What makes rats such unique and intriguing creatures. How do rats use their whiskers to navigate their environment. Why are rats considered highly intelligent animals. What role have rats played in human history and Chinese astrology.
The Rat in Chinese Zodiac: Symbol of Intelligence and Success
In Chinese astrology, the rat holds a special place as the first animal in the 12-year zodiac cycle. Those born in a rat year, such as 2008, are believed to possess admirable traits:
- Quick-thinking and intelligent
- Funny and entertaining
- Successful in their endeavors
- Welcoming of challenges
This association with positive attributes in Chinese culture offers an interesting contrast to the often negative perception of rats in Western societies. It highlights the cultural differences in how these animals are viewed and valued.
Rat Anatomy: Adapted for Survival and Sensory Perception
Rats have evolved unique physical characteristics that contribute to their survival and adaptability:
Ever-growing Incisors
Do rats’ teeth ever stop growing? No, their incisors continue to grow throughout their lives. This adaptation requires rats to constantly gnaw on objects to wear down their teeth, ensuring they maintain a manageable length for eating.
Highly Sensitive Whiskers
Rat whiskers, or vibrissae, are remarkably sensitive – even more so than human fingertips. These specialized hairs play a crucial role in how rats perceive their environment:
- They brush their whiskers against objects and surfaces
- This action helps build a detailed mental map of their surroundings
- Whiskers aid in navigation, especially in dark or unfamiliar areas
Unique Eye Placement and Movement
Rats have evolved an advantageous eye structure:
- Eyes positioned on either side of the head
- Ability to move eyes independently
- Enhanced field of vision, including upward sight
This eye arrangement proves particularly useful for spotting potential predators, such as birds of prey, approaching from above.
Rat Behavior: Social, Hygienic, and Expressive
Contrary to popular belief, rats exhibit complex social behaviors and maintain high standards of personal hygiene:
Social Structure
A group of rats is called a “mischief,” reflecting their playful and social nature. Rats form strong social bonds within their groups and engage in various cooperative behaviors.
Grooming Habits
Rats are meticulous groomers, often spending significant time cleaning themselves and their companions:
- They constantly lick their fur to maintain cleanliness
- Use their teeth as a “comb” to arrange their fur
- Engage in mutual grooming, strengthening social bonds
Emotional Expression
Can rats smile? While not in the traditional sense, rats do express emotions through subtle physical cues:
- When content, their ears may become relaxed and droopy
- Happy rats’ ears may appear slightly pinker
- These changes in ear position and color can indicate a rat’s emotional state
Rat Adaptability: Masters of Survival in Various Environments
Rats have demonstrated remarkable adaptability throughout history, allowing them to thrive alongside human populations:
Global Distribution
How did rats spread across the world? Primarily through human activity:
- Stowing away on ships and other modes of transportation
- Establishing populations wherever humans settled
- Adapting to diverse climates and environments
Urban Survival Skills
Rats have developed impressive abilities to survive in urban environments:
- Nocturnal habits to avoid human detection
- Underground living to stay out of sight
- Efficient scavenging of human food waste
Aquatic Abilities
Contrary to their terrestrial appearance, rats are accomplished swimmers:
- Can hold their breath for several minutes underwater
- Use their tails for balance and propulsion in water
- Able to access food sources and habitats through water bodies
Rat Intelligence: Problem-Solving and Cognitive Abilities
Rats are widely recognized for their high level of intelligence, often surprising researchers with their cognitive capabilities:
Problem-Solving Skills
Rats excel at navigating mazes and solving puzzles, demonstrating their ability to:
- Learn from experience and adapt to new challenges
- Remember solutions to previously encountered problems
- Apply learned strategies to novel situations
Social Intelligence
Rats exhibit sophisticated social behaviors that indicate advanced cognitive abilities:
- Recognizing and remembering individual rats
- Displaying empathy towards distressed companions
- Engaging in cooperative behaviors for mutual benefit
Tool Use
Some studies have shown that rats can use simple tools to obtain rewards, suggesting a level of cognitive flexibility previously thought to be rare among non-primate mammals.
Rats in Scientific Research: Contributions to Human Knowledge
Rats have played a crucial role in advancing scientific understanding across various fields:
Behavioral Studies
Why are rats frequently used in behavioral experiments? Their intelligence and similarities to human behavior make them ideal subjects for studying:
- Learning and memory processes
- Decision-making under various conditions
- Effects of stress and environmental factors on behavior
Medical Research
Rats have contributed significantly to medical advancements:
- Testing new medications and treatments
- Studying the progression of diseases
- Developing surgical techniques
Neuroscience
Rat brains share many similarities with human brains, making them valuable in neuroscience research:
- Mapping brain structures and functions
- Investigating neurological disorders
- Exploring the neural basis of behavior and cognition
The Dark Side of Rat-Human Interactions: Disease and Destruction
While rats have made positive contributions to human knowledge, their presence has also been associated with negative impacts:
Disease Transmission
Rats have been implicated in the spread of various diseases throughout history:
- The Black Death in medieval Europe, transmitted by fleas living on rats
- Leptospirosis, spread through rat urine
- Salmonellosis, carried by rats and transmitted through contaminated food
Property Damage
Rats can cause significant damage to human structures and food supplies:
- Gnawing on electrical wires, potentially causing fires
- Burrowing into buildings, compromising structural integrity
- Contaminating food stores with urine and droppings
Ecological Impact
In some ecosystems, particularly on islands, introduced rat populations have had devastating effects on native wildlife:
- Preying on native bird species and their eggs
- Competing with native animals for food resources
- Altering plant communities through seed predation
Understanding both the positive and negative aspects of rat-human interactions is crucial for developing balanced approaches to managing rat populations in urban and natural environments.
