Life expectancy of a decorative rat

Most of us know about these animals as living in ditches and drains, spoiling crops in barns, carriers of infections, and at the same time very smart. Those who are lucky enough to own such a pet at home, regardless of the breed, including gray ones, will unanimously say what a smart and funny animal it is. You will never be bored with him. Just before you get one, you should know that the opinion about the unpretentiousness of this animal is a myth. At home, it requires a lot of attention and care; people can often get sick, including cancer. Life expectancy directly depends on the conditions of detention.

Do rats and mice live in the same cage?

You can feed him to the point where he can't look at the mouse as food. But overeating them, like people, has the same consequences. They are also smart and may simply refuse to eat, so don't overfeed them.

And also, don’t forget about competitions. This is another reason to destroy your opponent. Among mice there are quite active individuals, and the rat, as a smart animal, always attacks first.

These rodents should not be placed in the same cage at all - they are incompatible animals. They belong to the same class of rodents and even to the same family of mice, but they are in the same food chain and do not have the same developmental value. The result is catastrophic.

Description

The tiny exotic Chilean degu squirrel, which looks more like a rat, mouse, or chinchilla, belongs to a species of southern and Latin American rodents from the eight-toothed family. In the scientific world it is called Octodon Degus (bush rat), or Degus, whose natural habitat is foothills with bushes in South American countries - Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Peru.

Chilean squirrels have a body length of 10–24 cm (depending on gender), their long tail is 7–15 cm, and their weight ranges from 100 to 400 grams. In captivity, the weight of degus usually does not exceed 200–250 grams. On the elongated muzzle of the animal there are dark beady eyes, a slightly flattened nose, thick whiskers, large round ears sticking out above the head. The fur of these rodents is delicate, soft to the touch, and at the end of the tail there is a small brush of long hairs. The degu's front legs, which it uses to grab food, are shorter and weaker than its hind legs.

The color of the animal in nature is gray-brown or yellow-brown, it is usually darker on the back, and the fur on the belly is light gray or cream. Now spotted, blue and sand degus have been bred under artificial conditions. During times of danger (in nature this is an attack by birds of prey) or a stressful situation, squirrels shed skin and hair from their tail, leaving it for the enemy, then the animal gnaws off the bare, dead section of the tail for itself. It will not grow a new tail, so if you encounter a short-tailed bush rat, you can assume that it has experienced stress.

Degu sleeps at night, leading an active life during the day. In nature, it feeds at the beginning or end of the day; at this time the sun in its homeland is not so active and the animal will not suffer from heatstroke. At home, the squirrel can adapt to the owners' regime.

Like many rodents, the Chilean squirrel stores supplies for the winter season in its burrow. This rodent's teeth grow throughout its life. There are 20 teeth in total; the animal periodically grinds them down on various boards or branches.

How long can a rat live without water and food?

Representatives of this species of rodents naturally settle in or near places with plenty of food and water. That's why there are so many of them in ditches and near rivers.

In domestic conditions, without water, an animal dies within 24 hours, and without food - within 3-4 days. Therefore, they must have constant access to food and drink. It is not recommended to feed them on time and in portions.

She can only live without water if her diet includes watery fruits, in large quantities, every day.

Diet features

However, despite being omnivorous, different species of rats have specific eating preferences.

For example, gray rats (or pasyuki) differ from their counterparts in that they love meat - their diet must include animal protein.

In natural conditions, these are: fish, amphibians (frogs, toads, newts), mollusks, small rodents, insectivores. In addition, rodents destroy bird nests by eating eggs and chicks.

But the food of a black rat usually consists of plant foods: seeds, nuts, fruits, vegetables. Animal protein plays a minor role in her diet.

Rodents prefer grain crops, apples, sweet potatoes, melons, plums, pineapples, and tomatoes. In addition, they do not disdain donuts, chocolates, and peanut butter.

Living near human buildings, wild rats consume all available food products, waste, and livestock feed. They often attack chickens in the chicken coop, steal and eat eggs, and kill chickens.

There is even a misconception that chickens stop laying eggs if there are rats in the barn. However, the absence of eggs can be explained by the fact that the animals simply steal them. It is not uncommon for rats to eat feces. But they don’t like to stock up on food.

How long do Sphynx rats live?

Sphynxes live on average from 1.5 to 2.5 years. Hairless rats are more delicate creatures than their other relatives and require special, more careful care. This affects the lifespan of both an individual species and one individual in particular.

Features of education

They are hypoallergenic, which is a big advantage;
The skin must be constantly dried and secretions removed;
Sharp claws should be trimmed as they can damage the animal;

How to tame?

An interesting feature of domestic rats is their ability to be trained and tamed. This is due to the high intelligence and subtle intelligence of animals. The rat will not refuse regular contact with its owner and will happily go into the hands of the owner as soon as the adaptation process is completed after acquiring the animal.

