Rat Intelligence - Why Rats Are the Smartest Pets
Posted: Tuesday, January 08, 2008
by Catherine Smith
RatsRatsRats.com
We know are rats are intelligent , just by being around them. The knowing looks they give us, the way they solve simple problems and work out how to cause even more mischief . Here is some more info on what we already knew. Our Rats Are Smart!
Learning
Rats pick up new behaviors and tricks very quickly. They try hard to please their owners and you may be surprised how much your rat can learn.In the wild, rats, like humans are survivors and generalists . They have to cope with every eventuality that nature throws at them. They learn to raid human food and stores and avoid being caught.
Mazes
Rats are also very good at mazes . It is actually quite fun to make up a maze for your ratty and put their favorite treat at the end. The first time it may take a while for them to get to the treat, but the next time you will see they are much faster.
In one incident a rat was placed in an eight arm maze, with a treat at the end of each arm. The rat learnt how to empty the maze, without going down the same arm twice. It didn't follow a set pattern, so it's route could not be predicted. Someone suggested that the rat was leaving a scent mark at each tunnel entrance it had been down, so that it would know not to go down that one again. However, further tests eliminated this possibility. They then turned the maze around and the rat became disoriented.
It turned out that the rat had used visual markers to remember what arms of the maze it had already been down. Some arms were near a window, or a light. This showed that the rat could picture the maze and the location of the tunnels it had been down. It then reflected on this experience and could find food with minimum effort.
Social Intelligence
Rats are incredibly social creatures, who have very complex relationships with other
rats. As you probably know, they can have a very strong bond with people too. In the wild and in horrible labs, rats can die from social stress .
Their relationships are so important to them that there have been report of
rats dying from heart break after
their partner has died.
Shy rats have
been proven to die younger than their more confident peers. It is important to
be patient with him, if you have a shy
ratty . If you are
gentle and quiet and consistent in your efforts you may have a
breakthrough.
Rat Dreams
Yes, rats do dream . Have you ever seen your little ratty twitching
a little in his sleep? Or even squeaking? Well, it has been proven that rats
dream, in very much the same way as humans .
They dream about what they have done that day and you may see them moving as
they dream.
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copyright Catherine Smith 2007
Check out my website for everything you've ever wanted
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I know baby rats make sounds that humans can't hear because they're a frequency that humans can't hear so maybe adult rats do the same thing.
i love my rats will do anything for them!!
Now I know why rats are more intelligent then mice. THANKS
Rats also differ in their general intelligence level in the way that we do - some rats are smarter - and can solve maze problems and other types of problems more quickly than others.
THIS WAS GREAT
this was really interesting. i am trying to get my dad to let me get a rat. wait till he sees this article!
I love rats! The poor things are so mistunderstood. :( Did you know they are smarter than most dogs?
this was a great website, my pet rat is amazing and adorable, both me and my mom have one, but mine is female and much neater compared to her male rat :)
They lick my teeth.
my rats are very smart however you need to make sure a minimum of 2 toegether they can't stand been alone