Rats as Pets: Challenging Stereotypes and Offering Companionship
Despite their often negative reputation, rats have gained popularity as pets, offering unique benefits to their owners:
Intelligence and Trainability
Pet rats can learn a variety of tricks and commands:
- Responding to their names
- Performing simple tasks on cue
- Navigating obstacle courses
Low Maintenance
Compared to many other pets, rats are relatively easy to care for:
- Self-grooming, reducing the need for baths
- Compact living spaces suitable for small homes
- Modest dietary requirements
Social Bonding
Rats can form strong bonds with their human caretakers:
- Enjoying physical interaction and play
- Recognizing and responding to their owners
- Displaying affectionate behaviors
By challenging stereotypes and highlighting their positive qualities, pet rats are helping to change public perception of these intelligent and adaptable creatures.
Conservation and Ethical Considerations: Balancing Rat Management with Animal Welfare
As our understanding of rat behavior and cognition grows, so does the need to address ethical concerns in rat management and research:
Humane Pest Control
Developing more humane methods of rat population control in urban areas:
- Non-lethal deterrents and exclusion techniques
- Contraceptive approaches to limit population growth
- Environmental management to reduce rat-friendly habitats
Research Ethics
Improving the welfare of laboratory rats used in scientific studies:
- Enriched housing environments to promote natural behaviors
- Minimizing stress and discomfort in experimental procedures
- Exploring alternatives to animal testing where possible
Ecological Restoration
Addressing the impact of invasive rat populations on native ecosystems:
- Developing targeted eradication programs for sensitive habitats
- Implementing biosecurity measures to prevent rat introductions
- Restoring native species impacted by rat predation
By considering the complex role of rats in human society and natural ecosystems, we can work towards more balanced and ethical approaches to coexisting with these remarkable animals.
10 facts about rats | Animals
Discover more about these intelligent creatures in our fab facts about rats…
Year of the Rat!
The rat is the first of a 12-year cycle of animals that appears in the Chinese Zodiac, so if you were born in 2008, you were born in a rat year, too. Chinese astrologers say that means you’re funny, smart, successful, are a quick thinker and welcome challenges. Read more about Chinese New Year in our 30 cool facts about China.
1) Rats are medium-sized rodents with a long tail. A group of rats is called a ‘mischief’!
2) Rats are mainly nocturnal and live underground. Although they vastly outnumber humans, we rarely see them.
They are experts at staying out of sight!
3) Throughout human history, rats have travelled with us around the planet, stowing away on boats and settling wherever humans live. They feed on the food we throw away and can spread diseases among humans, like the medieval Black Death, which was spread by fleas that lived on rats.
4) Rats’ super-strong teeth never stop growing! They have to keep nibbling to wear them down – or eating would become impossible!
5) Their whiskers are more sensitive than human fingertips! Rats brush the long hairs against objects or the floor, helping them build up a detailed picture of their environment.
6) With eyes on either side of their head that can move in opposite directions, rats are even able to see what’s happening above them.
Very handy for spotting any rat-eating birds!
7) Rats can hear well, including sounds that are too high-pitched for humans to hear. They may also ‘smile’ with their ears! When they’re happy their ears relax, become droopy and slightly pinker. Aww!
8) They wash by constantly licking their fur – sometimes they’ll even ‘comb’ it into place with their teeth. Yes, rats are squeak-y clean!
9) Rats’ long tails are used for balance and to keep themselves cool – they can direct some of their body heat out through them! They’re also great swimmers, able to hold their breath for several minutes.
10) A single rat can leave 25,000 droppings a year – poo–ey!
What did you think of our fab facts about rats? Let us know by leaving a comment, below!
Images ⓒ Getty Images: rat (141167926), rat on girl’s shoulder (929956456).
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5 reasons why you’d love a pet rat! | Explore | Awesome Activities & Fun Facts
Photo by AlexK100 licensed CC BY-SA 2.0
This year for Lunar New Year, it’s the year of the rat!
To celebrate, let’s learn how these little critters make great pets.
That’s right, we said pets!
When you think of pets you probably picture dogs, cats, fish and maybe even birds.
But believe it or not, rats have been loyal friends to humans for over 200 years!
In the 1800s, the term “fancy rat” was used to tell the domesticated rats (the ones that live with people) from the ones that live on the street. Fancy rats were even featured in shows — something that still happens today!
Want to know why rats make great pets for both kids and adults? Then keep reading!
Rats are super smart
Photo by Greencolander licensed CC BY 2.0
Have you ever seen a rat rollover on command? How about a rat that plays fetch? Rats can do both those things and more!
Rats are very smart, so training them is a piece a cake. In fact, the reason why rats are used in scientific studies (think mazes) is to study behaviour since they have such high levels of emotional intelligence.
Your pet rat will also learn the name you give them!
Rats keep it clean
Photo by AlexK100 licensed CC BY-SA 2.
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Feel free to skip the bath with these little guys!
You know how cats are always grooming themselves? Rats actually groom more often and even better than those felines!
Getting dirty is just not for rats, and if they do get something in their fur, the first thing they do is try to clean it up. (But there are extra-messy times when you may have to give your rat a bath!)
Rats also like to keep their cages nice and organized. And if you have more than one rat, you’ll often see them grooming each other!
Rats have their own personalities
Photo by Uzbecka licensed CC BY 2.0
These little critters have their own personalities that change from rat to rat. Some rats are outgoing, some are laid-back and some only want to socialize!
Part of the fun of owning a rat is getting to know your pet’s personality and seeing it grow as they become comfortable with you.
Many rat owners say their pets’ personalities can be very entertaining, especially when they get a brand new object or toy to explore!
