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Stress is a natural response to anything perceived as threatening or dangerous. Stress is often seen as a very negative emotion but is not harmful in itself; rather, prolonged stress or severe stress can negatively affect the physical and emotional well-being of animals, making them more susceptible to disease. Rats, being prey animals, are highly vulnerable to stress, so as a pet rat owner, it is essential to know how to identify and alleviate stress in your pet rat.
You can calm a stressed pet rat by firstly removing the rat from the cause of stress if possible. Physical comfort such as cuddling, tickling, or Tellington T-Touch, certain types of music, or specific natural products have all been shown to be effective at alleviating signs of stress in rats.
You can do your very best as a rat parent to make sure your rats have the most comfortable, happy little rat lives you can possibly provide them with, but unfortunately, some situations that may be perceived as stressful are not always within your control. We look at what causes stress in pet rats, how to identify a stressed pet rat, and what you can do to help alleviate the stress.
What causes stress in Rats?
Since rats are on the lower end of the food chain in the wild, their ability to identify danger and try and escape is their best asset in the wild, but as pet rats, we would like them to be as happy and relaxed as possible as this will in turn help increase their life expectancy.
Let’s have a look at common causes of stress in pet rats:
Overcrowding
Too many rats in a small space can cause them to want to compete for essential resources such as water and food, and this will cause stress.
Not all rats get along equally, so if one rat is forced to share a space with another rat they don’t get along with particularly well, it can lead to fighting. This can probably be compared to visiting family over Christmas – squeezing a few families into a three-bedroom house for a few days will lead to some family members rubbing each other the wrong way, which causes stress – and grey hair.
Limited Resources
If there is a shortage of food or water, a rat’s survival instinct (helped on by stress hormones adrenalin and cortisol) will kick in, which will likely lead to conflict among rats that will, in turn, exacerbate the stress. Of course, you will never let your pet rats be hungry or thirsty, but keep in mind that a dominant rat may bully a more submissive rat away from essential resources, and this might not be as easy to notice as most bullying is often done when the owner is not around.
Social Hierarchy
Both overcrowding and limited resources will increase the incidence of bullying among rats. Larger, more dominant rats will tend to bully smaller, younger, and older, or frail rats for resources. If you notice that one of your rats is being picked on, it is best to move that rat and perhaps another cagemate they get along with to a separate cage so they do not have to feel the constant stress of competing with a dominant rat.
Loud Noises
Rat’s hearing is much more sensitive than human ears and they can hear sounds at frequencies human ears can not and are also able to hear noises from much further away compared to humans. So, If your pet rat is exposed to a lot of noise, it can become overwhelming for their sensitive ears.
Illness
When an animal’s immune system has to fight a disease, whether infection, cancer, or something like liver disease, the immune system (and other body systems, depending on the disease) is placed under severe stress. If you suspect that your pet rat is ill, the first appropriate step is to seek medical care from a qualified veterinarian for your pet rat as soon as possible. The methods mentioned below will not be effective at alleviating this type of stress if the primary cause is not addressed appropriately.
Isolation or loneliness
Rats are highly social animals. Rats bond closely with their cage mates and owners. A rat that is used to having other rats around or who is suddenly deprived of contact with its owner will experience stress.
Loss of a Long-Term Cage Mate
Rats do grieve after the loss of a long-term cagemate. You can have a look at this article to find out more about how rats feel empathy and grief and how to comfort them. The feeling of grief increases the secretion of stress hormones adrenalin and cortisol, therefore a rat experiencing grief or loneliness exhibits symptoms of stress.
Extreme Temperatures
Very high or very low temperatures cause physiological stress. This response is what makes a rat either shiver in very cold weather or pant when it is very hot. This is usually a mild form of stress unless the temperatures are extreme. Most rats cope well with moderate fluctuations in temperature but keeping them at a comfortable temperature will significantly increase the welfare of your rats.
Reaching Sexual Maturity
When the boys become men they will start to want to flex their muscles and measure their err..biceps, it can cause a lot of social hierarchy upset in a cage with multiple intact males. This can very easily be avoided by having young males neutered before they reach sexual maturity.
Sudden Changes in Their Environment
Rats are creatures of habit. To avoid stress caused by sudden and drastic changes in their environment, such as moving them to a new cage with new cage mates or a complete diet change, introduce changes slowly and in multiple phases over multiple days.
This might not always be possible, for example when having to travel with your rat, but try and keep familiar toys, bedding, or food around.
Signs of Stress in Pet Rats
Vocalization
Rats have a wide variety of vocalizations that all have different meanings. Most of their vocalizations are inaudible to human ears. As a general rule, audible vocalizations by your pet rat are a sign of stress or protest.
Usually, a soft peep while being petted is only a mild sign of protest, but shrieks or squeaks when being picked up indicate stress.
Posture
A stressed rat will usually cower or crimp up in a corner in an attempt to appear small and unnoticeable. Their muscles are tense and their movements are jittery.
