Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

TheLostHippos t1_j2mu6db wrote

Growing up I owned hairless rats. When one got sick the other one started showing signs of stress and anxiety. When the sick rat got treatment the healthier rat also stopped showing the signs of anxiety and stress.

I always believed it was a sign of empathy. Its interesting to see some research showing they do have some capacity of empathy.

344

Dragoness42 t1_j2p7wdo wrote

There was another study done where rats were put in a cage where they could see another group of rats receive an electric shock when the first group ate. The rats would rather starve than see the other rats be hurt. Rats are just good people.

115

OtisTetraxReigns t1_j2ndia1 wrote

I can see the attraction of rats as pets. They’re pretty cute and fun. But hairless rats?

48

crazyjkass t1_j2njmtw wrote

They're like adorable little nutsacks.

126

NTrissle t1_j2nroor wrote

I like nutsack animals, my favorite variety

25

BrotherM t1_j2q026f wrote

And they feel like holding a warm bag of pee.

12

ucatione t1_j2oamn7 wrote

I also had pet rats as a kid. When one died, the other one ate all his internal organs.

24

ZZBC t1_j2q2dtp wrote

Rats will attempt to “clean up” a corpse to reduce the risk of attracting predators.

15

P0OHead t1_j2p39mc wrote

Did the dead rat die if starvation? Would explain the other rat's reaction.

10

ucatione t1_j2qb5ot wrote

No, of course not. I loved those rats and took great care of them.

3