Click here to see the other kinds of animals you wouldn’t think of that people have as pets!
Rats are low-maintenance
Photo by AlexK100 licensed CC BY-SA 2.
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It’s not just the lack of baths that make rats low-maintenance pets, but also the fact that there are no walks required!
Domesticated rats make their home in cages. And since they’re nocturnal (active at night), they typically sleep for 13 to 15 hours a day so you don’t have to worry about keeping them occupied for too long at a time. But they’ll happily wake up to play with their owners!
Just be sure not to leave your pet alone for too long, they still need love and socialization just like any family member.
Rats will love you!
Photo by AlexK100 licensed CC BY-SA 2.0
You know how cats purr? Well rats brux!
Bruxing is a noise rats make by tapping their teeth together and it’s a sign that they’re happy and comfortable in their environment.
Many rat owners say the time they hear the most bruxing is when their pet gets to relax on their shoulder or in their arms.
Rats bond to their owners very deeply and recognize their face, voice and will even try to groom their humans as they would another rat!
How to Provide Environmental Enrichment for Your Pet Rat
Rats are curious, active, friendly animals, and they require a lot of mental stimulation to keep themselves entertained and happy. And, a content, happy rat is also more likely to be less stressed and healthier.
So, to keep your pet rat in good health, you should make sure to provide him with stimulating enrichment in his environment.
What Is Environmental Enrichment?
Breaking it down to the simplest form, environmental enrichment is anything that causes an animal to physically and mentally engage with their environment.
Often, we consider enrichment to consist of things that are novel and a “change” from the normal.
Just like you might get the urge to rearrange the furniture in the house, put a fresh coat of paint on the walls or just move the pictures around, animals get accustomed to—and yes, even bored with—the things in their environment.
Think about it this way—how would you feel if you were stuck inside the same house for your entire life? You would probably get bored pretty quickly, which is why you should keep your pet rat’s environment engaging and stimulating.
Many people confine their animals to small cages, but rats are inquisitive and can become bored and stressed quickly. Rats are fast to learn what is in the confines of their cages, so they rely on us to provide enough variety to keep them mentally stimulated.
How Can I Keep My Rat Engaged and Active?
1. Keep Several Pet Rats Together
One way you can provide environmental enrichment for your pet rat is to get him a friend.
In fact, pet rats are happiest and seem the most content when kept together in small social groups; three to five seem to be the best number.
I never recommend only having a single rat. If you currently have just one, it may—or may not—accept a new companion; however, if you are just moving into the world of keeping rats, definitely plan on having multiple.
Rats keep each other busy; they play games together, cuddle together, groom each other, compete with one another, and in general, just enjoy sharing their lives together as a small social family. No matter how much they like their human companions, it is not the same as having another rat as a friend.
Again, think of the human analogy. You’d be a lot happier stuck in that house with someone to talk to. And, having a pet dog—or a pet rat—is not the same as having a friend to call up when times get tough. Rats simply thrive with other rats, and this is a very straightforward way to improve the environment of a pet rat.
2. Get a Large Cage and Provide Supervised Time Outside of It
Rats are very active. They will always find ways to keep themselves entertained when left to their own devices. It is important to provide your pet rats with the necessary space for them to play and entertain themselves by choosing a large cage.
I recommend nothing smaller than a 3-foot by 3-foot by 3-foot wire, two-story ferret cage for keeping a small group of three rats. Examples of a good-size cage would be the MidWest Critter Nation Deluxe cage or the Prevue Pet Products rat and chinchilla critter cage.
Rats enjoy climbing (but are good at falling as well!), so a two-story cage allows them a vantage point that is safe. Wire cages allow for ventilation, which may help prevent respiratory infections, which are very common in pet rats.
Larger, two-level cages also allow for a wide variety of bedding and toys, all of which are important to keep the sharp mind of a rat active. For bedding, try Carefresh small animal bedding or Kaytee Clean & Cozy small animal bedding.
In addition to a big cage, letting the rat family out to explore a rat-proofed room for several hours every day will further increase the amount of mental stimulation they experience—not to mention the fun, both for the rats and for you!
3. Provide Lots of Toys and Rotate Them Regularly
Pet rats will use toys. They will even invent games to play with their fellow rats using the toys.
There are lots of different rat toys available for you to try, like the Kaytee Simple Sleeper play tunnel. However, you don’t have to spend a lot of money if you don’t want to.
Rats enjoy playing in cardboard boxes with holes cut in them, toilet paper tubes stuffed with shredded paper or hay, small pieces of apple branches cut from a pesticide-free tree in the yard, ping-pong balls and paper bags from the grocery store.
As you can see, the sky is the limit! The only limitation to finding fun toys for your rat family is your imagination.
I do recommend having a large variety of toys on hand and rotating between them.
You can put a “new” toy in the cage every few days and take an “old” one out for a few weeks; when you bring the “old” toy back, your pet rats will feel like it is brand new again.
Some of the rat toys can be left in as staples, such as solid-bottomed running wheels and turned-over flower pots or other “hiding lodges,” but even these can be rotated semi-regularly to help provide variety.
4. Remember That Food Is a Form of Enrichment, Too
I strongly recommend that the bulk of your rat’s diet be made up of something called “rodent block,” which looks much like dog food in kibble form and contains no visible seeds, nuts or fruits.
Consider hiding the rat food throughout the cage so that the rat needs to spend some time looking for it. Rats love the “find the food” game and will readily start hunting when they know you have been busy delivering the block.
You can do something similar with small snacks and treats. For example, you can hide treats inside of a stuffed toilet paper roll or place a dime-size piece of carrot under the bedding in a corner of the cage.
