![]() ![]() But a stressed rat will not groom as frequently or effectively, so we would see the porphyrin draining into the eyes and nose. Usually, a rat will produce small quantities of porphyrin and groom it away. It is a red or pink discharge that gives the appearance of a rat crying blood. Rats have a Harderian gland behind their eyes which secretes a substance called porphyrin during times of stress. Ok, so they don’t actually cry blood– but it sure looks like it. Bottom and top incisors can be seen in this image with normal amounts of yellow staining from use. A rat thinking about how good M&M’s taste. Think about all of the sugar they can eat without consequences to their teeth! (And rats love froot loops and M&M’s.)įigure 2. This means that rat incisors can’t get cavities because they would be gnawed away before cavities even had a chance to develop. Additionally, an entire rat incisor will grow from base to tip over the course of 40-50 days, so they are never more than 50 days old. If they did not gnaw and the teeth were left to grow unchecked, they would grow in a spiral! The incisors actually respond in growth rate depending on what the rat has been chewing on, so rats that gnaw on harder substances and grind down their teeth faster have faster growing incisors to compensate. This adaptation allows them to wear down their teeth without losing function, because those teeth are constantly growing back to replace what was gnawed away. The constant growth of rat incisors is a benefit to them because they gnaw throughout the day. While humans cycle through sets of baby and adult teeth, rats are monophyodonts, meaning they only have one set of teeth for their entire lifespan. Rats enjoy interacting with other rats and with people. Two rat friends hanging out with each other and their human buddy. ![]() So not only will rats put in effort to see another individual, but they also love a good tickle and provide us with vocalization feedback by which we can observe that they actually are enjoying the social interaction.įigure 1. But how do we know that rats really enjoy social interactions? Rats emit a high-pitched sound when they play with each other, associated with happiness. They are also motivated by the sole reward of human contact and even like to be tickled just like people. ![]() When given the choice between seeing another rat and playing with a new toy, they reliably choose the former. They sleep next to each other, groom each other, and even work for the opportunity to see a friend. An adult rat will usually choose to be social rather than alone. Rats love to snuggle into small dark spaces like the crook of your elbow. Rats are not as scary as you may think they are. So let me tell you about some of their cool (r)attributes. I have been conducting research with rodents for the past five years, and I’ve found that they are more similar to us than first meets the eye. In reality, rats are pretty cuddly animals who have a ton to teach us about how organisms function. I used to think there was no way I would be able to interact with one, but I just didn’t understand them. You might think of rats and immediately draw upon horrific images of the New York metro system. ![]()
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