my little ratatouille

Question
My rat isn't an old rat, so i don think she has much room for problems that
come with age, but I have noticed that sometimes when i reach over to
scratch and playfully "scrunch" her back(meaning I am lightly making the
'scrunching' motion on her back) she starts to vibrate her head and ears. Its
very bizarre and it worries me. She doesnt seem to do this when i dont touch
her but I am still very concerned. Your advice would mean a lot. thank you.

Answer
Hi Samantha

She is fine!   :)

Guess what? Your little girl is in heat. When female rats are in heat (every 5 days)and you touch her back,her ears vibrate to let the male know she is interested, much like a woman bats her eyelashes to a man when flirting.

Keep note of this. When this stops, you know she has reached menopause age, between 18 and 24 months of age.

You can read more about it here under THE MATING PROCESS:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=18&cat=1804&articleid=889