Keep in mind that treats and snacks should be a small proportion of the overall rat diet.
5. Don’t Forget the Overall Environment
You may have to keep your rats in a cage for their own safety for periods of the day, but remember that they can see out of the cage. So don’t tuck it away in a boring corner of the house!
They like to know where you are and what you are doing, so you should consider putting their cage in someplace like the TV room. And, they actually LIKE to watch TV—so it is a win-win! Many people will leave things like cartoons on for ratty entertainment when they go to work.
Even novel smells can be interesting to rats—like popcorn being made—and occasionally, it IS ok to share a piece with them.
Keeping rats entertained really isn’t all that hard, but it does take consistent effort and creativity. Your efforts will definitely pay off as you enjoy watching your happy, curious rats explore the new world you have created for them.
There is really no limit on the ideas you can explore as you design—and redesign—the areas where your rats call home!
By: Dr. Sandra Mitchell
Featured Image: iStock.com/dlHunter
Fun Rats Facts for Kids
What animal can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter? What animal has teeth so sharp they can grind through cinder block, wire or even glass? If you guessed the rat, you’re right. These rodents are smart and agile. They are usually about 10 to 14 inches long, including their tails.All about rats, they eat almost anything. They like cheese, meat, grain, seeds, fruit and vegetables.
Some people like rats and keep them as pets. Pet rats are smart and social. They can learn tricks and will come when called. Many people do not like rats because they chew up wires, get into food and can carry diseases.
Norway rats are big and aggressive. They fight with each other and will even attack humans.
Fun Facts about Rats for Kids
- Rats eat almost anything.
They like meat, grain, seeds, fruit and vegetables. - Norway rats are big and aggressive. They fight with each other and will even attack humans.
- Rats have sharp teeth that constantly grow. They chew on wood to keep the teeth short and sharp.
- Pet rats live about 3 years.
- Rats can have up to 20 babies at once.
- Rats have a good memory and sense of taste. They can recognize and remember the taste of rat poison.
They like meat, grain, seeds, fruit and vegetables.The Gambian Pouch Rat can weigh up to 8 pounds or the size of a small dog.
Rat Vocabulary
- Cinderblock: Hard white or gray blocks used in buildings
- Social: Friendly, likes others
- Agile: Flexible, quick
- Aggressive: Fierce
- Recognize: Understand or know
Some people like rats and keep them as pets. Pet rats are smart and social.
Learn More All About Rats
Have a look at this nice video all about rats as pets:
youtube.com/embed/O_aT2kIxHdQ” frameborder=”0″ allow=”autoplay; encrypted-media” allowfullscreen=””/>
A 2 minute video about common misconceptions of pet rats.
Rat Q&A
Question: Are rats useful?
Answer: Rats have been used to develop medical cures.
———————————–
Question: What is the largest rat?
Answer: The Gambian Pouch Rat, which can weigh up to 8 pounds, or the size of a small dog.
Enjoyed the Easy Science for Kids Website all about Rats info? Take the FREE & fun Rats quiz and download FREE Rats worksheet for kids. For lengthy info click here.
16 Common Pet Rat Behaviors – Lafeber Co.
Rats are bursting with personality! sipa/Pixabay
Pet rats are a joy to those who choose to share their lives with them. A lot of this joy comes from rat personalities and behaviors. Who wouldn’t get a kick out of seeing pet rats explore the environment, check out a new toy, or snuggle into your shoulder? Pet rats share some of the behaviors you see in other, more common pets, but a few are unique to rats.
Some words to describe most pet rats include: sociable, curious, and intelligent. All of these come into play for explaining why rats make such great companions. They enjoy being with their people, are curious about their people, and have the smarts to interact, explore, entertain, and be entertained. But these wonderful traits can also lead them into trouble. What behaviors can you expect if you share your home with pet rats?
1. Vocalizations
Rats are generally quiet pets, at least to human ears. They usually vocalize in a range above normal human hearing. But even though we miss out on most of a rat’s “talk,” we do hear some of their vocalizations. Gentle chirps or clucks, grinding, squeaks, and hissing are a few of the vocalizations you will hear. The context usually gives you a hint about whether your rat is happy, content, upset, scared, or in pain. Often, higher-pitched, faster-tempo noises indicate a rat is disturbed.
2. Play Fighting
Rats are sociable and do best living in same-sex pairs or groups, but this doesn’t rule out play fighting.
(Note: Introductions between rats should be done in neutral territory with treats. Always supervise newly introduced rats when together until you are certain they are getting along.) Rats seem to enjoy the occasional tussle with a cagemate: chasing, pinning, and some vocalizations are normal. If you notice raised fur or hissing occurs, pay attention, this could get serious. If it seems like one rat is constantly being bullied (kept from food or drink, not allowed to rest), you might need to intervene. If blood is ever drawn, separate the rats. You’ll likely need to keep the rats in separate habitats.
3. Gnawing
Rats are members of the rodent family, and rodents are known for chewing. And they’ll chew anything, not just food. The frequent chewing helps wear down rats’ constantly growing incisors. It’s a need they must satisfy, so be prepared by offering rat-safe chew toys in the habitat, rat-proofing any rooms you let them access, and supervising them whenever they’re enjoying free-roam time outside the cage.
Furniture, clothing, drapes, power cords, and more could feel the gnaw of your rats’ teeth if you don’t keep these items out of reach.
4. Burrowing
Another trait of rodents is burrowing into bedding. Pet rats enjoy digging. It’s another instinctive need they must satisfy. Help your rat buddy out by providing rat-safe bedding for burrowing and a rat-safe dig box filled with clean dirt, play sand, biodegradable packing peanuts, or other rat-safe material.
