This Talented Rat Was Taught How To Paint And His Little Paintings Are Adorable

Many people see rats as these dirty creatures who crawl through the sewers spreading disease and run to the opposite direction upon first sight of them. However, that’s a common misconception about them – they’re actually pretty smart and adorable little creatures who not only make great pets but are also quite talented. They’re so talented, in fact, Norwegian girl Amalie Markota Andersen even managed to teach her pet rat, Darius, how to paint!

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Amalie shared pictures of her little painting rat and people instantly fell in love

Image credits: nebulami

In an interview with Bored Panda, Amalie said she had rats since she was about 14 years old. “I’ve discovered how great they are as pets on the internet. Rats were just beginning to become popular as pets, I think. After I had my first rat, I just kept on getting them. Rats don’t live very long, usually 2-3 years, so I’ve had 9 so far. Darius was one of them,” said the girl.

“I got him in 2017, he was one of many rats in the litter. All the rats seemed amazing, but Darius was just too precious not to choose,” explained Amalie. “He looked so kind and gentle, I instantly fell in love with him the moment I saw him.”

Image credits: Amalie Markota Andersen

“I had him in a weird time of my life where I was trying to figure out who I was as a person, and also where I should be going in life. He was my light in the darkness,” added Amalie.

Amalie got Darius a non-toxic watercolor set and let him run around on a sheet of paper after dipping his feet in it. It usually takes Darius about 10 minutes to complete one of his paintings and his owner even managed to sell some of his works!

Image credits: Amalie Markota Andersen

Even though the original pictures on Twitter have since been deleted, Amalie documented Darius in action previously on Tumblr.

Image credits: Amalie Markota Andersen

Amalie says that Darius is pretty unusual for a rat as he’s rather shy and doesn’t like to explore as much as other rats do. “He was just fine cuddling in my lap or sleeping in my bed. He wasn’t very independent, always clinging to me like a little baby,” said the girl. “He was very attached to me and obviously I got very attached to him as well, which made it very hard for me to let him go when the time came.”

Image credits: Amalie Markota Andersen

“He wasn’t nervous or aggressive, but he simply had no interest in other people. It was really weird seeing that in a rat,” explained Amalie. “Rats usually love strangers, new places, just unexplored territory in general. But Darius didn’t care, he would just come back to me and demand some cuddles.”

Image credits: Amalie Markota Andersen

Amalie used the money she got by selling Darius’ paintings to get him a harness so both of them could explore the outdoors together.

Image credits: Amalie Markota Andersen

“I do regret selling the original a little bit,” says Amalie. “But it also makes me very happy thinking that his works are out there somewhere, hopefully still intact and well!”

Image credits: nebulami

“It’s been crazy seeing all of it blow up like this. I never expected it would make people so happy. But I’m glad it did. Unfortunately, Darius didn’t make more than 4 paintings when he was still alive, but I am thinking about doing the same thing with my current rats, Gucci and Mango,” concluded Amalie.