Urination and Defection
A rat that pees or poos suddenly when picked up, might be frightened. This is often seen with new or untamed rats. Gentle taming methods to introduce yourself to the rat will minimize this response.
Teeth Grinding
Teeth grinding can be a bit ambiguous as it can be a sign of stress or relaxation, so it depends on the situation in which the rat finds itself. Teeth grinding is often an indicator of stress or pain if this behavior is noted for example in a vet visit.
Tear Staining
Stressed rats will produce a larger amount of porphyrin, a chemical compound contained in tears. This compound reacts with oxygen and turns brownish-red. This causes discoloration of the fur around the eyes and sometimes around the nostrils. Keep in mind that tear-staining is considered normal in older rats.
Increased Breathing Rate
An increase in breathing rate can be due to many things, including certain illnesses such as lung or heart disease or pain but is also a symptom of acute stress.
A rat’s normal breathing rate is around 80-90 breaths per minute. You can check this by counting the number of breaths your rat takes while resting in 15 seconds and multiplying that by 4 to get the total number of breaths per minute. If the breathing rate is significantly high (around 120-160 breaths per minute) in the absence of other abnormalities that could indicate diseases such as lethargy or inappetence, you can assume that your rat is stressed.
Changes in Grooming
Rats are usually fastidious groomers. If a rat that is usually well-groomed, suddenly becomes unkempt or dirty, it could be a sign of chronic stress. It will take a few days of not grooming for your rat to become noticeably unkempt and therefore, stressful situations lasting more than a few days can lead to this. This is also one of the first signs of chronic or slow onset disease that rat owners may notice.
Changes in Facial Expression
A relaxed rat will have wide-open eyes, with relaxed cheeks and ears hanging loosely on either side of its head. A rat that is stressed will have ears and cheeks that are pinched up with whiskers almost perpendicular to their heads.
Changes in Bodyweight
Any sudden decrease in your pet rat’s weight is a cause of concern. It is a good idea to weigh your rat at least every other week. A kitchen scale with a basket on it works well for this. You might not have noticed that your rat is eating less, but their weight will give you some clues to how their appetite has been.
Stereotypical Behavior
Overgrooming to the point of causing bald patches, constant chewing of metal bars, or running up and down constantly are all examples of stereotypical behavior. This is an indication of stress, commonly due to something such as a lack of environmental enrichment or boredom.
Making Sense of All The Symptoms
It is important to note that one of the above-mentioned signs in a mild form, can be an indication of much more than just stress. For example, tear staining is commonly seen in older rats who are otherwise healthy and should not be interpreted as stress in isolation. But if your pet rat displays more than one of the abovementioned symptoms and you know that your rat is experiencing a situation that could possibly be perceived as stressful, then you can safely assume that the stress-inducing situation is the cause of the symptoms. Make sure you rule out any other possible confounding variables that could cause similar symptoms to stress.
How To Calm a Stressed Rat
First things first will be to identify the source of stress and eliminate that if at all possible. Remove your rat from the bully or separate the young boys and take your rat to the vet to treat the disease. The following suggestions are simply to help a rat through an unavoidable stressful situation.
1. Tickling or Cuddling
A study by Hori et. al. found that tickling reduced a conditioned fear response in rats and increased their resilience in stressful situations. You can read the article in Scientific America explaining the details of the experiment here.
The video below also explains a similar study. Just more proof that most rats are absolute cuddle bugs!
2. Tellington T-Touch
Linda Tellington Jones developed a unique technique of touching animals that are used to help calm animals and help to build trust. I have found this technique to be extremely helpful in clinical practice with some of my anxious patients.
This method entails gently massaging an animal using different types of touch, usually in one-and-a-quarter circles in a clockwise direction on different parts of the animal’s body. This method has an almost instantaneously relaxing effect on the animal and helps to build trust. I definitely highly recommend getting familiar with a few of the Tellington T-Touch techniques, as it will do wonders to improve the bond between you and your rats!
You can read more on the Tellington T-Touch website or Youtube Channel. They have online courses available as well as Facebook groups where you can ask questions. The technique remains mostly similar across species, with a few minor differences. The video below is of one of the Tellington T-Touch instructors performing T-touch on a cat. A similar technique can be used on a rat.
3. Natural Calming Products
If a stressful situation is unavoidable or you are unable to remove the stressor, a natural product such as Pet Remedy, Rescue Remedy for Pets, or CBD can be considered.
Pet Remedy
Pet Remedy is basically a blend of essential oils that work alongside the brain’s natural neurotransmitters to help send a ‘calming’ signal to the brain. The great thing about this product is that it works immediately and calms animals without sedating them It is available in a spray form that you can use to spray on bedding or a plug-in diffuser.
The main ingredient in Pet Remedy is Valerian which you might recognize as an ingredient in some natural human sleep aids. Unfortunately, humans can not enjoy the effect of pet remedy alongside their rats as the scent is captured by a special sensory organ called Jacobson’s organ that most amphibians, reptiles, and mammals have but humans missed out on.