5. Nighttime Antics
Rats are mostly nocturnal. They can adjust their schedule somewhat to yours, but their most active time is dusk through dawn. This means keeping them in your bedroom might make for some noisy nights.
6. Climbing
Rat-proofing is a must, because rats are explorers who can climb and leap! sipa/Pixabay
Pet rats need exercise, and one great way to encourage this is with rat-safe ropes, ladders, and climbing toys. Most rats enjoy climbing. A rat-specific exercise wheel is another great option for exercise.
The flip side is that because rats enjoy climbing, rat-proofing might be more of a challenge. So don’t be surprised if you find your rat climbing a mesh wall or scaling your drapes.
7. Investigating
Vision is not their strongest sense, so rats mainly explore by smell and touch. All that sniffing you see? That’s your rat checking things out. You might also notice your rat explores new areas by hugging the walls or some other “path” in the environment. This is normal for a prey animal, because they don’t want to be exposed out in the open. It can also help them navigate.
8. Licking
The reasons your rat licks you or other rats vary. It could be a sign of affection. It could be your rat is in grooming mode. It could be that your rat tastes something delicious. It could be just another way to explore the world. Whatever the reason, it’s perfectly normal (unless it becomes obsessive).
9. Grooming
Rats are normally fastidiously clean animals. They groom themselves numerous times throughout the day.
This usually starts with the front paws rubbing the face, then moving down the body all the way to the end of the tail. There’s usually no need to worry about giving a rat a bath; rats keep themselves quite clean. It’s actually one sign of possible illness if you notice a rat stops grooming or has an unkempt coat. (Note: You will need to help out your rat with nail trimming.)
10. Biting
Rats have teeth, so the possibility of biting must be mentioned. When startled or in pain, a rat might bite. Pet rats are among the most easygoing of rodents, though, so your chance of being bitten is minimal as long as you don’t startle them or pick them up when you suspect they’re in pain.
11. Boggling
Boggling refers to when a rat’s eyes seem to move quickly in and out of the socket. The eyes can get quite large. This happens when the rat is grinding the front incisors (bruxing), and usually when a rat is content.
12. Bruxing
Bruxing refers to clenching or grinding the teeth.
In pet rats, this is a noise made when they grind their incisors together. It’s a normal sound and most often heard when a rat is relaxed, but it can also occur when a rat is stressed. Take your cues about how your rat might be feeling from the circumstances. Intense bruxing can also cause eye boggling.
13. Coprophagia
In the unbelievable-but-true department, rats are known to eat their own feces or those of other rats. They might also lick urine. Although it sounds gross, it’s normal. You might never see it happen, but don’t be concerned if you do.
14. Male Vs. Female Personalities
You might hear anecdotal stories about behavior differences between male and female rats. Some people believe male rats move slower, cuddle more, and are more easygoing. Females are known for being playful, energetic, and less likely to cuddle. Is this true? You will have to be the judge. All rats are individuals, so it’s best to judge them as individuals.
15. Scent Marking
Many animals do scent marking.
For some, this just means rubbing a gland against what they wish to mark. Dogs on a walk do “tinkle mail” to communicate to other dogs in the neighborhood. For pet rats, scent marking can vary from rubbing their face against something to peeing on it. Males seem especially prone to scent marking.
16. Signs of Trouble
Rats are prey animals and generally try to hide when they’re feeling sick or in pain. This makes it extra important for you to know the normal behavior of your rat pal. When you notice your rat doing something abnormal, consider whether it could be a sign of illness or pain. Some common behaviors associated with rat health problems include a hunched posture, staring, stumbling, head tilt, failure to groom, sneezing, and wheezing. This is only a partial list.
10 Amazing Black Rat Snake Facts
10 Interesting Facts About Black Rat Snakes
>> Black rat snakes, when cornered or threatened, will often coil in a defensive posture, hiss, and strike repeatedly.
They also rapidly shake or vibrate the tail. This results in many people mistaking this dangerous-looking snake for a rattlesnake or even a copperhead due to its bold behavior and color pattern.
>> Old-timers sometimes refer to the black rat snake as the “pilot snake” in the mistaken belief that this snake pilots or guides the venomous rattlesnake to safe denning areas in the forest.
>> Another common name is the chicken snake because the black rat is sometimes found near chicken coops and henhouses, where they may sometimes feed on chicken eggs.
>> The black rat snake is one of several species of rat snakes occurring in the United States.
>> Rat snakes are large, powerful, non-venomous snakes that feed on a variety of prey species, which they overpower by constriction. They are the largest snake found in Georgia.
>> Black rat snakes emerge from their rocky crevice retreats in late April or early May. They hibernate with other rat snakes and/or with many other snake species, most notably timber rattlesnakes, racers, and bull snakes.
>> They are diurnal (active during the day) even during hot weather, though they do move at night on occasion.
>> When approached, black rats usually remain motionless. With their cryptic black coloration, they become invisible against the bark or dark forest floor.
>> The black rat snake is a proficient climber. Often it goes rather high up into trees, where it uses cavities or hollows formerly occupied by other animals such as birds or mammals.
>> Black rat snakes are extremely beneficial since they eat large amounts of rats, mice, and other pest animals. Farmers appreciate having snakes around for this reason.
Scientists Taught Rats to Play Hide-and-Seek
Annika Reinhold says that she likes playing with animals (she has two cats) and “doing unconventional things that no one has done before.” When the chance came up to teach rats to play hide-and-seek, she was a natural candidate.
One might question the wisdom of training rats to hide, but there’s a good reason to do so.