The approximate time during which the animal will begin to respond to the voice and its name is about 3 days. The animal should get accustomed to the owner gradually, without frightening him. When the rat is already craving contact, it can be released for a walk around the apartment, but this process requires constant attention from the owner.

Best friends

Rats are very open and inquisitive animals that easily come into contact with humans. They are not difficult to tame.

Reproduction

Rats reach sexual maturity at 6 months of age and can be reproduced if there are two of different sexes. These animals are very fertile, and female rats mate every 10 days.

Rats mate within 1-3 hours, and pregnancy lasts 21 days. It is important to provide a pregnant woman with plenty of fruits and vegetables that contain essential vitamins. Before giving birth, the female is busy building the nest, carrying various materials, from paper to rags.

On average, up to 8 liters are born, each weighing only 7 grams. After giving birth, the female and her young should be moved away from other individuals. Newborns are fed with mother's milk for about a month, after which young people try adult food.

Rat babies are born naked, their fur appears on the 10th day, and their eyes open 2 weeks after birth. Young rats become completely independent at one and a half months of age.

How much can he eat

As already mentioned, the rat is a very voracious animal and is capable of eating a lot of food at one time. Just like mice, they can even live in the freezer and refrigerator, eating frozen foods.

The rat consumes food by gnawing. Its amazing chewing ability allows it to gnaw and chew virtually anything.

Rodents chew through everything that is softer than their incisors, which are perfectly adapted for this and grow throughout their lives. Paper, fabric, wood, plastic, sewer pipes, electrical wiring - this is an incomplete list of what rats can chew through. And this often causes irreparable harm to a person. In fact, the only things they can't handle are glass and iron.

Let's figure out how much a rodent can eat. During the day, on average, one animal eats about 25 g of food, per year - within 10 kg. Rats cannot go without food for a long time and die without it after 3-4 days.

But without water, a rodent can live even less. He needs about 35 ml of fluid per day. Eating wet food reduces the daily need for water to 10 ml.

Since rats are omnivores, they must be able to recognize which foods are healthy and which are harmful and even dangerous. I wonder how the young ones recognize that they are eating good food.

Amazingly, while still embryos, baby rats “remember” what their mother eats during pregnancy.

And in the future they love to eat the food that the female ate when she was bearing her offspring. In addition, the offspring born with the mother's milk receives information about her nutrition.

When grown-up offspring discover unfamiliar food, they always monitor whether the adults eat it. If the food is edible, adult rats mark it, thus signaling to the young that it is safe to eat.

Dangers of a pet rat

Very often, rats living in the house do not live at the appointed time. This is mainly due to the negligence of their owners.

The most common factors leading to untimely death of rodents are direct contact with domestic animals such as dogs and cats. These rodents can also die from chewing electrical wires or eating houseplants that are poisonous to them.

Therefore, it is very important, if you decide to become the owner of a decorative rat, then you need to pay great attention to it, as well as provide a balanced diet and proper care. This is the only way to prolong the life of an animal.

Differences between the diet of wild and ornamental rats

Rats always try a small piece before eating an unknown food. And if after some time they do not feel unwell, then they can eat it.

In addition, it should be noted that the animals have a well-developed sense of smell, so they can determine the quality of food without prior testing.

If a rat does ingest poisonous food, it will eat clay, dirt, and nesting litter in order to neutralize the effect of the poison.

Why do rats live short lives?

The lifespan of various animal species is determined genetically. It depends on the reproductive capacity of the animal. Rats can breed from 1.5 months. A rodent can have up to 14 individuals in a litter.

A lactating rat is ready to become pregnant and give birth to a newborn. For this reason, animals of different sexes should not be kept in the same cage, as this creates additional stress on the female.

Another reason for a short life is a fast metabolism. This can cause the rat to die without food within 2 days.

Diseases of domestic rats that most often kill rodents

Respiratory tract diseases.

This is the most common health problem in rats. Pay attention to discharge from the eyes and nose, as well as sneezing.

Most respiratory infections are bacterial in origin and can be treated with antibiotics. Viral infections require good supportive care, such as high-quality nutrition and appropriate cage conditions.

To prevent respiratory infections, the rat cage should be kept clean and well ventilated.

Cancer.

Fortunately, most tumors in pets are benign. Cancer is more common in female rats. It usually appears on the mammary glands from 18 months, because this is when female rats stop ovulating.

If you feel a lump under your pet's skin, contact your veterinarian. There are various treatment options, including surgery to remove the tumor.

Skin parasites.

Rats are most susceptible to skin mites. The incidence of skin mite infections can range from a few to a complete infestation.

A few mites are common on most rats and are not a problem. However, if the animal is stressed or sick, it is susceptible to infection. This can be treated with medications. But prevention is always better.

