Can rats be mentally deficient?

[rat.charmer]

I was thinking about this the other day but is it possible for rats to be mentally retarded? We've all seen our share of very bright rats and some dumb ones, but for a rat to be completely mentally handicapped? Or do they not survive into adulthood? Or would the signs of a retarded rat not be 'obvious' to a human?

 

[whirlytwirly]

I'm not 100% sure about this but I swear one of my older girls, Lavender, is a little special. She's just not like all my other ratties. I can't quite put my finger on it but she does weird things like just wander off the edge of the table and the bookcase like she can walk on air. She just wanders around in her own little world and doesn't really interact with my other girls. Also my baby girl Cinders has some strange habits too (head bashing etc) I was asking about her in a recent post and I still haven't figured out the cause of her behaviour.

I'd be interested also to know if anyone has had any similar ratties or read about it?

 

[twitch]

i once had a rat that i swear was autistic. she hated any little change to schedule. if it was even just a few degrees off in the room she would get cranky. with them being as close as they are to humans that we can use the same medications it would not surprise me to find that they can be mentally handicapped as well. it probably isn't as noticed in the scientific world unless they cause the handicap as those rats are not interacted with the same way as our babies are.

 

[Dahlas]

I don't know about rats but your post got me thinking and I have seen dogs and cats range from dumb to genius...but never any that I would say were handicapped....very interesting.....

 

[jorats]

There is a horse with Tourette Syndrome so I would think that other neurological disorders could be present in other animals as well.

 

[SQ]

Absolutely!
Don't know how many genetic problems etc. we share with them but animals have all different levels of intelligence - probably from the same causes as people.
Don't know how well a "special" rattie would survive in the wild, unless it had a great family group, but it doesn't seem hurt their survival as pets .... as long as they can find the food dish lol

 

[lilspaz68]

I would say so. Dolci was "wired wrong" almost all her life. She would have strange fits of panic and go insane if you were holding her (never bit though).

Only at the very end was she able to let go and realize I had loved her all along.

Then there's the "slow" rats...not very bright, but we love them all the same :heart:

 

[SoA]

I have a girl, Encephalon, who had a seizure as a baby and possibly a permanent lesion on her brain. She's also mostly, or completely, blind in one eye. She has very different mannerisms from the rest of the rats, and besides her long-time cagemate, Fyn, the other rats do not understand her at all. I've tried intros with the FN group before, and they didn't go well at all. Her sporadic, weird movements and the fact that she grabs at things (ie. other rats) to know where they are, immediately sent my FN group into full-on defense mode. She's 'slow,' and doesn't understand a whole lot; she also has a permanently glazed-over, oblivious look on her face :lol: She's a sweetie, though, and me and Fyn love her to pieces :heart:

She goes up like a prairie dog whenever she sees/hears something new to her:

 

[rat.charmer]

It would be interesting to see if a slow rat's vocalizations are any different than a normal rats. But yes - we still love them all the same - every rat is special in my book

 

[Godmother]

I can't imagine why rats wouldn't have the whole spectrum of abilities; most average, a few very bright and a few not too smart... just like people. And of course they would be subject to brain damage from injuries, infections, etc. In the wild they might not survive long, but in a loving home they'd do fine.

 

[lilspaz68]

I :heart: Encephalon!

 

[Pauley]

What one person may call mentally deficient

Others


call


Hoodies! :laugh4:


Kidding! I don't think I've ever had a slow one. The hoodies have always been somewhat, shall we say, quirky.
I have had a couple of them I think were OCD.

 

[LA]

What one person may call mentally deficient

Others


call


Hoodies! :laugh4:


Kidding! I don't think I've ever had a slow one. The hoodies have always been somewhat, shall we say, quirky.
I have had a couple of them I think were OCD.

So funny you say this.
Hazel my agouti hooded, keeps her nails short. She is also the hording queen, she will even steal food from others to store it away. We call her Jenny Craig of Rats.
Lily my beige bareback self barbers her front arm.

 

[RatsForever]

I'm not 100% sure about this but I swear one of my older girls, Lavender, is a little special. She's just not like all my other ratties. I can't quite put my finger on it but she does weird things like just wander off the edge of the table and the bookcase like she can walk on air. She just wanders around in her own little world and doesn't really interact with my other girls.

I swear my boy Byron was special. He had very similar behviours as Lavender. It would also take him much longer to clue into things and learn new games. On the other hand, he was much more affectionate than the other rats.

 

[Moon]

Chelsey I was hoping to see your Encie in this thread. I thought of her right away when I read the original one, LOL

 

[Vanessa]

I swore my Timmy had brain damage, which made him different to the other rats, but that was due to an inner ear infection that went untreated too long. He was the most gentle little tyke I have ever had.