In neuroscience, animal research is traditionally about control and conditioning—training animals, in carefully regulated settings, to do specific tasks using food rewards. But those techniques aren’t very useful for studying the neuroscience of play, which is universal to humans, widespread among animals, and the antithesis of control and conditioning. Playing is about freedom and fun. How do you duplicate those qualities in a lab?
After watching YouTube videos of pets and their owners, Michael Brecht, a neuroscientist at the Humboldt University of Berlin, came up with the idea of using hide-and-seek. Reinhold, a master’s student in his lab, jumped at the chance. She knew that rats are social, intelligent, and playful, and will chase, roughhouse, and wrestle with one another, much like human children do. Perhaps they’d play with her. “I was optimistic enough to try it,” she says.
She began by getting six adolescent rats accustomed to a 300-square-foot room fitted with boxes and barriers behind which they (or Reinhold) could hide.
She also habituated the animals to her by stroking them, chasing them with her hands, and tickling them.
After one month, Reinhold taught them to seek. She placed them in an open box and walked to a different part of the room. If they approached her, she rewarded them with tickles. At first, she stood in the open, but once the rats got the hang of approaching her, she incrementally raised the difficulty by partially hiding, then hiding fully while the rodents were watching, and finally hiding while the box was closed. Similarly, to teach them to hide, she rewarded them for leaving their box, then for scurrying to another area, then for finding and staying in a hiding spot. Crucially, she never remunerated the rats with classic rewards such as water or food. She treated them only to tickles and social contact.
All six rats learned to seek, and five also learned to hide. They clearly understood the rules of the game, and played strategically. When seeking, they searched systematically, beginning with past hiding locations.
When hiding, they chose opaque boxes instead of transparent ones and kept quieter. They also seamlessly switched between the two roles, taking their cue from whether the starting box was closed (indicating “seek”) or open (indicating “hide”).
The rats learned the game in only a couple of weeks, which is “impressive in neuroscience,” says Juan Ignacio Sanguinetti-Scheck, who also took part in the study. “Animals can take months to learn tasks, even monkeys, but we’re generally trying to teach them to use joysticks or things they’d never do in normal life.” Hide-and-seek, by contrast, draws on behaviors such as concealing, finding peers, and switching roles, which aren’t just natural parts of rat life, but also frequent parts of rat play. In retrospect, it was the perfect game for uniting two different species. “It’s a clever and innovative approach,” says Gordon Burghardt of the University of Tennessee. “Many animals play with other species and engage in peekaboo, tug of war, or tag, but this example does seem unexpectedly complex.
”
Read: How rats remake coral reefs
Why did the rats play along? It’s possible that they were going after tickles and other social rewards. After all, for two decades researchers have known that rats enjoy being tickled and react by producing ultrasonic chirps that can be compared to laughter. But Reinhold found that once discovered, the rats would often run away and re-hide, delaying their reward and prolonging the game itself. “It seemed really playful,” she says.
She and her colleagues believe that rather than pursuing rewards, the rats were playing for the sake of it. They played because they had fun. For a start, and this is an unusual but welcome line to see in a scientific paper, “the animals looked like they are having fun,” the team writes. When they reunited with Reinhold, they frantically jumped on the spot—a behavior delightfully known as freudensprung, or “joy jumps.” They also teased Reinhold by repeatedly getting close and running away.
The rats also behaved quite unlike rodents that take part in typical studies for typical rewards. When conditioned with food, rats are usually silent and can tirelessly perform hundreds of trials. Reinhold’s rodents were eager to play, highly vocal, extremely active, and tuckered out when each block of games was over. “It’s rare in neuroscience to see rats that are so engaged in a task,” Sanguinetti-Scheck says. “I’ve never seen a rat run so much in a lab.” It’s both heartening and a little tragic to see what rats are really like when they’re just allowed to be rats.
Read: New York City has genetically distinct “uptown” and “downtown” rats
For many people, the idea of rats playing for fun would be wholly unsurprising, but there’s a long history of denying human emotions to animals for fear of anthropomorphism. Certainly, other species do sometimes lack mental skills that one would assume they had, and calling for objectivity is reasonable.
But “it’s also important to not be completely obtuse and disregard the fact that we share a lot with animals,” Sanguinetti-Scheck says.
“Juvenile rats are one of the most playful mammals known,” says Lynda Sharpe of the Australian National University. “Although pet-rat owners won’t be surprised by these findings, the study is valuable because it demonstrates the cognitive complexity of play in this species.” Indeed, hide-and-seek might help tease out what mental feats rats are really capable of. In switching roles, for example, are they taking on the perspective of their human partners, showing what researchers call “theory of mind”?
The team has started analyzing the rats’ brains mid-game, by implanting wireless electrodes in their medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)—a brain region associated with decision making, social interactions, and (in humans, at least) theory of mind. The electrodes have revealed that individual neurons in a rat’s mPFC will fire at very specific moments during a game.
One neuron, for example, went off only when the rat was sealed inside the starting box at the beginning of seeking rounds. By looking at this cell’s activity, Sanguinetti-Scheck could count how many rounds Reinhold had played with the animal, without having to watch them. “The rat has agency throughout the game, so some trials can be very fast and some can be very long,” he says, “but regardless, [neurons in the mPFC] are responding to specific events.”
It’s not clear what that means, or what the region is specifically doing. But studies like this—brain recordings from free-running rats playing a game they’re actually engaged with—might help provide answers. “The rats are doing incredible behaviors that involve many things that neuroscience is preoccupied with, like decision making,” Sanguinetti-Scheck says. How does the animal decide where it wants to seek, or whether it wants to hide? Or what happens when it’s surprised? When it thinks it knows where the experimenter is, what happens in its brain when she isn’t there? “There are many things that we can now use hide-and-seek to start studying,” he says.