The rat's cage should be cleaned and disinfected frequently to prevent mite growth. Additionally, you should feed your pet a proper rat diet and try not to let it become stressed.

Which hamster should I buy for my home?

Before you think about caring for your pet, you need to approach the issue of purchasing it correctly. Buy a hamster that is 3 weeks old or less than 6 months old. This is the most successful period, when the rodent is already “adult” enough to break away from its parents, but at the same time it adapts well to new conditions. Newborns or older than six months should not be purchased, as this can lead to serious mental disorders and early death of the rodent.

Also, be sure to ask the breeder everything about the parents of the chosen hamster and about possible hereditary pathologies. If you cannot obtain such information (this is more often the case with cats and dogs), then conduct a full examination, which includes the following points:

tail – dry;
the coat is smooth and has uniform density;
eyes – shiny;
breathing is smooth, without wheezing.

A healthy hamster moves quickly around the cage and responds to touch. In addition, it is ideal to buy a rodent not by hand, but in a specialized store, in order to have a certificate from a veterinarian: such animals often suffer from various dangerous (both for the pet and the owner) diseases.

What else does life expectancy depend on?

How long a rat will live in the house largely depends on its external characteristics and breed. For example, bald and sickly animals very often suffer from colds and are prone to problems with digestion and thermoregulation.

Therefore, they delight their owners with their presence in the house for a year shorter than other species. For example, Satin (their fur is very shiny), Dumbo (short, round ears) and Rex (wavy fur) rats do not require feeding or grooming, so they live up to 3-4 years.

The lifespan of rats directly depends on their diet and living conditions. For example, rodents can consume large amounts of food and do so continuously, causing them to gain weight over time and develop numerous diseases.

Interesting!
The oldest rodent to live to be 7 years old was included in the Guinness Book of Records.

Therefore, the role of the owner who wants to prolong the life of the rat is to limit the amount of food eaten, promptly remove food debris from the cage and keep the cage clean. Periodically disinfect the rat house and eliminate its odor.

For healthy teeth of a rodent, you need to put tree branches, stones, pieces of salt and chalk in its cage. Veterinarians also advise communicating more with your “companion”: take him in your arms, treat him with sweets: dried fruits, cheese, cottage cheese and others. Domestic tamed rats that feel the attention of the owner, eat normally and do not get sick can live up to 2.5-3 years.

What affects lifespan

The lifespan of rats, both wild and ornamental, depends on several factors:

Living conditions . Pasyuki, as a rule, spend a large amount of time in landfills and sewer systems. It is not surprising that in conditions of complete unsanitary conditions, animals often suffer from infectious and parasitic diseases. Accordingly, their life expectancy is noticeably reduced. Domestic rats are luckier - usually the owners of rodents carefully look after them. However, not always. It happens that decorative rats die in the absence of proper care.
Heredity . Offspring born from healthy parents have better health and live longer. On the contrary, baby rats whose mother and father suffer from many diseases are born weak and, at best, die from illnesses before they even live a year. In the worst case, weak offspring are eaten by their own parents.
Presence of enemies . In their natural habitat, pasyuki act both as a predator and as a prey. They often become prey for cats, dogs, large birds, and snakes. Decorative rats, due to the carelessness of their owners, also sometimes become victims of attacks by domestic cats.
Food quality . Loving owners of decorative rats usually provide a balanced diet for their pets. Pets receive not only industrial feed, but also natural food containing all the necessary micro- and macroelements. While the pasyuki are interrupted by anything. In populated areas, the basis of their menu is food from the garbage dump. Therefore, wild rats do not receive enough nutrients, which negatively affects their growth, development and overall health.
Destruction by man . This point also applies only to wild rats. From time immemorial, humanity has been at war with small pests. To destroy voracious rodents, all means are used - traps, poisons, ultrasonic repellers, repellents, cats. And when protecting crops, farmers use poisons that cause mass destruction of rodents - rodenticides. Millions of rats die every year as a result of human pest control.
Availability of company . Rats are social animals; from the first days of their lives they are accustomed to living in packs. Relatives closely interact with each other - they engage in grooming, warn of danger, and help weakened individuals defend themselves. Therefore, at home, rats should also be kept in groups. However, not every owner is ready to take care of several pets at once. As a result, the lonely animal feels very bad, becomes sad, and dies a few months later for no apparent reason.

Regardless of how long wild and domestic rats can live without food and without water, it is better not to leave your pets alone in the hope that they will somehow last a couple of days. After all, other unfavorable factors may be added to starvation, which together can significantly undermine the health of the fluffy.

How do the life spans of different breeds of rats differ?

To date, several breeds of rats have been bred, differing in the texture of their fur, color and location of their ears. There is a breed of tailless rodents. Although it is debatable whether they can be identified as a separate breed.

