I made that video in 2019, and Kitty lived to be nearly 4 years old and in perfect health. Roof rats make weird noises. Adults often make a chittering noise when they are happy to see you, and they make a weird vocalization when they are pissed off (see video_ https://t.co/I1oLs55cRG
Did you know rats can laugh?
Scientists actually discovered that when rats are tickled they make tiny high-frequency sounds that are basically rat laughter.
So somewhere out there is a researcher whose full-time job was tickling rats.π€£
If you're of a certain age (even if you're not) and familiar with the command line ...
ssh -p 3517 [email protected]
A public server where you can play classic text adventure games for free.
By Charlie Wood, @cwood_dgr (Threads) and he deserves a follow just for this.
Roof Rat Adventures are live on my website! A free to play homage to Scott Adams @ScottAdamsDev fantastic original series of games from Adventure International. https://t.co/0S7yDYk3sz
We currently have the only colony of domesticated roof rats, but we would like to give them for free to other breeders so spread the word!
They are arboreal rats, so are better at climbing and jumping than Norway rats, and tend to prefer vertical spaces and feel safer high up (kind of like cats!) So cage height is just as important as floorspace, and you don't need to give them litter for digging because that's not their thing (but they do love stuffing their hammocks with grass and stuff!)
They are friendly to humans, but often don't like other rats they didn't grow up with so you can't just put two strange males in the same cage and expect them to be friends. They are somewhat more active than Norway rats, and even the males won't just sit still in one place unless you bribe them with food or petting.
@ArieRvanMarion Sure, I'm kind of lazy to teach mine, now, but I used to have some that would come when called, play fetch, dance in a circle, hop and stuff like that. They seem very smart and trainable. Not sure how they compare with Norway rats.
@ArieRvanMarion You can't, really, because they are a different species. Nobody has ever been able to cross them and obtain viable offspring. Anyway, they are perfectly good pets, so why bother to interbreed them? Just have a pet roof rat: problem solved!
@sprie95072695 We are letting people, especially breeders. adopt our roof rats, and we don't charge anything. We just want more people to be able to have them as pets, someday.
These Blonde roof rats are so calm and friendly. Someday, people all over the world will be able to have pet rats just like them. Maybe their children.π₯°
Don't they look like cartoon or anime versions of rats? #AnimeAesthetic It's almost like if you asked @grok to generate a rat movie, but they are real! π€£
@realvicktoon They are calmer, less reactive and friendlier. Also, the females almost never kill or abandon their litters when disturbed (wild roof rats often do) and the males are less likely to fight with their cagemates.