90,000 9 experiments on rats that helped to understand a lot of new things about people
However, the life of a rat is not always terrible. Take, for example, a recent experiment at the Polytechnic University in the province of Marche, Italy, in which no animals were harmed. Quite the opposite.
In the course of the experiments, the rats consumed strawberry puree with the main food for ten days at the rate of 40 mg per kilo of weight. After that, they were given alcohol. The control group was drinking alcohol at this point without any strawberry ceremonies.
True, at the end of all the happy participants in the experiment a hangover awaited, aggravated by the study of the state of the mucous membrane of their stomachs, which the researchers started.
It turned out that rats that ate berries were less likely to develop ulcers. “The beneficial effect of strawberries lies not only in the antioxidants it contains,” says Dr. Sara Tulpani, “but also in the fact that it stimulates the production of natural enzymes in the body.
” Who would argue! We also find that many things seem very positive when experimenting with alcohol.And strawberries are definitely one of them.
Experiment # 3
Universe-25
One day, Dr. John B. Calhoun decided to create a mouse paradise. He took a two-by-two meter tank, installed ceilings in it, laid a system of tunnels with individual compartments and drinkers, and at the beginning of 1972 launched four pairs of healthy, genetically flawless mice into this paradise. The tank was always + 20 ° C, every month it was cleaned and stuffed with food and nesting material.
Universe 25, as Calhoun called the tank, was a golden age.After a hundred days, realizing their happiness, the rodents began to multiply wildly. The population doubled every 55 days, and no expulsion was foreseen for the Fall.
However, even at the moment of its creation, the “universe” was doomed. After all, the number 25 was not chosen by chance. This was already the 25th experiment on rats and mice, and every time heaven turned into hell.
The mice, which by the 315th day had multiplied to 600 individuals, were already categorically lacking in space.
Society began to deteriorate rapidly.Curious classes were formed: “nonconformists” who huddled in the center and regularly attacked the owners of way of life. Violence, deadly sin, and even cannibalism flourished in the tank.
Eventually 90% of females of reproductive age left the population and settled in isolated nests in the upper part of the tank.On the 560th day, the “Universe-25” was actually finished. The population peaked at 2,200, fertility fell, and rare pregnancies ended in the killing of young. The increased mortality did not save paradise: the last eight mice died one after another, never returning to their usual roles and not trying to have cubs!
In his work “Population density and social pathologies” Calhoun buried all of humanity together with “Universe-25”: “Even before we run out of resources, people will suffocate in their cities!” I would like to say: it will not wait! But .
..
Experiment # 4
Eternal Orgasm
A cafe with rats running on tables has opened in San Francisco
A cafe has appeared in San Francisco, where for $ 50 you can feel like a visitor to the worst eateries in your city.Here you can drink coffee surrounded by dozens of rats that will run around you, rustling with their unhygienic paws and drilling you with button eyes. In order to maximize the level of involvement, the rats were taken not from domestic or laboratory rats, but “real”, street rats, albeit tested for parasites.
The Dungeon is a horror show with real actors and immersion in the atmosphere of a dark and frightening story. There are branches in several cities, such as London or Berlin.However, with a common concept, the program differs from place to place. So, in San Francisco, RAT CAFÉ appeared, which is clearly inspired by Howard Lacraft’s story “Rats in the Walls” and ideas about the godlessly unsanitary Middle Ages.
Anywhere else in the world (except in third world countries), an institution filled with street rats would be doomed to be empty. However, in the San Francisco Dungeon, where customers are offered an adventure of staged torture and “encounters” with famous murderers, such a cafe looks organic.Just a thematic continuation of the entertainment.
After paying $ 50, you can drink as much coffee as you like and pet the rodents running by until they start to scare you. It is impossible to feed rats for obvious reasons – otherwise they will fatten, breed and inevitably fill the whole of San Francisco.
RAT CAFÉ will begin its work in trial mode for a couple of days in July 2017. Then, if all goes well, it will become the permanent entertainment of the San Francisco Dungeon.Such an experiment is not the first for this franchise. A couple of years ago, something similar was created in London, but there the initiative did not last long, and remained a periodic attraction, although it had some success.
An interesting detail: the animals for the cafe were provided by the Rattie Ratz group, which is engaged in the rehabilitation and rescue of rats – by analogy with similar organizations that are more interested in dogs and cats. So each of the rats is, no kidding, an animal with its own difficult fate and history.And the funniest thing is that you can take any one with you as a pet for free if you promise to love and patronize her.
It is difficult to judge now how this business will go. But here’s the thing for sure: a café full of street rats like Dishonored is the perfect place to do business.
90,000 Extreme games: safari with pirates and “rat holes” of the Vietnamese communists
The crisis in the tourism sector forces us to invent the most incredible offers for tourists.New extreme tours are organized to the country of Somalia, which is literally teeming with pirates, and to Southeast Asia, where travelers can experience some of the “delights” of the Vietnam War and the wild way of the partisan life of the communists.
Tourists visiting Vietnam got carried away by strange games in the jungle. A group of travelers crawling through the darkness through the jungle, driven by a local guide, is already becoming a normal phenomenon, Turizm.ru reports.
This is one of the favorite entertainments of tourists – a walk through the Kuti tunnels.A whole network of underground passages on several levels, with a lot of branches and storage facilities, was built for guerrilla warfare.
Hand-dug Kuti stretches 120 miles (almost 200 kilometers) from the border with the Kingdom of Cambodia to Saigon. The virtual city in the form of a web of tunnels has become home to local residents seeking refuge from the bombing.
In our time, individual sections of tunnels 50-200 meters long have been cleared of snakes and adapted to the needs of curious tourists.True, there is nothing to do with a sore back or knees. It is also not recommended to “play partisan” for those who suffer from claustrophobia.