If we take some of the most famous breeds, we get the following results:

Standards are rats, similar to wild rats. They can have different colors, for example, the blue rat is distinguished by the azure shade of its fur;
Hairless sphinxes are animals without hair;
Rex has short curly hair;
Double Rexes are shedding rats with varying hair lengths;
Fools are animals with big elephant ears;
There is no tail;
Husky is the color of a dog of the same breed;
Atlas - animals with thin, glossy fur.

This is a rough list that will differentiate the different races based on their strength.

White rats of different breeds are less likely to live. This is because they were bred as laboratory animals, so they have some damage in their genome. Animals rarely reach the age of 2 years.

Sphynxes are quite sensitive. Lack of fur increases the risk of skin damage and associated infections. The naked body suffers from temperature changes and sunburn.

People without a tail have no balance or rudder, which increases the risk of injury. The tail also serves as protection for the back of the animal's body.

Wolf Pack

Relations in the pack are altruistic in nature. Each animal completely subordinates its interests to common needs. Otherwise, the predator community would not have survived. Not only physical characteristics, but also psychological characteristics influence the rank of an animal. This is explained by the fact that the leader must take charge of organizing the hunt and divide the food obtained among his relatives. Older wolves are responsible for the younger ones. Juveniles unquestioningly obey the demands of their older relatives.

There are seven ranks in the pack. Management of community members occurs without forceful influence. A clear organization, distribution of roles, complete freedom of choice to be or not to be in the pack - all this makes the wolf family a highly organized, well-coordinated mechanism. The social status of wolves is associated with the age and sex of the animals. However, these indicators serve only to achieve the set goals. Having caught prey, wolves will never hunt again as long as they have food.

Unit in the pack:

The flock never disputes the right to the first piece of food. A weakened leader will not be able to provide security to his relatives.

The leader has no right to protection. In times of danger, only he decides how to act; the pack always listens to him.

Warriors are the backbone of the pack. They provide food and safety for their relatives. When there is an external threat, only warriors enter into battle. This rank can be occupied by wolves of both sexes. However, a female with puppies never participates in guarding and obtaining food.

A senior warrior can replace the leader if he dies or for some reason cannot lead the pack. He, along with the main wolf, organizes protection and hunting.

An adult female with experience raising wolf cubs is a mother. Its main functions are to take care of the pack's puppies. A female who has whelped does not automatically occupy this rank. When a flock is attacked, it is the mother who takes all weak relatives to safety while the warriors repel the attack.

The eldest female never competes with the main warrior, but if necessary, she takes the place of the leader. When the head of the pack dies, the most worthy animal begins to play his role. At the same time, there are no fights to identify the best contender for the status of leader.

During feeding and raising puppies, all mothers of the pack are under special care.

Reproduction occupies a special place in the life of animals. Once a year, the flock splits into pairs to reproduce. All members of the flock can reproduce. The main condition for this is awareness of one’s role in the pack. Those wolves who did not get a mate help their relatives raise their young and hunt. Pairs are always created for life. If one of the pair dies, the surviving wolf never looks for a partner again.

A guardian is an animal that controls the wolf cubs. There are two subranks. Pestun is a young wolf who is not currently capable of becoming a warrior due to his age or is a young wolf from a previous litter. These animals completely obey their mother and follow her orders. This is how they learn to handle wolf cubs. Being a caregiver is the first stage of education that allows you to acquire the skills you need for life.
Uncle is a male dog with no family. Helps raise young fish.
The signalman is the eyes of the pack. It is he who alerts her to the impending threat. The received information is analyzed by more experienced wolves. Only after this is a decision made on further actions.
The puppy bears no responsibility. His main task is complete obedience. Adult animals show him special care and guardianship.
A disabled person is an elderly person who has the right to protection and food. Wolves always take care of their old relatives.

Why do animals suddenly die?

The life of a free-ranging animal is dangerous. The house is full of inedible detergents and cleaning products, the wires are electrified: you need to understand that a rat on its teeth will definitely try everything in sight.

Homeowners don't always watch their step and tend to move heavy furniture wherever a curious animal happens to wander. An unfortunate fall after climbing curtains or carelessly stepping onto a balcony can be fatal.

Terriers, dachshunds and cats with strong hunting instincts pose a deadly threat to a domesticated rodent. A spoiled pet can escape through an open door into the street, where it has no chance of survival. All these troubles can be avoided by keeping your pet in a cage and walking it under supervision in a fenced area.

Especially trembling animals can go into cardiac arrest after being frightened by something.

Housing arrangement and general living conditions

Rats definitely need periodic exercise and opportunities to be active. In a house or cage that is too small, the rodent will not be able to move as often as necessary. This will lead to gradual muscle atrophy and obesity.

In a cage or house where pet rats are kept, the room should be kept at a normal temperature.

How to extend your pet's life

Considering that the average lifespan of a rat is 2 years, you can try to extend this period by surrounding the animal with attention and care.

