funny stuff
I use rats for my diet studies and I have to say, not only are they very patient and tolerant animals (I don't even restrain them while I poke their tails with 21G needles for collecting blood at several intervals; their tails are really sensitive and they cry and whimper, so I know it hurts them but I talk to them and coax them and they never bite), but also very loving and extremely playful.
one of the dearly departed, he was one of the sweetest ones;when I opened his cage door, he would come running to greet me.
Other info:
• Mice and rats are fastidiously clean animals, grooming themselves several times a day. In fact, rats and mice are less likely than dogs or cats to catch and transmit parasites and viruses.
• Mice and rats are highly social animals—they communicate with each other at high-frequency sounds that you can’t hear without instrumentation, play together, wrestle, and love sleeping curled up together. Much like us, if they do not have companionship, they can become lonely, anxious, depressed, and stressed.
• Mice and rats have a complex language system—they can communicate by touch, by smell, and by sound at frequencies that we can’t hear.
• Mice and rats are so smart that they can recognize their names and respond when called.
• Mice are choosy—they like variety, too, and enjoy picking around in their food, eating the tastiest parts first, and separating out what they dislike.
• Female mice with litters will vigorously defend their nests and young.
• If not forced to live in a dirty cage, a rat’s skin has a very pleasant perfume-like scent.
• After engaging in sex, male rats sing at frequencies beyond the hearing of humans, around 20 to 22 KHz.
http://www.stopanimaltests.com/feat/hiddenrats/
Male rats will snuggle up for a cuddle and find contentment curled up in a person’s lap.
Absolutely true; if you cup your palm near their faces, they push their noses into your palm and fall asleep. :bawl:
