# Domestic Rat Behaviour Compared To Wild Rat Behaviour....



## hrl20100 (May 1, 2013)

Hiya guys 

I am in college at the moment (UK) and am studying animal management. There is a section on animal behaviour and I have an assignment which is about comparing a domestic animal's behaviour, to its 'wild counterpart'.
Now, I have chosen rats and I could really use your help!

I was wondering if you guys had any ideas on why rats display certain behaviours in the wild, and why they do the same/similar/different behaviour when they are domesticated, to get the same message across.

Eg:
I have talked about burrowing in rats and how in the wild its natural for them because thats where they live (in burrows). Domesticated rats display the same sort of behaviour by burrowing in their bedding. 

I need websites to be able to back up the information that you guys provide, so that would be so helpful if you could help me out here!

I have handed it in and got a Merit (B) and if I make 3 more comparisons, then I get a Distinction (A). It would be great if you can!
Rats are so hard to find information on, on an actual website rather than a forum!


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## bazmonkey (Nov 8, 2013)

Have you looked at http://www.ratbehavior.org/ ? There's a whole separate section on wild rat behavior, caught wild rats versus released domestic rats, etc.


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## hrl20100 (May 1, 2013)

Yes, I have had a look on that site and I only managed to pull out 2 points from it (which are the two I already have: Burrowing and Aggressive behaviour). I will look over it again though and see if I can locate any more information.
Thanks


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## bazmonkey (Nov 8, 2013)

Yeah, I suppose if you searched even just a little you'd have found that site. If your school gives you access to scholarly journals, you could probably find much better sources about rat behavior.


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## hrl20100 (May 1, 2013)

We have books and magazines (plenty of them!) but none compare domestic rat and wild rat behaviours. The books are just on about how to care for rats and are quite old (like 1980s) so they are not much use to me, for this assignment.


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## Mball77 (Jul 3, 2013)

Korra posted this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKjvz26FVZs&feature=youtu.be 

It was part of this thread http://www.ratforum.com/showthread.php?130689-How-Like-Nature-Can-We-Assume-Fancy-Rats-Behave


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## hrl20100 (May 1, 2013)

Thankyou! I shall watch that video tomorrow 
Anyone else have any thoughts on the subject? I need 3 more comparable behaviours by thursday...


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I've raised a part wild rat who went native outdoors for 5 months... I've let my daughter play with a pack of wild rats and I've let my rats burrow outdoors. I'm working with my second true shoulder rat that will walk at heel outdoors. There are a few folks here who have raised and do own part wild rats and even a couple of wild rats owners of both brown and black rats... But most of our experience with the wild children is actually first hand... So I can't help you with web sites.

I might add one footnote of interest. The greatest difference between the wild rats and the domestic ones is a matter of temperament and flexibility and it's more of a gradient than an either or. For example... my part wild would only taste new foods and not eat them until at least several hours or a day later. My true shoulder rat got poisoned eating mushrooms that my part wild passed right by or perhaps only nibbled. Wild rats avoid getting poisoned by the trick of taste and wait, domestic rats eat whatever they see... But our current shoulder rat, can be encouraged to eat a bit more than a nibble when she first tries a food, but she won't pig out on anything she isn't certain of... she's sort of part way between the wild type and the domestic type. The same goes with personality. My part wild was a one family rat, that would fiercely attack anyone she didn't know, if very precise and elaborate introductions weren't made, whereas my previous true shoulder rat would approach everyone as a friend... my current shoulder rat is apprehensive, but she won't attack people and she can be convinced to make friends easily. So most domestic rats are kind of on a sliding scale between the wild types who have a very structured view of the world and the very domestic types that are about as adaptable as domestic dogs.

I would add one last footnote of interest, pack bonding which builds cohesive wild packs is precisely what bonds domestic rats to their human families. And all rats I've worked with, wild and domestic tend to view their social world as one of status in an extended family or pack structure. 

I hope you find your final points and web sites to back you up.

Best luck.


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## hrl20100 (May 1, 2013)

That was very helpful, thankyou Rat Daddy 

I have finished it now and the behaviours I compared are:
Biting
Burrowing
Territorial Aggression
Scenting/Marking 
Social Structure

Hopefully I will now get a distinction! Thanks guys for all your help!


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