#interspecies interaction

Can’t say I have an opinion at all since I lack experience and knowledge about birds outside of parrots, I don’t know how a parrot would impact the well being of another bird species and vice versa.

When it comes to interspecies interactions I always ask:

Is it safe? - does one animal produce harmful bacteria, dander, etc. that could cause the other to get sick, are the animals a safe size ratio where one could not do significant damage to the other if an accident were to occur, are both animals on an equal playing field if they were to fight?

Is it stressful?- is the presence of the other animal by default going to cause stress (predator/prey), do both animals present fear or stress behaviours when in each-other’s presence, are the animals fighting against natural behaviours in order to interact

Is there a benefit to the animals involved?- does interacting provide enrichment, fulfill social needs, improve health and well-being of the animals or is it simply for human gain (less scheduling, less cost on housing animals separately, just getting a ton of animals for clout without regard for their well-being)

Is there control?- if something goes wrong can the animals respond to cues quickly and effectively, are there safety measures in place, is there a protocol for potential accidents, what’s the worst-case scenario for those situations

If any one of those boxes can’t be ticked or seems iffy then I don’t support the interaction myself.

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of interspecies interaction photos and videos. By interspecies interaction I mean a rat interacting with other household pets such as dogs, cats, or rabbits. This is unsafe for both parties for many reasons, which I’ll be detailing in this post.

First off, rats are prey animals, but they are also opportunistic hunters. This means that to a rat, another animal is either a potential death sentence or potential food.

- Birds and smaller rodents are generally seen as prey to rats. Rats have been known to kill birds and smaller animals such as mice, and should not be allowed interaction under any circumstances. This includes through the cage bars - a rat can pull limbs, feathers, or entire animals through the bars depending on their size and can seriously injure or kill an animal that way.

- Rabbits are also prey animals, but they are extremely territorial and capable of causing a lot of harm to another animal if they so choose. Their kicks and bites could seriously hurt a rat. Rats are also capable of fighting back and may scratch the rabbit or even bite it if the rat is genetically predisposed to aggression. If your rabbit is allowed to free roam near the rat cage, make sure to put up a baby gate or other barrier so they can’t access the cage.

- Reptiles… well, this one should be a bit obvious. While not every snake or lizard is big enough to kill a rat, simply being in the presence of a predator is extremely stressful to the rat because they think they’re going to be eaten. And if a reptile is small enough not to harm the rat, the rat will likely see it as food and react accordingly. Fortunately, reptiles and amphibians tend to stay in their own enclosures most of the time, so unless there is intentional interaction on the owner’s part this shouldn’t be an issue.

- Cats are a huge risk to rats and ideally shouldn’t even be allowed in the same room as the rat cage. If they are, the cage should be on a table or shelf that the cat can’t reach, or should be blocked off by some other physical barrier. Cats have bacteria in their saliva and under their claws that can make a rat sick or even kill them if it gets into their bloodstream. This can happen from the cat biting the rat, but it can also happen if your “rat friendly” cat is grooming the rat, and the rat later grooms itself, since it will end up ingesting the cat saliva. In the end, cats are predators with instincts. Even though they may be very sweet with you, cats are still predators and should be treated according to their actual needs and instincts, instead of projecting human emotions of cross-species friendship onto them. All it takes is one quick movement from the rat that triggers the cat’s hunting instincts.

- Dogs are pretty similar to cats in this regard. They are predators and their bites or licks can make a rat sick, and should be kept away from even caged rats as much as possible. If the dog absolutely needs to have access to the rat room — for example, if the dog is a service animal — they can sometimes be trained to stay a few feet away from the cage at all times. However, if you have the option of simply not allowing the dog access to the rat cage entirely, that is the safest option.

Time to bother some budgies!

Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of most inter-species interaction. And I don’t think this would be a safe idea at all. Hamsters aren’t social and rats very much are. Both are territorial animals. Even in the event that there isn’t an immediate clash due to that, rats play pretty roughly with each other & they’re quite a bit bigger than hamsters unless it’s a baby rat. That would likely be very overwhelming & threatening to a hamster, even if the rat means well. And both species are armed with some pretty nice teeth that would do some damage. 

Possibly the only photo I have with all the birds together! That's Jellybean's big honking red tail on the left, a terrified Lemon Bird hiding behind her favorite swing in three middle, and finally, Pidgey coming out of her well to shame mankind on the right.