The rest will not be bored, because you can find a lot underground. For example, abandoned equipment that is even allowed to be touched, models of US and Vietnamese soldiers, terrible traps, craters from B-52 bombs. For travelers, Kuti will become a real Disneyland of death and destruction.
However, there is entertainment on the surface – shooting from weapons of those times.“If you want to shoot – with an AK-47 or M16 – you can do it,” says the Kuti guide. “For just $ 13 or $ 14, you get 10 rounds.”
However, there are also more familiar entertainment for civilized travelers. “If you don’t want to shoot a gun,” the guide adds, “then you can buy ice cream nearby.”
At the same time, a similar service appeared off the coast of the African continent. Tourists are encouraged to take a tour of the Horn of Africa, where Somali pirates are still operating, despite the involvement of large international naval forces.”It’s like a safari, only better,” says somalicruises.
com.
“We are sailing along the coast of Somalia, awaiting a pirate attack. It is recommended to take a weapon with you to participate in the cruise, ”the organizers warn. If someone does not have their own weapons, the organizers of the curious tour promise to lease them while on the ship.
Source: NEWSru.com
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Rat experiment over Ukraine – Gennady Balashov / LIGA. Blogs
A large-scale rat experiment is being conducted in Ukraine to destroy morality, ethics and law.
Rats are very social animals, capable of altruism. Rats are able to help each other (including unfamiliar individuals), warn of danger, feed other people’s cubs. It is a mechanism that helps rats survive. It has been proven that in rat communities there is a hierarchy and even different social roles.
In many basic ways, rat communities are similar to human society.
Therefore, experiments with rats are very interesting from the point of view of social psychology.
One of the most brutal experiments with rats, “The Rat King”, showed how to destroy the rat society. A close-knit flock of rats breaks down when morality and ethics are destroyed.
The essence of the experiment was as follows. One male was locked in a cage and starved for a long time. Then a dead rat was thrown to him.The male had a dilemma: either die himself, or eat a dead relative. In the end, he made the decision to eat his own kind. The next time, a rat was placed in a cage for a male, which was still barely alive. And again the dilemma arose – not to harm a congener to the detriment of oneself or to eat in order to survive. The “Rat King” made a decision to kill a relative. For the third time, a rat was thrown to the male, healthy, but much weaker than him. And the male ate this relative too, no longer wasting time on “thinking”.Thus, he learned to eat his own kind, his morality was destroyed.
After that, the experimenters released the male into the rat community. And so other, unsuspecting rats tried to interact with him, and he lured and killed them. Eventually, the rats left this place.
Why did I remember this interesting experiment. In the highest echelons of power in Ukraine, at the oligarchic elite, this is exactly the situation. At one time, Poroshenko “picked up” the remains of the industry, was engaged in the privatization of “dead” enterprises.The prohibition on appropriating someone else’s from him, apparently, was declining, and he began to engage in “half-dead” enterprises, and over time he began not to disdain the living. In the bins, for the family. When he rose to the “king”, he became equal to other Ukrainian oligarchs. There was an unspoken agreement between the super-rich people: they do not devour their own. And since Poroshenko lost this prohibition, the community began to collapse, eating their own kind began. They ate the business of Onishchenko, Kolomoisky.
Akhmetov is next in line.
There are many similar “rat kings” who believe that you can devour their own kind, many are formed throughout Ukraine.Morality does not hold them back. The falsification of documents, fabrication of criminal cases, summons for false interrogations are used. Organization of bullying in order to “devour”. People of the same rank and status no longer help each other. We are now witnessing the disintegration of an elite society. The fish rots from the head. I have a hope that the rest of the population of Ukraine is morally healthy and strong enough not to slide down to their level.
Arbitrariness is especially noticeable in the rhetoric associated with the blockade of Donbass.Even the “gunmen”, ardent adherents of the presidential policy, were at a loss. Even the day before yesterday, everyone condemned the blockade, talking about rolling power outages. After the “blockade” was driven off the rails, at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council it was announced .
.. a blockade. Stop the movement of goods in the ATO zone. But what about rolling blackouts? How are the consequences disastrous for the economy? ..
The immorality of the elites symbolically devours society. Saying one thing and doing another has long been the norm, even at the national level.But, fortunately, altruism still persists at this level. And again we return to the old postulate “Don’t believe. Do not be afraid. Do not ask”. The state apparatus lives by its own laws and rules and does not reckon with you. You cannot be friends with the “rat king”, it is life-threatening.
90,000 The “Rat Tribe” Secret Underground City in Beijing
About 75 of China’s largest cities have huge underground tunnels and bunkers that are today used as cheap housing.
In the late 1950s, relations between the two largest communist countries – the People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union – finally deteriorated due to different political ideologies.For a while, it seemed that a military conflict in which nuclear weapons could be used was simply inevitable.
In 1969, amid growing tensions, Chairman Mao Zedong ordered his troops to dig tunnels under houses as a defense against Soviet air raids. By the late 1970s, the 75 largest cities had a network of underground bomb shelters large enough to accommodate about 60 percent of their population.
However, a little later, the leader of Mao died, and his successor, Deng Xiaoping, canceled all tough ideological policies in favor of economic reforms.
In an effort to prevent the giant tunnel construction efforts from going to waste, the Chinese Civil Defense Authority has asked the townspeople to commercialize the bunkers. As a result, many of them have been converted into low-cost housing, supermarkets, cinemas, restaurants, clinics, schools, theaters, factories, warehouses and even mushroom farms.
By some estimates, about 1 million Beijing residents now live in these cramped and damp underground spaces because they are cheaper than any surface apartment.
