Talented Troublemakers

Looking at Pet Rats

We often preach about how vastly different pet rats are from their wild counterparts. While this is true – domesticated rodents do have nicer temperaments, won’t destroy homes like wild rodents, and have far less of a potential to spread diseases to people – they are still related to their wild cousins. As such, we can actually study domesticated rat behavior to better understand the potential of their pesky cousins and, what we have found is that rats are very talented troublemakers.

Rat University

There’s a reason scientists study rats going through mazes and solving puzzles, they are shockingly intelligent creatures and can easily learn from experience. Based on their size and appearance, may people believe that they are unintelligent, but, in reality, they can actually be cleverer than some dogs and cats. This is part of the reason wild rodents survive so well in human inhabited areas – they’ve learned where to find food, what to avoid, and how people commonly try to dispose of them so they can avoid those dangerous situations.

To see just how intelligent rats can be, check out this video of a rat performing on America’s Got Talent. She is only 7 months old and yet her owner managed to train her to complete a complex obstacle course on stage in front of hundreds of people.

Agile Acrobats

Rats are like little acrobats. Their sharp claws allow them to scale high brick and cement walls, allowing them to access very tall buildings and locations. Their balance is incredible, and they can traverse across thin wires to travel from building to building. They also have the ability to jump a significant distance in proportion to their size both horizontally and vertically. In fact, from a standing position on the ground, rats can leap up to 2 feet in the air, while from a running start, they can reach up to 3 feet. All of these crazy cool agility perks make them highly adept at navigating both homes and city life.

If you want to see an incredible compilation of pet rats running agility courses, check out this clip:

Hiding Houdini’s

Rodents are experts at sneaking, escaping, and making their way into places that you were never expect.

Rats have the incredible ability to squeeze through holes as small as the size of a quarter. This is due to the flexibility of their skeleton – save for their skulls – their bones can fold and collapse similar to the way an umbrella does, so anywhere a rat’s head fits, their bodies will fit as well. And, if a hole is too small, they can still chew their way in. Rat teeth grow at a surprisingly rapid rate, roughly about 5 inches a year, and, as such, they have to chew constantly to grind down their teeth. Their bite pressure is also highly impressive, coming in at a stunning 24,000 psi. For frame of reference, a wolf’s bite has a pressure of only 1,400 psi – this means rats can even chew through metal!

Friends vs. Wild Troublemakers

While domesticated rats make fantastic pets, wild sewer-rats are far from your friends. These adorable domestic rats, display a myriad of incredible abilities that show how problematic wild pesky rodents can be.

Citation:

Polan, S. and Sharma, U. (2018) Why Cities Can’t Get Rid of Rats, YouTube. Science Insider. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD6eZrrcp1Y (Accessed: July 2020).

Rat Agility Work (2019) YouTube. Shadow the Rat. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cYDcgsSBfc (Accessed: December 2, 2020).

WHAT?! A Trained Rat Takes Over The AGT Stage! – America’s Got Talent 2019 (2019) YouTube. America’s Got Talent. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9pAnaOjhv8 (Accessed: December 2, 2020).