A man from Lincolnshire walks his two-foot Gambian pouched rat on a lead down the street, and the animal helps him cook lasagne while wearing a tiny chef's hat, just like in Disney's Ratatouille. Owner Martin Critchlow, 58, admits his neighbours think he is 'nuts' but says the rat, named Elvis, is 'really chilled out'.
Elvis the rat's daily life
One-year-old Elvis enjoys trips to the park, sitting on swings, and eating treats such as Battenburg cake, Mr Kipling custard creams, and Swiss roll. Martin, a lorry deliverer from Sutton Bridge, perches the rat on his shoulder while cooking and takes him for walks, saying 'It's not you walking him, it's him walking you'.
Martin spends £40 a week so his pets can eat fresh fruit and vegetables every day, and says Elvis will 'eat anything' but has a particular taste for figs. He admits some people mistake his pet for a 'New York sewer rat' due to his size, but stresses Elvis is not yet fully grown.
Best buddies with a Chihuahua
Elvis is 'best buddies' with Martin's pet Chihuahua dog Rocci, and clips show the duo playing happily together. Martin says his wife 'knows what he's like' but she is able to 'watch anything she wants on the TV' while he spends time with his animals.
Martin said: "Elvis is a really chilled out rat, he's one you can take out, sit him on your shoulder. You can go to the beach, you can take him in a shop. I like taking him out on a walk on my shoulder."
Changing perspectives on rats
Martin has a total of nine Gambian pouched rats and 100 harvest mice. He gained a following online for his harvest mouse Mr Jingles, and now wants his rats to have the same success. He said: "Everyone in the village knows me as Mr Jingles."
African giant pouched rats have an incredible sense of smell and are renowned for being trained to sniff out landmines, while also having been used in experiments to find tuberculosis in humans. Martin said: "They're highly intelligent animals. They're the ones they use in Africa to sniff out landmines. These animals save lives, they even sniff out Tuberculosis in humans."
He added: "I'm changing people's perspective on the animal where they're starting to think you know what these aren't that bad. I'm opening their eyes up to a different side of them. I love them and they love me too."
