Social media users have been left baffled after discovering what a rat’s eye actually looks like.
While most people wouldn’t dream of having a rodent in their home as a family pet, a small few welcome them with open arms.
But a post on Reddit has left users truly baffled, questioning how they have lived this long without knowing what a rat's eye looks like… and we don’t really blame them to be honest.
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The picture shows the user's pet rat popping its head out of a cage during golden-hour, which revealed the two ballooning eyes.
While the rat is seen to be staring straight at the camera, both eyes are looking in opposite directions.
One user joked: “Loosen its necktie before taking the next picture.”
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Some came to the rodent’s defence, saying: “This photo does NOT help the rat cause at all.”
However, some people pointed out that there is a scientific explanation as to why the rats' eyes were like that.
One user explained that the bulging eyes can be a result of something called ‘bruxing’, which is where a rat grinds or chatters their teeth together.
They said: “Sometimes when they do this they get into it and their eyes will actually bulge in and out really quickly.
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“It just means they’re super duper happy but man it freaks me out the first time.”
According to PetMD, bruxing 'is a soft but repetitive grinding of the front teeth, which can cause bulbous eyes to pop out of the socket even more'.
So even though it is a horrifying trait, it could actually mean that your pet rat is comfortable with you if you see some outrageously big eyes popping out.
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Rat revelations seem to be doing the rounds on Reddit, with another rodent-parent sharing how quickly their rat can scurry up a toilet bowl.
However users weren’t quite as fascinated, with one person writing: “New fear unlocked.”
A surprising study by the RSPCA revealed that around 200,000 rats are kept as pets across the UK, but less is known about their day-to-day wellbeing.
Mia Williams