Both age and experience are important for successful problem solving in juvenile fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rats...

Problem solving ability is affected by many factors, including physiology, personality, and cognition. However, how age and experience influence problem-solving ability during development is harder to untangle. We tested how age and experience affected problem solving in a native Australian rodent, the fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rat Melomys cervinipes. Juveniles were divided into two groups (different ages at start of testing) and then received a food-baited cardboard matchbox every 10 days for a total of three tests. We compared the problem-solving ability of individuals from both groups, which allowed us to separate the effects of age and experience. Juveniles with more experience solved the task faster than juveniles with less experience. Furthermore, inexperienced older juveniles interacted with the problems more than inexperienced younger juveniles. Previous solving experience may be important for short-term solving success, while age, in the absence of experience, might be associated with increased exploration, leading to increased investigation of novel problems. Previous experience at manipulating objects generally may also be important for problem-solving success, which likely provides an advantage as resources and habitats change seasonally and annually.