Weaving/Swaying

Question
Hi, I have a question about my rat weaving/swaying, I know most people call it swaying but I was taught to call if weaving and can't knock the habit out of myself.

Anyway, I'm actually pretty knowledgeable when it comes to rats, I'd actually say that out of any other subject, they are probably what I know most about. I've actually been considering volunteering here (I don't know if I'm up to par with most of you though, but if you do need more, I'm willing ^_^) but I'm always seeking out new knowledge about them when I find myself wondering.

I have 13 rats, I got a couple of them yesterday. They are in a separate cage than the ones I had previously. But what I'm curious about is my new Beige hooded, (Ratticus Finch, Finch for short), he, of course, has ruby eyes, very very dark ruby eyes. He weaves/sways very dramatically, so much that he often holds on to the cage bars when he does this. I was wondering if his eyes are just really really bad, or if he's just trying to get used to the new cage.

Answer

Actually, none of the above.  What your rat is doing, as all rats that weave or sway their head, is called parallax motion and it is used to determine relative and absolute distance in objects. So many people have gotten confused over the years thinking this has something to do with bad eyesight. Rats all have bad eyesight, regardless of the color.  Black eyes are bad, ruby and pink are a bit worse, but if they were human, they would be legally blind for sure. The good news is rats do not need their sight to navigate around a bit. They feel their way with whiskers, are in tune to vibrations and noise and very keen with scent.  One way rats "see" is by urine marking.  Urine marking is actually a way for a rat to sniff and smell his way around the under ground tunnels, almost like dropping breadcrumbs in the forest (Think Hansel and Gretel) They find their way back home by way of finding their own urine scent.

I took this straight from my website, Critter city:
http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/

As for head swaying, to better explain it, motion parallax is simply a depth cue that results from the way the rat moves, which in this case, swaying his head from side to side.  As the rat moves, objects that are closer to the animal will move farther across his field of view than do objects that are in the distance. This in turn tells the rat how far an object is in the distance. Sometimes a rat will jump a great distance, but how often to they accurately hit their mark and fall instead? I would say that without the rat using motion parallax, he will miss his target which is why I do not suggest allowing any rat to remain on high tables or counters unattended. They just dont realize how high they are and I cant tell you how many accidents I have seen over the years when a rat is allowed to play on someones table or kitchen counter top etc...


Hope this helps.