Features of a specific breed

In breeding, certain parameters are taken as a basis. Including:

coat color and length;
shape and position of the ears;
presence of a tail;
eye color and much more.

However, appearance is determined by genes, which often negatively affect the health of rodents. For example, white rats with red eyes are prone to cancer and allergies, and low immunity rarely allows them to live 1.5-2 years.

The long-tailed one among the breeds is the Dumbo. Rats with cute round ears live up to 3-3.5 years. Blue rats and Huskies have approximately the same life expectancy.

The lifespan of a sphinx depends on the conditions in which they live. The lack of fur makes them so sensitive to temperature changes that even slight hypothermia can lead to death or serious pathologies. The average lifespan of a Sphynx is 1.5 to 2 years.

Rex and standard breeds usually live up to 2 years.

Dental health

Pet rats' teeth grow throughout their lives. If a rodent's diet is dominated by soft and moist foods, natural grinding does not occur and eating becomes difficult or impossible. Therefore, it is important that solid foods (grains, raw vegetables) make up the bulk of the diet.

Genetics

Unfortunately, most laboratories still use rodent bioassays as a method for testing medical and other drugs. In this case, the animals not only suffer from developing pathology and side effects from injection drug use, but are also subjected to specific crossbreeding, as a result of which they acquire genes for obesity, diabetes, cancer and other diseases.

Inbreeding also negatively affects life expectancy. Initially, the offspring begin to show developmental abnormalities. Then such families gradually degrade due to an increase in the number of non-viable offspring.

Pedigree is most often allowed when breeding rats that are intended to be fed to other animals. This also happens to unscrupulous or inexperienced breeders who do not have time to separate animals after feeding or who keep large numbers of rodents in one cage to save money and make a “quick” profit.

It is impossible to completely insure yourself against buying a rat with a genetic disease. That's why it's good to buy animals through special clubs where people raise pets responsibly.

Disease Prevention

It is easier to prevent the causes of a disease than to cope with its consequences. Proper care will prevent many problems. The rat cage should be cleaned regularly and washed with a mild disinfectant solution. The water in the drinker must be clean and changed daily. It is best to use regular, filtered water. Food waste that decomposes and can cause illness should be removed regularly.

Avoid pine fillers. Not suitable for rodents. You can use corn mulch or simply place toilet paper on the animals.

A newly acquired pet should be quarantined separately to prevent it from becoming infected by the old cage occupants. Buy an ultraviolet lamp to disinfect the room. Look for a rodent veterinarian to turn to when sick.

Proper nutrition

Life expectancy in the wild directly depends on the nutrition of rodents, often insufficient or poor nutrition:

Food source from landfills.
It feeds on small animals and insects.
Prevalence of plant foods.
Cannibalism - in conditions of hunger, rats often eat their comrades.

Once settled in or near cities, many rats are killed by poisons that people distribute to control the animals.

For a rat to live a long and healthy life, it should eat about 80% grains and about 20% vegetables/fruits/greens. Clean drinking water must be available at all times.

A pet rat will also benefit from using a mineral stone to polish its teeth.

Young rats should be fed boiled meat and eggs at least once a week. Sometimes you can pamper them with nuts. Sprouted grains have a general strengthening effect and prevent many diseases, so they are also recommended to be added to the diet of decorative rats.

Health monitoring

The habit of observing your pets will allow you to learn a lot about them, while at the same time noticing signs of an incipient disease. If he is not eating well, stops playing, appears lethargic, or has discharge from his nose or eyes, and his coat is unkempt and unkempt, seek immediate medical attention.

Infectious diseases can progress very quickly and can lead to the loss of the animal. Diarrhea not associated with excess vegetables also indicates illness.

Examine your pet's stool; it may contain helminths - worms. A rat that is itching a lot should be warned because there is a risk of parasitic disease. You should also be wary of rodents that are prone to hunchbacking, a common problem in aging rats. Older pets are prone to cancer, heart attacks and strokes.

Dangers of a tame rat

Often, decorative rats die due to the fault of the owner; this can be either an accident or insufficient protection.

The most common causes of premature death:

Other pets - attack by cat, dog or bird.
Eating inedible objects, poisonous plants, detergents.
Falls from a height, etc.

It is important to remember that we are responsible for those we tame. Responsibility for the life and health of the animal lies entirely with its owner.

