it bothers me

A mink colored rat sleeping in a strange position with her eyes slightly open. She is squeezed between two other rats in a basket.

The same rat getting her little head poked with a single finger. She is awake.

She is looking at the poker, disgruntled.

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Cartoonists United @cartoonist.coop · 28/09/2026

Are you and your webcomic affected by the impending Tapas shutdowns? In light of recent events, the CartUn journal has published a new guide on webcomic hosting and moving platforms. journal.cartoonist.coop/webcomic-hos...

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 27/09/2026

Lilo & Stitch, Shrek, Star Wars: Phantom Menace, Inspector Gadget, Godzilla (1998), Pokémon 2000, I'm sure there were more. We had one close enough to us when i was a kid that we'd go pretty often in the summer, they were great

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 27/09/2026

oh i also saw lilo & stitch at a drive-in lol

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🪲johnny🪲 @ozarkobscura.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

vet appointment at 10, i'm laying in bed just overwhelmed and heartbroken and i just want my dog to be okay. we've got about 70 dollars. pls share. i'm sorry to keep begging but this is for my dog, and i will do fucking anything for him to be okay. pls pls pls share.

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Nicole aka Nimasprout @nimasprout.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

🌹 Rose & Berries 🌹 Acryla gouache and airbrush on watercolor paper mounted on arched wood panel. An ode to summer and our garden 💖 Part of Antler Gallery group exhibition opening tonight in PDX

Arched panel painting featuring roses, raspberries and fever few flowers.

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 23/09/2026

ollie and her sister both sleep like rocks, neither immediately wake up when touched and sometimes they even seem startled when they finally do wish i could get some deep sleep like that lol, lucky rats

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Pam Wishbow @pamwishbow.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Today’s experiments done between ipad charging sessions

Photo of a desk with a mixed media illustration of a jar of garlc with flowers in it

Photo of a desk with a mixed media illustration of a crow with poppies and a candle

Photo of a desk with a mixed media illustration of flowers in a chili jar

Photo of a desk with a mixed media illustration of a snake and scissors

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Allie @rally.luckyraven.cc · 22/09/2026

Webtoons is a brand name. People have been calling the medium "webcomics" for about thirty or so years now. I think this distinction is important.

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Bwillett Comics, Monster Boyfriend Specialist @bwillettcomics.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

It's not lost on me a man attacked a women in a way she needed to be hospitalized, and he was allowed to still vend at the con until arrested. What. The. Hell.

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 19/09/2026

Idk if it helps but i for one am very excited to see what kind of cool shit you're gonna get up to and build

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taylr @taylordahlin.com · 19/09/2026

if you’re the white woman who was picking up a bat in downtown minneapolis on hennepin ave between washington & 3rd on 9/15 at noon, the minnesota department of health would like to talk to you because that shit was RABID! i would also like to talk to you because girl, wtf

mi
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
protecting, maintaining and improving the health of il Minesotans
RABID BAT FOUND ON SIDEWALK
On Tuesday, September 15 at about 12pm, a bat was found on the sidewalk on Hennepin Ave between N. Washington Ave and N 3°St.
The bat died and was sent for rabies testing. This bat tested positive for
rabies.
A woman was seen crouching by the bat and putting it into a bag. She was described as a 25-to-30-year-old white woman, about 5'5", with curly brown hair and a curly-haired golden retriever-like dog. If this was you, please call 911 and ask to be connected to Animal Care & Control.
Bites from bats are tiny, may be painless, and may not leave a mark. An person who had physical contact or touched this bat should talk with health care provider this weekend for assessment. During the week, Minnesota Department of Health can also provide rabies assessments at 651-201-5414.
If vou did not touch or have any contact with the bat, you have no risk of rabies and do not need shots.

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Feli @vogelkasper.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Echo is like the embodiment of love 😭🩷

A brown and white pet rat resting her head on a human's finger.

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 17/09/2026

i care a lot about rats, ok

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 17/09/2026

I'm just venting and grieving, ultimately. Losing Fish 4 days after saying goodbye to Wren, BOTH to pituitary tumors, hurts. Neither deserved to experience what lead to their deaths. Fish wasn't even 2 yet. The ability to know before you breed exists but access to the information isn't. It's awful.

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 17/09/2026

Some breeders, despite allegedly doing it for years, don't even know the basics. It's not like breeding rats is profitable at all. But if you can't tell the difference between varieties, I can only assume bringing little pinky beans into the world is a dopamine hit. Not something you care about.

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 17/09/2026

It sucks, and I'm mad about it, and there's not really anybody to blame here--it's just, unfortunately, how things are, and I wouldn't know the first thing about fixing it. But it's almost enraging to visit a breeder's website and to see photos of Himalayan rats labeled as Siamese.

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 17/09/2026

And why did the rat need surgery? Odds are, they had a tumor! Which is, for the most part, influenced by their genetics! And nobody can ever know for sure what their genes look like, because there just aren't the services available for looking into it. Everybody's just making guesses.

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 17/09/2026

Rats are great, but as an owner, you have to be prepared for the phrase, "My rat has a hole in it," being a real and literal situation you might find yourself in. And you might find yourself here because the rat needed surgery and the stitches opened back up.

