I wrote some rat facts a few years ago and thought I could share with someone who could appreciate. Most of it is factual, based on personal experiences, or just guessed at.
Rats make excellent pets. They don't make for good eating, so why not keep them around as friends? They know that they rely on humans (both pets and wild rats). They are social, and like to sleep in piles when it's cool, and seperate and on their faces when they are warmer. They have little hands which they use to eat everything like sandwiches, and they can get good grip with their fingers and semi-prehensile tails, making them almost impossible to juggle.
Rats' movements can only be described as commando-like. They move along walls and corner closely, and move quickly across open ground. They will give quick peeks before moving from cover, and if they are suspicious of something, they will run up, "poke smell", and return to cover quickly. They incorporate direction changes in their retreat when startled to avoid predation.
Rats mainly communicate in high frequencies humans can't hear, and I suspect they have a surprisingly lucrative vocabulary. No, I don't, they probably have one squeak for "come here" and one for "take cover". The squeaks that we can hear have several meanings that can be figured out by watching them. The "stop cleaning me" squeak comes to mind immediately.
Rats usually have a life span of over three years, if they're lucky. We have had 23 rats as pets over the last 10 or 12 years. Boy rats like petting and snuggling more, and they are happiest and healthiest if you have 2 or 3 of them together. Girl rats are smaller and they are more adventurous when they are younger, and enjoy petting more after they are over a year old. They can get along in larger groups. We have had as many as six together. You should keep the sexes seperate at all times, pecause they can have around 13 babies per litter, and when they are young, they operate on somewhat of a "collective brain" which usually ends in trouble.
Rats are the only animal besides primates to have metacognitive thought, which is sometimes described as "thinking about thinking". In reality it is the brain's ability to recognize that individuals have individual personalities, and the ability to hypothesize about certain actions (i.e. weighing risks)
Due to selective breeding, there are now several varieties of domestic rats. The pink-eyed whites are used as "lab rats" as they are quite docile in nature and do not conceal their need for affection for humans. Through their noble sacrifice we now have cures for diseases such as polio and rubella, however, they are genetically different from humans and sometimes their physical reaction to diseases and subsequent attempts to cure said diseases are not always the same as it would be in humans. When well-groomed, they look pretty spectacular under blacklight.
Berkshire rats are dark brown with white "socks" and a white patch on their bellies. They make good companions as they are very clever, and seem more willing to attempt obstacle courses I create.
Self or selph rats are similar to berkshire rats, minus the white markings. They have black feet as well and are renowned for their nest-building and pottery-throwing skills.
Hooded rats we have had always seem to be the weird ones of the bunch. They are always the braver, more curious rats, although they are more nervous when placed in new surroundings. Most are the self-appointed groomers of a rat family. And rarely does one not suffer some sort of OCD.
Dumbo rats are so named for their ears and their ability to fly short distances. We have never had one because they cost several hundred dollars each.
Naked rats enjoy a fur-free lifestyle. They originated in Egypt, where the flying saucer people left them. We have never had one of them either because of American "Victorian Age" moral standards, and because of the FCC.
Norway rats, or Rattus Norvegicus (which does not mean Norway Rat) do not grow to be as big as cats or footballs or any other lies you may have heard about wharf rats and whatnot. Their legbones are not long enough to make mobility of something so big possible. Their natural makeup does not cause them to fear humans to the point of remaining 'invisible' to us, and their natural curiousity will often lead them to be too close to people for people's comfort (sometimes they will try to scurry up your pants leg)
Most domestic rats enjoy reading "Goofus and Gallant" of Highlights Magazine. They are also ticklish. Like everywhere..
Rats make excellent pets. They don't make for good eating, so why not keep them around as friends? They know that they rely on humans (both pets and wild rats). They are social, and like to sleep in piles when it's cool, and seperate and on their faces when they are warmer. They have little hands which they use to eat everything like sandwiches, and they can get good grip with their fingers and semi-prehensile tails, making them almost impossible to juggle.
Rats' movements can only be described as commando-like. They move along walls and corner closely, and move quickly across open ground. They will give quick peeks before moving from cover, and if they are suspicious of something, they will run up, "poke smell", and return to cover quickly. They incorporate direction changes in their retreat when startled to avoid predation.
Rats mainly communicate in high frequencies humans can't hear, and I suspect they have a surprisingly lucrative vocabulary. No, I don't, they probably have one squeak for "come here" and one for "take cover". The squeaks that we can hear have several meanings that can be figured out by watching them. The "stop cleaning me" squeak comes to mind immediately.
Rats usually have a life span of over three years, if they're lucky. We have had 23 rats as pets over the last 10 or 12 years. Boy rats like petting and snuggling more, and they are happiest and healthiest if you have 2 or 3 of them together. Girl rats are smaller and they are more adventurous when they are younger, and enjoy petting more after they are over a year old. They can get along in larger groups. We have had as many as six together. You should keep the sexes seperate at all times, pecause they can have around 13 babies per litter, and when they are young, they operate on somewhat of a "collective brain" which usually ends in trouble.
Rats are the only animal besides primates to have metacognitive thought, which is sometimes described as "thinking about thinking". In reality it is the brain's ability to recognize that individuals have individual personalities, and the ability to hypothesize about certain actions (i.e. weighing risks)
Due to selective breeding, there are now several varieties of domestic rats. The pink-eyed whites are used as "lab rats" as they are quite docile in nature and do not conceal their need for affection for humans. Through their noble sacrifice we now have cures for diseases such as polio and rubella, however, they are genetically different from humans and sometimes their physical reaction to diseases and subsequent attempts to cure said diseases are not always the same as it would be in humans. When well-groomed, they look pretty spectacular under blacklight.
Berkshire rats are dark brown with white "socks" and a white patch on their bellies. They make good companions as they are very clever, and seem more willing to attempt obstacle courses I create.
Self or selph rats are similar to berkshire rats, minus the white markings. They have black feet as well and are renowned for their nest-building and pottery-throwing skills.
Hooded rats we have had always seem to be the weird ones of the bunch. They are always the braver, more curious rats, although they are more nervous when placed in new surroundings. Most are the self-appointed groomers of a rat family. And rarely does one not suffer some sort of OCD.
Dumbo rats are so named for their ears and their ability to fly short distances. We have never had one because they cost several hundred dollars each.
Naked rats enjoy a fur-free lifestyle. They originated in Egypt, where the flying saucer people left them. We have never had one of them either because of American "Victorian Age" moral standards, and because of the FCC.
Norway rats, or Rattus Norvegicus (which does not mean Norway Rat) do not grow to be as big as cats or footballs or any other lies you may have heard about wharf rats and whatnot. Their legbones are not long enough to make mobility of something so big possible. Their natural makeup does not cause them to fear humans to the point of remaining 'invisible' to us, and their natural curiousity will often lead them to be too close to people for people's comfort (sometimes they will try to scurry up your pants leg)
Most domestic rats enjoy reading "Goofus and Gallant" of Highlights Magazine. They are also ticklish. Like everywhere..