Facts about rats

-Rats appeared on Earth 48 million years earlier than humans. -On average, there are 2 rats for every inhabitant of the planet. -If a mouse is enlarged to the height of a person and the skeleton is straightened, it turns out that the joints of mice and people are structured the same, and the bones have an equal number of parts. -Scientists say that the rat is the best model object for research and development of methods for treating and preventing human diseases. -A rat can swim for 3 days in a row, swim several kilometers (the recorded record is 29 km!) and drown, unless there is an opportunity to get out. -Grey rats are capable of moving at a speed of 10 km/h, jumping up to a height of up to 80 cm, and in an aggressive state - up to 2 meters in height. -In a rat, the heart beats at a speed of 500 times per minute, in a house mouse, the heart beats 700-750 times per minute, which is 10 times faster than in a person. -The finest hairs covering the rat's tail are used in ophthalmology during eye surgeries. -Rats dive well and climb ropes, pipes, and trees very well. During the day, rats are able to cover from 10 to 50 km. -Rats' teeth grow throughout their lives, so they are always gnawing on something to wear them down. -The rat easily grinds hard substances such as concrete and metal. -Rats whistle in the ultrasonic range, which allows them to communicate with each other without attracting the attention of predators. Moreover, they whistle not with their lips, but with their throats. They are also capable of suddenly changing the frequency of signals. -Rats have a rich vocabulary of screams with special meanings. - A baby rat in a moment of stress makes a sound equivalent in volume to a working pneumatic jackhammer, although due to the fact that it has an ultra-high frequency, a person cannot hear it. -It only takes a rat 50 milliseconds to figure out where the smell is coming from. -The rat senses X-rays in the part of the brain that controls the sense of smell. -Pasyuk consumes about 12 kg of food per year, but this is incomparable with the amount of food that he renders unusable. Statistics say that every sixth farmer feeds not people, but rats. -Rats are able to distinguish poisoned food from normal food even when the dilution of the poison is one part per million. -A rat can live without water longer than a camel, in general longer than all mammals. -The animal that can go the longest without drinking is not a camel, but a rat. -Rats are able to sense X-rays, which is inaccessible to the perception of any living organism. -Rats can withstand very high levels of radiation, but can die from mental shock or prolonged stress. -Chinese scientists from the Academy of Sciences in Shanghai and the Chinese University of Hong Kong have found a gene in rats that produces a substance that protects the body from sexually transmitted diseases. -The rat is the only mammal other than humans that can laugh! Recently, scientists discovered a reaction in rats to funny situations. -Rats also dream. -The rat family owns an area whose radius is about 150 m. -Rat routes usually go along walls, baseboards or pipes. -Cluttering is the main reason why rats take up residence in homes. Sometimes you don't even need to poison the rats. It is enough to simply clean out the basement in the house and carry out some work on the garbage disposal. -One pair of rats can produce an entire colony of 2,000 rats in a year. -Unlike other animals, during a period when the population is in danger of extinction, rats experience a sharp increase in the number of pups in one litter. -Rats are characterized by a pathological craving for shiny things and a craving for regular geometric shapes. -Rats can't stand rock music. When a rock concert recently took place in an old English castle, the rats completely disappeared from the castle. The intelligence of a rat exceeds that of a cat. -Scientists have put forward a version that rats could have caused the extinction of dinosaurs. Egg-loving rats sucked out the contents of dinosaur eggs en masse, thereby stopping the continuation of their lineage. This seems to be true, since today in Ireland rats have eaten all the marsh frogs. -During the Great Patriotic War, during the bombing, people hid in houses into which rats escaped. -In Illinois, under penalty of a $1,000 fine, “it is illegal to hit a rat with a baseball bat.” -In the Middle Ages in Europe, on the orders of one of the bishops, rats were... excommunicated from the church! -The word “mush”, meaning mouse in Sanskrit, is close to the word “to steal”. -Medieval healers used mouse blood as an ingredient in some potions. Mice stopped being used for medical purposes only at the end of the 17th century. -Bats are the only mammals that can fly. -The word for “bat” in Chinese sounds the same as the word for “happiness.”

Clairvoyant rats Moreover, the rat is able to establish cause-and-effect relationships between phenomena and foresee many events. The following facts speak to this.

In Stalingrad, before the bombing, there was an exodus of rats from the city. Sailors who went through the war said that rats escaped not only from sinking ships, but also from those ships that were expecting a torpedo attack the next day.

It is already a known fact that rats leave testing grounds and weapons testing sites, including nuclear weapons, a day or two before the events begin. An interesting story happened at the beginning of the last century in France. One of the food and clothing markets closed and had to move to a new location. The day before, all the market rats, as if obeying some command, left their place and moved... to where the market had found a new home! People were ironic: can a rat really know how to read? After all, the relocation of the market was known only from newspapers... Rats and people behave differently in a maze. Psychologists conducted the following study. They selected a group of people and placed them in a maze similar to a rat maze, only in the center of the maze there was not a piece of cheese, but 100 dollars. At the training stage, both the person and the rat quickly found the desired corridor with the bait. Differences appeared when the bait was removed. After two or three fruitless visits to this corridor, the rat stopped running there and began exploring new ones. The man stubbornly continued to visit the once money nook. Apparently, it is very difficult for him to abandon the myths he himself created...

