Looking for clay or something I can use...

[Skelletonimp]

What kind of clay can I use to take a print of my rat her paw?
I don't just want to use any kind of clay which might hurt her.
I'm looking for a clay that gets hard so I can fill it with something else so I can " clone"  her paw.
(sorry i can't find the right words right now so I hope you understand what I mean  )

I want to do this so I can use her paw-clone to make a ink paw print with it, which will be my tattoo design.
I don't want to use her actual paw for it, not even with non-toxic paint.

Can anyone help me please?

Thank you

[Kiwi]

I think you can get some hand-print type kits for kids, usually in an art store like Michael's or such. Those should be non-toxic being for kids.

[Skelletonimp]

Oops, I totally forgot to mention I life in the Netherlands. We have different stores here. But thanks for the tip, maybe I can find those kits here too!

[kaoskat]

Not sure but if you can find the handprint kits Kiwi mentioned, I'm sure they'd work.

[melodys_angel]

sculpey is non toxic but your rattie would have to press pretty hard to get an imprint

Id second what Kiwi suggested--it might be a plaster of paris thing where you need to wait for it to set 1/2 way before getting a print in

[True]

I did something with my son when he was just a year old, its like what everyone else is talking about only you use a casting gel/clay first? I dont know if youve ever gotten your teeth cast (for like braces or something xD) but its like that, its a liquid like substance you mix up, then you stick what you want cast inside it, it hardens pretty quick but is still flexible enough to get whatever you put in it back out, in my case xD my sons fist haha.

you let that harden still for a bit i believe after you remove whatever it is your making a mold of, then you poor plaster inside it, once the plaster is hard you can just break the mold off around it.

I'm not sure if youre looking to make plaster molds, but this kit I got was also made for babies so it should also be non-toxic and safe in that respect. and maybe you can use the impression thing for other things like resin or something more durable then plaster.

id suggest doing what everyone else mentioned and looking in a craft section of a store, I cant remember what this was called, but it was a pretty generic impression kit.

[Eviecorn]

I'd just look for any kind of clay that's non-toxic.

[PandoraFox]

Oops, I totally forgot to mention I life in the Netherlands. We have different stores here. But thanks for the tip, maybe I can find those kits here too!

I live in the Netherlands too, and I think I've seen those kinds of kits around before.

[Dainty]

I've actually seen someone who got a tattoo of her rat's feet on the back of her shoulder She just had her rat step on a non toxic ink pad and then step on paper. You can wash your rats foot off right away, so you shouldn't worry about anything!

[Cron Sacchariferous]

Eeeeee! Thats too cute making a mold of your rat's paw and making a plack or something of the sort.  Makes me wished I have done this for my past pets.

[Jinxxy]

They do have those kits at Michaels (or online if they don't have them in your area) for cloning the fist of a baby..

Good luck getting a rattie to sit still for the curing process though! You better have some yogies on hand!

[Skelletonimp]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I decided to try something else since rats don't sit still very long and don't like to stand in strange things.

Dainty: I have a good reasons why I don't want to use ink and such. The rat I want to do this with is a naked rat. She's more sensitive to a lot of things then normal rats. And I'd rather not wash her when it's still cold outside.

I'm going to try beet juice. I've read that it will leave a clear print and doesn't harm the rat. I also think she wouldn't mint having beet juice on her foot, at least less then things like ink or paint.

[Jinxxy]

You can also use food colouring. It's completely harmless to rats (hairless and otherwise) and have her walk along papers and things.
I did a collage with my rats before .. just put little pools of food dye in a closed off area and white paper all around.. it made the coolest marks on the paper! It was like abstract rodent art!