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 17/09/2026

I was looking because what happened to Nova back in January freaked me out enough that I wanted to see what Fish, Ollie, and Sable might have going on, but to see the available options, and to realize that breeding is, ultimately, a HUGE game of luck? Who benefits from this? Not the rat.

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 17/09/2026

It's not like I haven't looked--it's just the only options that exist for sequencing a rat are very clearly targeted toward laboratories. I've found places that'll send you test tubes, but they're expecting tail or ear clippings in return. For obvious reasons, I can't and don't want to do that! 🙃

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 17/09/2026

We have the entire genome of the Norway rat sequenced because of their utility as a laboratory animal. This should be avoidable! We know what genes cause the worst problems! Hell, even secret things you can't know unless you put them under anesthesia--we know those genes, too!

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 17/09/2026

In order to know exactly what your rats carry, you would have to go through tens of generations of animals, many of which will suffer, and have the ability to house and care for and observe ALL of them. That's so much pain and time and money! And what gets me is like, we could just look!

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 17/09/2026

For example, it took until well past the age of 2 for those of my rats who developed it to show any signs of hind leg degeneration. By the time you know, the animals are too old to breed. And there's still the issue of secret things that are there, but just never expressed for nebulous reasons.

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 17/09/2026

Males become capable of breeding at around the same time and are viable for quite a bit longer, which is why any decent breeder will wait for a male to turn 1 with no health issues before pairing. But that still leaves a lot of questions that can only be answered by waiting even longer.

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 17/09/2026

Contrary to what most people probably believe, rats cannot safely and reliably breed their whole lives--females can get pregnant at 4-5 weeks, but it's only actually safe to breed at a minimum of 4-6 months old. And the closer they get to 1 year, the risk of complications increases significantly.

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 17/09/2026

Now you have 8 or more rats who might be happy and healthy their whole life (Deimos), or who might have a struggle (Wren), or who might have their lives cut short by something horrible (Fish and Nova). The thing is, the only information you can truly learn is coat color and temperament!

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 17/09/2026

I wish there were easy to access options for genetic testing for rat breeding because, at the moment, the only way to know what an animal might carry, be that a color modifier or a recessive genetic illness, is to pair your two favorite siblings and observe the resulting offspring.

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Jinti is Making Passive Notice Checks @jinti.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

y'all should push for Universal Basic Income 'cuz artists that aren't stressin' over rent and groceries and taxes all the time WILL draw freakier, more unmarketable shit

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Cartoonists United @cartoonist.coop · 20/06/2026

Have you filled out the third annual Comic Worker Survey? If not, this is the time to support your fellow comics workers! Your answers will help address pay disparities for a more transparent and equal comics industry. Take the survey here: cartoonist.coop/2026comicwor... Art by @urnash.com

Inkling, an inkwell, is standing atop a pile of gold bars, gleefully waving a fistful of money in the air. Nibford, a dip pen, is clutching a single nickel to their chest and trying their best not to cry, Floating text urges you to TAKE THE 2026 COMIC WORKERS SURVEY! because PAY TRANSPARENCY HELPS US REACH PAY EQUALITY!

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Krispy @feathernotes.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Hey fellow webcomickers and readers! Did you know that my peers and I have been working on cataloguing all of the webcomics from ALL over the web in one spot for you to check out? You should submit your comic if you haven't, or find a new comic to read! webcomictravelogue.com

a screen shot of the website 'the webcomic travelogue' that features a comic in a banner, a big button to submit your comic, and recently updated comics in a row

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 14/09/2026

i think it might be the side effects in regard to gaba that they don't like; i've had two people tell me now they suck lol. Because they WILL take it the first time it's offered. It's the next dose they refuse, so I don't think it's the taste.

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 14/09/2026

They're the dumbest little geniuses is my point I guess lmao 😭

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 14/09/2026

Wren's meds always needed to be mixed in a very specific way for her to take them because she was picky, but again, once gabapentin was involved, she suddenly became nearly impossible to medicate and it took her time to trust food she knew had medication in it again.

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 14/09/2026

Another rat Felix had cancer and was already on meds that he was taking without issue, but we ended up adding gabapentin for pain management too. Suddenly, all meds were refused. We took out the gabapentin since that was the only change and he was fine again.

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 14/09/2026

Ollie had burns all over her back after a surgery and when we realized what happened (it took a day+ to look like a burn for some reason), gabapentin was added to what she was already (begrudgingly) taking. Now, about a full year later, I still can't get her to take anything willingly ;.;

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 14/09/2026

I've had enough rats get it prescribed enough times to notice a pattern now--they'll historically have no issue with meds, they'll be prescribed gabapentin, and then suddenly I can't get them to take anything after they've taken that

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 14/09/2026

I'm not asking what to mask medication in though, I'm asking if anyone else has ever had the experience that is a rat who used to take meds fine suddenly became averse after being given gabapentin once lol

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 14/09/2026

The question being, has anybody else had their rats suddenly start rejecting medications or become difficult to medicate after specifically gabapentin was given to them lol

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 14/09/2026

oh you misunderstand the question here--i have had rats who are very good about taking meds suddenly reject all medications entirely regardless of what it is or what I've mixed it with as soon as what i've given them last happens to be gabapentin

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Ray @tuxedodemon.com · 14/09/2026

anybody else have the experience of giving a rat gabapentin and then after that point they refuse to take any medicine ever again ever i've had this happen with more than one rat and now im trying to see how common this is

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