Keeping Cool and Rats’ Tails
With the recent warmer weather, it can get pretty hot in the rats’ shed. I’ve had to make curtains for the windows, so that during sunny days (we get them in the Highlands too, you know!) I can keep the shed shaded, and open the windows a little for air circulation. Rats are fairly susceptible to heat because in the wild they are nocturnal and would probably avoid hot periods of the day and find refuge in their underground burrows. This is where a little rat’s scaly tail can be very useful. His tail is hairless and acts as a heat-loss organ. It comprises only 5% of the rat’s body surface area but can loose about 17% of a rat’s body heat. When the rat is hot, the blood vessels in his tail dilate, letting warm blood through and releasing heat, if the rat gets cool the blood vessels in his tail contract, so that his body heat is contained in his torso and head where it is needed most.
A rat’s tail also helps the animal balance and enables him to climb in the most precarious places! If he is waking a tightrope or similar construction he can use his tail as a kind of rudder to maintain his centre of gravity, and will move or curl his tail according to his needs. The tail has a scaly texture which also has a slight gripping quality. You may notice this if you rub a rat’s tail very gently the wrong way (from tip to trunk) as it feels rough and if you stroke the rat’s tail from the trunk to the tip it feels smooth.
Gallery of Tails
Today my lovely rats have been mostly eating cheese and onion pasty and rocket salad