Does anyone know what he's trying to tell me?
"They seem like such primitive little creatures, but they may be a whole lot more sophisticated than you think. If you didn’t already know this, rats are one of the most commonly used animals for research because their brain chemistry is so much like that of human beings.
What this means is that these animals are a lot more sophisticated than you may have thought. Their brains are able to help them to process a lot of things, and this is what helps them to be able to do so many different things, including communicate.
If you have not been around rats before, you should know that they communicate much like most other animals do. They make a series of audible noises, just like a dog, cat, monkey, or even a human being.
This may make you wonder what kinds of noises a rat makes. Maybe you wonder do they make chirping noises like some other animals do?
Those are interesting questions, but to answer them it is important not to get hung up on terminology. When most people think of a chirping noise, they immediately associate that with a bird. The truth is that chirp is really nothing more than a high-pitched noise that an animal or insect makes. With that definition in mind, the answer to this is most definitely yes!
There are three primary kinds of sounds that a rat can make. The hiss is used much in the same way that a cat does. When the rat is angry and attempting to display its displeasure, usually at an enemy, it will do so by making a hissing sound.
The squealing that a rat makes is done to warn and when it is afraid. This is similar to the sound that a pig makes when it is in a similar situation. These animals will squeal and so do the rats, but not as long as the pigs do.
That leaves the chattering noise that they make. This sound comes across in many ways, and is very much like a chirping noise. The purpose of it is communication, but can take on many forms. That is, the chirping can convey many different kinds of messages.
The most significant of these is that they are looking to mate. The sounds can let a potential partner know the mating and copulation are on the table and to prepare.
You should also understand that rats live in large groups with one another, so communication is important for them to be able to 'talk' about things that help to make the group run better. They are sophisticated enough to have some kinds of conversation about how to go about making the group run more orderly, and this is conveying through these chirping sounds."
