I just got a pet rat, and he loves to sit on my shoulder. Sometimes, though, he gets on my shoulder and starts rhythmically twitching, and sometimes he does it so hard that I can hear his breath escaping. I've read about rat's laughing with ultrasonic signals that humans can't hear, and they do it when they're extremely happy or expecting a reward. Is my rat laughing? Or do I need to take him to the vet?
Answers:
Yes, rats do laugh, but we can't hear them because the pitch of their voice is out of the range of our human hearing.
http://abcnews.go.com/technology/story?i...
I tried to research the word, "sonicadence", but there's nothing on the internet about it. Is it spelled correctly?
Not quite understanding your description I can tell you three things that your rat could be doing while it is perched on your shoulder:
1) Bruxing and eye-boggling. It's an emotional release for rats to grind their teeth. If they really get into it, a muscle that goes from the lower jaw to the eye orbits also causes the eyes to rapidly bulge in and out.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=...
http://search.yahoo.com/search?search=ra...
2) Nervous or Excitement shivering. It's a vibration that you can feel and rats that have just been brought into a new home will sometimes do this.
3) Hiccuping. Again, a sign of excitement for rats. Or on a serious note, it could mean that your rat is affected by Myco
http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...
Just give him a few days to settle into your home and continue to observe his behavior. Get back to me at spazrats@yahoo.ca if you are still concerned about him in a week.
spazrats
"my life has gone to the rats"
he is probably grinding his teeth. the do it when they are happy/content. they do this to keep their teeth ground down though. i have never heard one of mine laugh.
no, you do not need to take him to the vet! this sensation is perfectly normal in all rodents, and is the equivalent to human laughter. the rat probably enjoys the attention and companionship that you provide to him when you allow him onto your shoulders, and is attempting to express it as he knows best. the heightened rate of breathing that you hear is known as "sonicadence," and would produce actual "laughing" sounds as we know them if rats had voiceboxes similar enough to our own.
enjoy your pet!
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