How Do Rats Communicate With One Another?

Believe it or not, rats do use sounds and scents to communicate. However, that only touches the ways they share information. So, how do rats communicate? Rats Speak Using Sounds Sounds like a squeak to most people is actually one of many rats make in a day. In fact, some rat’s noises are so high pitched that humans can’t even hear them and are at the ultrasonic level. Rats squeak, chirp and sing to each other, that is right, rats sing! Studies have discovered that these rodents communicate using USVs emitted in the forms of songs, just like some birds. Those songs vary in complexity depending on what they’re meant to communicate and can be used to transmit messages between mother rats and their babies or by males to attract females. Urine to Spread the Message Like many mammals, rats also transfer information by their urine. Their urine contains traces of pheromones that are chemical substances that are released by one rat and can affect the behavior of other rats. What are these rats saying in these chemical conversations? Quite a lot. Researchers have determined that specific pheromones in the urine of a female rat lets males know she is ready to mate making it easier to attract a mate. Male rats also use urine to let other rats know where their territory is. You’ll find it interesting to learn that each male rat has its very own distinctive scent. Rats can also recognize more dominant members of the nests via these scents. These chemically coded messages being put out there are an invisible “no trespassing” sign for less dominate rats within the nest or rats from another nest. Actions Speak Louder than Words Do rats communicate non-verbally, with body language? Like humans my cross their arms or put their hand on their hips will let someone know they are annoyed or impatient, a rats posture or other behaviors can send messages to other rats. Female rats within a colony bond with each other and their pups through gentle grooming. Male rats that wants to display their dominance will aggressively groom a submissive male to tell everyone in the nest that he’s the boss!