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[GrayRodent]

My family was talking about what is the world's smartest animal. There are popular published lists that put rats in the top 10. I've owned rats and it seems that chinchillas display more complex social behaviors. I was wondering if anyone has come across any studies comparing rats to chins in problem solving tests.

[almost vegan]

I think chinchillas are relatively smart, but compared to rats they're dumb. Many chins dont even know their own names!

[Debbie.nl.ca]

It's a lot to do with the owners.
If you put animal in a cage and just feed it your not going to have an animal that is social with humans.
I have both rats and chins and find them to be very similar in intelligence.They can both learn or be conditioned,and their own abilities with in the species seem quite intelligent to me.
A chin not knowing his name is not a sign of un-intelligence , he wasn't taught.
All my chins know their names, know the routine and are conditioned to get back in their cage on cue.
As rats don't live very long I have not tried this with them.But they sure know their routine and their names.

[jmdebb]

i dont have rats, and chins are very smart, but i always heard that rats are really smart and can be trained to do alot, so i say rats are most definately smarter than chins

[GrayRodent]

I've seen people train chinchillas on youtube. It often involves bribing chins with food or a scratch on the chin, and I've seen this done in absolutely the wrong way (too much of the wrong treats) too, but I've seen it. There was one that was trained to jump over an object and return, another that would put its front leg up on your hand. There was one that would allow you to pose it and it would just stay put. But then there's the question of problem solving, which is how they measure rat intelligence, like using things as tools and getting through mazes. That was one of things I'm curious about.

[mojito]

I have not owned rats however I know that they are very smart. I can't think of any studies done with chins and mazes or problem solving but I will search some of the school databases to see if anything comes up. I don't have a maze built for Dexter (my chin) however I do have two tunnels (3 if you count his snack shak log which about as long as he is). However if you watch him he will make his own obstacle course and go through it qtimesaver few times. If you have a positive tone of voice and cheer him on he keeps going faster and popcorns during it, if you stop he just flies into his cage! I have trained him to 'walkie' and 'kisses' with treats, but have also trained him to jump on cue using no treats so they are pretty smart