What Does My Rat's Behavior Mean?

Are your rats fighting with each other?

Is your rat gnawing?

Is your rat burrowing?

Is your rat active mostly at night?

Is your rat climbing?

Is your rat exploring by hugging the walls in the enclosure?

Are your rats licking each other?

Is your rat grooming himself often?

Do your rat’s eyes seem to move quickly in and out of the socket (boggling)?

Is your rat eating feces?

Is your rat biting you?

Rats seem to enjoy the occasional fight with a cagemate: chasing, pinning, and some vocalizations are normal. If you notice raised fur or hissing occurs, pay attention, the fight may get serious. If it seems like one rat is constantly being bullied (kept from food or drink, not allowed to rest), you might need to intervene and separate the rats.

All rodents are known for chewing. Rats will chew on anything: furniture, clothing, drapes, power cords. The frequent chewing helps wear down rats’ constantly growing incisors. Offer them rat-safe chew toys in the habitat and rat-proof a room you let your rats access.

Pet rats enjoy digging. It’s an instinctive need they must satisfy. Help your pet out by providing rat-safe bedding for burrowing and a rat-safe dig box filled with clean dirt, play sand, biodegradable packing peanuts, or other rat-safe material.

Rats are mostly nocturnal. They can adjust their schedule somewhat to yours, but their most active time is dusk through dawn.

Most rats enjoy climbing so don’t be surprised if you find your rat climbing a mesh wall or scaling your drapes. You can provide your rat with rat-safe ropes, ladders, and climbing toys inside his enclosure.

If notice your rat explores new areas by hugging the walls or some other “path” in the environment, this is normal for a prey animal, because they don’t want to be exposed out in the open. It can also help them navigate.

The reasons for licking could be a sign of affection. It could be your rat is in grooming mode. It could be that your rat tastes something on his playmate. It could be just another way to explore the world.

Rats are normally fastidiously clean animals. They groom themselves numerous times throughout the day. One sign of possible illness is if you notice a rat stops grooming or has an unkempt coat.

This happens when the rat is grinding the front incisors (bruxing), and usually when a rat is content.

Rats are known to eat their feces or those of other rats. They might also lick urine. This unusual behavior is called coprophagia and it is a normal rat behavior.

When startled or in pain, a rat might bite. Pet rats are among the timidest of rodents so your chance of being bitten is minimal as long as you don’t startle them or pick them up when you suspect they’re in pain.

If you notice your rat doing something abnormal, consider whether it could be a sign of illness or pain. Some common behaviors associated with rat health problems include a hunched posture, staring, stumbling, head tilt, failure to groom, sneezing, and wheezing