Pet remedy has various studies on their product and is something I and many of my patient’s owners have found effective. You can check the current pricing on Amazon here. There’s an informational video in the product description on how pet remedy works in the product description that you might find useful as well.
Rescue Remedy for Pets
Rescue Remedy is a homeopathic remedy that has some pretty decent scientific studies backing its effectiveness, more so in humans than in rats but I have found this to be effective for mild to moderate stress in rats.
The dose remains 4 drops per animal no matter the size as it is a homeopathic preparation. Just make sure to get the pet-specific remedy as the human preparation contains alcohol and four drops of an alcohol-based remedy might do a bit more than just help relax your rat. Their tiny livers will not thank you. You can have a more in-depth read on the use of Rescue Remedy in Pets on their website and can check the current price on Amazon here.
CBD
Cannabis oil has been taking the world by storm with most medical practitioners on both the human and animal side erring on the side of caution due to the lack of high quality, long-term studies, and the many potential side effects.
I know of many pet parents who are very happy with the effect of CBD on their animals, and it might be worth a try. Just a few pointers from a vet’s perspective: firstly, get the highest quality CBD oil you can find, at minimum one without THC, secondly, start with the lowest recommended dose and monitor closely.
If anything seems off, discontinue use immediately. Since rats can’t tell us if anything feels off, we need to be super vigilant in monitoring them for anything abnormal, especially if administering a drug that still needs the in-depth research to back it that most veterinary other medicines have.
This Hemp Oil by PG Pets available on Amazon is THC free and can be given at a dose of up to two drops per rat once per day. Start with one drop once per day and go from there.
4. Music
Music can have an amazing effect on one’s emotional state. Just think of how specific music in a movie can evoke everything from fear to excitement. In the same way, the relaxing music you hear at, for example, a spa has been shown to lower cortisol levels and slow your heart rate to help you relax. Well, the same is available specifically for rats. Have a look at the Youtube Channel PetTunes – Music for Pets and have check out their Rat Songs playlist.
Many users have found this to be very effective at reducing stress-related behavior in their pet rats and you will be happy to know that the music can have a similar effect on you as well!
Conclusion
Luckily for us, a rat’s stress is much easier to understand and rectify than human stress. If you understand a rat’s basic needs and know that when those needs are not met, they will experience stress, it is easy to identify stress in your pet rats and rectify the problem.
Prolonged exposure to stress can be detrimental to your rat’s health. The quicker your respond to signs of stress, the better. And as always, if something seems off and you are not sure do not hesitate to contact your vet. Rats are excellent at hiding disease so if you are concerned, rather have them checked out by a vet.
Stress is part of life, and you might not be able to protect your rats from all the potential stressors. As long as the duration of stress they experience is short, and stress alleviating methods are timeously applied, they should have the happiest little rat lives you can possibly provide them with.
Resources
- Abdulai-Saiku, S., Hegde, A., Vyas, A. and Mitra, R., 2018. Effects of stress or infection on rat behavior show robust reversals due to environmental disturbance. F1000Research, 6, p.2097. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5782406/
- Petpartners.org. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://petpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Rat-Behavior-Packet.pdf> [Accessed 26 June 2021].
- Beery, A. and Kaufer, D., 2015. Stress, social behavior, and resilience: Insights from rodents. Neurobiology of Stress, 1, pp.116-127. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352289514000125
- Finnell, J., Lombard, C., Padi, A., Moffitt, C., Wilson, L., Wood, C. and Wood, S., 2017. Physical versus psychological social stress in male rats reveals distinct cardiovascular, inflammatory and behavioral consequences. PLOS ONE, 12(2), p.e0172868. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5328366/
- Gurfein, B., Stamm, A., Bacchetti, P., Dallman, M., Nadkarni, N., Milush, J., Touma, C., Palme, R., Konsman, J., Acree, M., Premenko-Lanier, M., Darcel, N., Hecht, F. and Nixon, D., 2012. The calm mouse: an animal model of stress reduction. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 3(0). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3388136/
- Hori, M., Yamada, K., Ohnishi, J., Sakamoto, S., Takimoto-Ohnishi, E., Miyabe, S., Murakami, K. and Ichitani, Y., 2013. Effects of repeated tickling on conditioned fear and hormonal responses in socially isolated rats. Neuroscience Letters, 536, pp.85-89. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304394013000141
- ILAR Journal, 1991. Recognition and Alleviation of Pain and Distress in Laboratory Animals. 33(4), pp.71-74. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK4032/
- Sorge, R., Martin, L., Isbester, K., Sotocinal, S., Rosen, S., Tuttle, A., Wieskopf, J., Acland, E., Dokova, A., Kadoura, B., Leger, P., Mapplebeck, J., McPhail, M., Delaney, A., Wigerblad, G., Schumann, A., Quinn, T., Frasnelli, J., Svensson, C., Sternberg, W. and Mogil, J., 2014. Olfactory exposure to males, including men, causes stress and related analgesia in rodents. Nature Methods, 11(6), pp.629-632. https://www.nature.com/articles/nmeth.2935
