April 4th is World Rat Day
According to the Chinese horoscope, 2008 is the Year of the Rat.
Rats are extremely clean pets and are among the most intelligent and curious.
Ancient Romans considered the rat good luck, and in China the rat is considered a sign of prosperity.
Rats, with their long tail, have a very acute sense of balance; therefore, they are excellent climbers.
Pet rats live an average of two to three years.
Male rats are known as bucks, females are does, and babies are pups or kittens.
Rats are very social animals and do best when kept with other rat companions (same sex unless spayed or neutered to avoid accidental litters).
The general rule is that male rats are larger with a coarser coat and more laid-back disposition, than females. Females are typically smaller and more active and playful.
Pet rats, or fancy rats, have an interesting history. Many breeders believe that rats were first widely domesticated by the rat-catchers of the 19th Century. It is believed these people, who were paid by town governments to trap rats, started breeding rats to keep themselves in business, only then discovering how intelligent and loyal these pets could be.
Though generally nocturnal, most rats are crepuscular, which means they are most active for a few hours around dusk and dawn, dividing the rest of the day between hours of lesser activity and sleeping.
Rats have starred or appeared in over 400 films and close to one hundred television series.
Rats canât vomit (but they can fart!)
Rats can mate as young as 5 weeks old. Always keep males and females separated if you donât want to deal with an accidental litter. It only takes a few seconds and they can even mate through cage bars. A female rat can get pregnant again only 24 hours after giving birth
Spaying reduces the chances of mammary tumors drastically; neutering males can help with behavior issues.
Females go into heat about every 4 to 5 days. They âhumpâ each other and you might see their whole bodies vibrate. Sometimes they even leap like frogs. Itâs a very funny sight! In some rats itâs more obvious than in others.
Rats grind their teeth (also called bruxing) when they are content but can also be a sign of stress and discontent. When you see your ratâs whole head vibrating and their eye balls moving in and out itâs called boggling.
Donât be surprised if your rat starts grooming and licking you. They might check your nose, ears, hair and teeth. My girls check my mouth and teeth daily. They are so-called âRodentistsâ. You are part of the rattie pack!
Never ever pick up a rat by its tail. It is very uncomfortable for the rat and parts of the tail can actually come off (âdegloveâ).
Rats use ultrasound as a form of communication. Ultrasonic sound is a frequency too high to be heard by the human ear.
Many People think that rats are dumb, dirty and vicious animals and that they carry lots of diseases, but the facts tell a different story.
Pet rats are smart, loving and curious.
The Rat is the first symbol of the Chinese Zodiac - A symbol of cunning and prosperity.
The ancient Mayan civilization used to worship the Rat, as did the ancient Egyptians, and Ancient Romans considered the rat good luck.
In India a Hindu temple was constructed as a tribute to the rat goddess Karni Mata and is home to 20,000 rats.
Rats re very clean. They spend hours every day carefully grooming themselves and each other
Rats take care of the injured and sick in their groups
Wild rat teeth are strong enough to nibble through wood, lead piping, brick, concrete, and metal
Wild rats can swim for 3 days
A rat could survive a fall off of a five story building
Rats survived on Eniwetok Atoll where the US tested atomic weapons for years and were unaffected by the radiation
A 2007 University of Georgia study is the first that shows rats a non-primate species has metacognition, meaning the rat knows when it doesn't know something, pretty smart
A 2007 University of Berne study is the first evidence for general reciprocal cooperation in non-humans. The rats would help other rats they didnât know. Perhaps they could give us a lesson
Gambian rats have been trained to sniff out land mines
Wild rats can taste poison in food as low as 1 part per million
Wild rats will sample a new food and save the rest for later. If the rat gets sick it will avoid the food. Thatâs why poisons donât work
Rats, with their long tail, have a very acute sense of balance. Therefore, they are excellent climbers. Rat tails also are also used for temperature regulation and communication
Rats have glands on the bottom of their feet, they leave a wet scent trail wherever they walk, and use it to get back home
Rats have been sent into space aboard American, Chinese and Russian spacecraft
Rats have starred or appeared in over 400 films and close to one hundred television series
Wild rats can survive being flushed down a toilet (depending on the toilet...and the rat of course)!
Pet rats live an average of 2 to 3 years; wild rats about 1 year
Male rats are known as bucks, females are does, and babies are pups or kittens. A group/pack/herd of rats is called a Mischief
Though generally nocturnal, most rats are crepuscular, which means they are most active for a few hours around dusk and dawn, dividing the rest of the day between hours of lesser activity and sleeping
Wild rats DO NOT carry the plague. When rats catch the plague, they die from it. The plague is transmitted from animal to animal by fleas. Today, the plague is treatable with antibiotics
Wild rats almost never carry rabies, and there has never been a case of human rabies caused by rat bite in the United States. In 2006 18,000 people were treated for rabies, none from rats
Wild rats may carry a number of different diseases and parasites but transmission to humans is rare and most are easily treated
According to the CDC Rat bites are estimated at 4000 per year in the US with dog bites reported at 4.6 million. Rat bites accounted for 200+ emergency room visits, most considered minor. Dog bites result in an average of 17 human deaths, 6,000 hospitalizations, and 330,000 emergency room visits each year. In a three year study of animal attacks in Philadelphia a total of 6,293 animal bites were reported. Of these cases, 5,390 were dog related, 633 involved cats; 39 were rats; 35 were squirrels; 3 were raccoons; and a total of 193 involving ferrets, gerbils, groundhogs, guinea pigs, hamsters, horses, humans, mice, opossums, rabbits, skunks, snakes, and others
