Rattie Kisses
Well-Known Member
What does swaying of the head mean in a rat? I just noticed my rat swaying his head while cuddling with the other rat.
Some rats, especially pink eyed albinos, often sway from side to side. Albino rats have extremely poor vision, and this swaying may help them see better. Dark-eyed rats may sway or bob their heads up and down too, though they tend to do so less frequently than albino rats. Head bobbing in dark-eyed rats is usually seen before the rat takes a big jump.
Swaying may help the rat figure out how far away various objects are. When a rat moves its head, the images of the objects around the rat move across its retina. Close objects will move faster than far ones, a phenomenon known as motion parallax. Rats may use such motion marallax cues to judge distance and depth.
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