Rats are kind creatures Experiment of the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity of the USSR Academy of Sciences. A rat from its native pack was placed in a separate enclosure, all other individuals of which were kept behind a glass partition. And so, when the chosen rat was given food, all other members of the community were shocked. The discharge became stronger as the subject ate the next portion. If the rat did not stop eating, the electric current became fatal for the rest. And the unfortunate woman clearly saw all this through the glass. As a result, more than 90% of the rats preferred their own death by starvation rather than the death of their relatives. The nameless gray heroes went into rat-like oblivion, finally trying to cling as closely as possible to the glass fence in order to somehow be closer to their own. The rest made choices in favor of their own lives.

Rat color and character When experiments on the domestication of foxes were carried out at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS in Novosibirsk, it turned out that if you select animals loyal to humans from generation to generation, they will eventually acquire “dog characteristics.” They will have long floppy ears, shortened tails and spots on their skin. In the 30th generation of rats, ordinary gray pasyuki, white spots of different sizes appeared - from a “tie” to a white belly. In the most affectionate ones, the spots grew so large that only the head, neck and strip of fur along the ridge remained dark. When moving in the opposite direction, towards aggressiveness, the pasyuki began to acquire a charcoal color. The foxes also turned black.

Rats don't like the noise of a fan Fun experiments on the perception of music by rats were conducted by researchers from the University of Texas. They offered newborn rat pups to listen to different categories of sounds every day for two months. One group of baby rats listened only to the music of Mozart, another - only modern atonal music, and finally, the third group of newborns was doomed to listen to the noise of a fan every day.

After such a two-month musical “education,” the rat pups were placed in a special cage with keys on the floor. By standing on different keys, the little rats could call up any musical program: Mozart, atonal music or noise. Which of these sounds did the rats prefer? It turned out that the majority preferred Mozart, a few preferred modern music, but none of the rats wanted to listen to the fan.

As you can see, “musical tastes” exist even in rats. And the ballad about the piper-pied piper from Hamelin, apparently, is not so far from the truth. This is confirmed by a story that recently occurred in the English city of Southport, in the county of Lancashire. The city's temple of arts, the Flower Hall, was struck by a disaster in the form of incredibly proliferating rats. None of the traditional measures - rat traps, cats, pesticides - yielded results. But a concert of modern rock music took place in the hall. The guys' electro-acoustic sound amplification equipment was excellent, and they "produced", as it should be for modern rock ensembles, quite a decent level of decibels. The modern audience, accustomed to everything, endured it, but the rats... After this concert, the tailed music lovers were blown away like the wind. Their “musical tastes” appeared to be more conservative. But, as they say, every cloud has a silver lining.

Olympics for rats The so-called “rat tournaments” have been held for more than 30 years, and in 2001 the First Olympics for rats took place. The program included five disciplines: rock climbing, balancing act, long jump, weight lifting and running. For victory in each discipline, participants were awarded a “gold” “Olympic” medal, a small bag of oats, and a two-week reprieve from participation in the experiments.

In recent years it has become a profitable business. The rat movement now has a flag, an anthem and faculty teams. In the future, there will be broadcasts on cable television and the ability to place bets.

Cartoon rat made the French fall in love with rodents According to a popular myth, there is always a live rat no more than 20 feet (6 m) from any resident of London or Paris. The release of Pixar's Ratatouille, which tells the story of a Parisian rat with a talent for cooking, led to a 40% increase in the purchase of rats as pets. True stories

Fossil Rat A fossilized rat skull the size of a car has been discovered. This creature lived about four million years ago, weighed about a ton and ate mainly plant foods. She was so large that she spent most of her life half-submerged in water, like a hippopotamus, to relieve the pressure of her own weight.

A rat almost killed a python. A python named Tail has lunch once a month, and each time he is given a live rat. Appetite depends on the temperature in the terrarium. During the last feeding, it was unusually cold in the environmental center. The python fell into hibernation, and then it was attacked by a hungry rat, which was given the fate of live food. The 3-meter snake almost died. “The rat heavily gnawed one side of the python and inflicted about 4 wounds, that is, it ate right down to the meat,” says Vadim Krivosheev, head of the Museum of Natural History of the Ulyanovsk Environmental Foundation.

The python was injected with novocaine, the wounds were cleaned, and the damaged tissue was sewn up with strong silk threads. After the operation, the boa constrictor was prescribed a course of intensive therapy. Every day, veterinarians treat wounds with a special ointment and give antibiotic injections. Apparently, the tiger python is recovering, but it still has no appetite. After the stress he suffered, he stopped responding to rats.

The rats got drunk at the expense of the Indian police. Police in the state of Bihar (India) seized products from a certain company illegally selling beer and cognac and placed them in a cellar for storage. However, rats, which are known to plague everyone in India without exception, managed to sneak into the police storage facility and gnaw through containers containing confiscated alcoholic beverages.

