Ratty Physical Facts...

A rat's sense of smell is excellent, even exceeding that of a dogs.

Rats have extreme hearing capabilities, even in the ultrasonic ranges.

Rats communicate much of their language on a sound frequency that the human ear cannot hear.

Rats are poorly nearsighted.

Rats do not see three dimensionally, thus having no depth perception.

Rats are color blind.

A rat's vision is geared for spotting movement.

Pink eyed rats have much poorer vision than black eyed rats.

Their four front incisors (teeth) grow at about four to five inches per year.

A rat's tail helps them keep their balance.

Rats molt throughout their lives, loosing old hair, and gaining new hair. While they are molting they will have patches of lighter, softer hair throughout their bodies. This is more noticeable in babies. If they have a hairless gene in their background, or if they are a rex, they may even develop bald patches while molting.

You getting these Rat Facts...

Rattie Breeding Facts...

rattyrat.com
Female rats do not have periods.

A domestic female rat can become pregnant by the age of five weeks.

Rats open their eyes at fourteen days.

Rats can be completely weaned by the age of four weeks.

By 5 weeks of age, baby rats should be separated by sex.

A domestic female rat should not be bred more than 3-4 times in her life time.

Rattie Breeding Facts 101...

Rattie Behavioral Facts...

rattyrat.com
Some rats, especially pink-eyed rats, will sway their head back and forth to try and better focus their eye sight on a particular object.

A rat's tail can be a sign of their emotional state.

Rats do not drag their tails limply behind them. Instead they keep them raised an inch or so off the ground for quick turns and balance as they move along.

Rats who love to run on wheels will often hold their tail in a constant curl.

Rats LOVE to eat.

Rats LOVE to steal.

Rats LOVE to chew.

Rats are most active at the twilight hours.

Rats are incredibly inquisitive.

Rats like to take the shortest route to accomplish their task.

Although rats are very social and usually sleep in a big pile, don't be surprised if you see them sleeping off in separate areas of the cage as well. Rats will sometimes need their "alone" time, just like people do.

Rats are extreme individuals with personalities as varied as human beings.

Rats love to stash things.

Rats love to play tag with each other.

Rats love to go exploring inside your clothing.

If a new rat poops/pees on you it means they are scared.

If a new rat will groom themselves on you, or will eat food on you, it means that they were very well socialized and are very comfortable with humans.

Rats love to almost always give a big yawn after waking up.

Rats instinctively love to build nests.

Rats love to dig.

Rats see their cage as their burrow.

Rats do not like sudden, unpredictable movements from people.

Rats will often prefer to sleep in the highest possible spots of their enclosure.

Rats react sensitively to anything bitter tasting.

If a rat gets a bad taste in it's mouth, it will drag it's mouth across the floor trying to get rid of the taste.

Rats have excellent memories.

Rats are excellent problem solvers.

Rats love to please.

Because of the above three, they make great students to be taught tricks.

Rats can easily learn your schedule. If you let them out at the same time every day, for the same amount of time, they will pick up on it and follow right along your schedule with you.

Rats form close bonds with their human care givers.

Rats do not respond to punishment, and cannot be taught to stop their natural behaviors.

Its Rat behaviour 101...

Rattie words and their meanings

Musophobia" is the fear of rats or mice.

The word "rodent" is derived from the Latin word "rodere", which means "to gnaw".

A female rat is called a "doe".

A male rat is called a "buck".

Baby rats are called "kittens".

A group of rats is called a "mischief".

Rats practice "coprophagy", which is the eating of their feces to obtain the vitamins from them. Rabbits also do this.

Rats are "omnivorous". This means that they eat both plants and animals.

The Rattie Dictionary...