Now, police say, drunken rodents are walking around the city streets and biting passers-by on the legs. “We are already fed up with these rats and have no idea why they are suddenly drawn to alcohol,” said senior police officer Kundan Krishnan. The indignation of law enforcement officers is understandable, since rodents practically deprive them of their income: seized products are usually sold at auction.

Hierarchy in rats In order to study their ability to swim, Didier Desor, a scientist from the laboratory of behavioral biology at the University of Nancy, placed six rats in a cage from which there was only one exit - into the pool. To get to the food trough, you had to swim across the pool. It soon became clear that not all rats go out to get food. The roles were distributed as follows: two exploited swimmers, two exploiters, one independent swimmer and one scapegoat.

Two exploited sailed for food. When they returned to the cage, the two exploiters beat them and dunked their heads in water until they released their prey. Only after feeding their masters did the two slaves receive their own portion. The exploiters never swam across the pool to get enough; it was enough for them to beat the swimmers.

The independent swimmer was strong enough and did not submit to the exploiters. And finally, the scapegoat could neither swim nor intimidate the exploited, he simply collected the crumbs scattered during the fights. The same group structure—two exploited, two exploiters, an independent swimmer, and a scapegoat—was repeated during the twenty-cell experiment.

To better understand the mechanism of hierarchy, Didier Desor placed six exploiters in one cell. They fought all night. By morning, the roles were distributed according to the usual pattern: two exploiters, two exploited, an independent swimmer and a scapegoat. An experiment with six exploited, six independent, and six scapegoats produced the same result.

Scientists from Nancy learned another result of these experiments by opening the skulls of the subjects and analyzing the state of their brains. The most damaging effects of stress are not on the scapegoats or the exploited, but on the exploiters. They were afraid that the slaves would no longer obey them.

Tree rats - neotomes - passionate money changers Tree rats - neotomes - live in North America. They have a reputation as thieves and... money changers. Rats, as you know, take everything edible to their nest. Neotoma is also not without a passion for hoarding, but prefers to collect shiny objects rather than food supplies. There are known cases of rats stealing watches, dentures from a glass, and even coins from a wallet. In addition, there is a lot of evidence when these rats brought something else in “exchange” in place of stolen objects.

There is a known case when a team of miners was left without a box of nuts, having discovered pebbles instead. And a rat stole a shiny metal shell from one miner and brought a gold nugget in its place. The miner began feeding his generous guest and one day tracked her down. It turned out that the rat's hole was located next to a gold-bearing vein. The rat uses everything stolen or “exchanged” to decorate the interior of the hole. The rat's home is multi-room: bedroom, storage room and toilet! The neotoma's nest is an impregnable fortress: the entrance is decorated with prickly cacti. You can't get through a door like that!

A mouse set the house on fire Luciano Mares, 81, saw a rodent mouse running through his house and, fearing the damage it could cause, decided to urgently get rid of it. He caught her and threw her alive into the fire. But the mouse managed to escape from there and, with its back blazing, ran through the window into the house, setting everything on fire in its path. The house burned down.

A similar incident occurred with a resident of India. Ranveer Singh decided to put the animal caught in the mousetrap to death by burning. He tied a rope soaked in kerosene to its tail and set the end on fire. The mouse, distraught with fear, managed to escape from the trap and began to rush around the house with a burning torch on its tail. As a result, all that was left of the man’s home were firebrands.

A rat in the cabin cost the airline half a million dollars. A rat that climbed into the cabin of a Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 cost the airline $545,000. Passengers who discovered a rat in the cabin caused panic, and the plane, which was supposed to fly from Cairo to Jeddah, was returned straight from the runway. Another plane was urgently called from Saudi Arabia, which finally delivered the passengers to their destination eight hours late. At the same time, 28 people refused to fly with Saudi Airlines after the incident with the rat. As a result, the Boeing was able to fly from Cairo only the next day. During the time spent catching the rat, the plane carrying 500 passengers had to make three flights.

Would-be animal defenders Love for animals sometimes takes tragicomic forms. Thus, in early July 2006, activists of the Animal Liberation Front stole over 10 thousand rats, mice and hamsters from the Stolbovaya laboratory animal nursery. Animal rights activists released all the rodents into the wild in the Chekhov district of the Moscow region, which greatly frightened the residents of nearby villages. Summer residents, alarmed by the invasion of rodents, asked for help from the police, firefighters, and employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and poisoned the aliens themselves with whatever they could. However, experts are confident that it makes no sense to poison released animals. “Laboratory animals, once in the wild, become ready food for birds of prey and dogs. This is especially true for white mice, devoid of the instinct of self-preservation. The maximum lifespan of these rodents in the Moscow region is no more than a month. So it was in vain that they released them - they will die,” said the MSU biologists.