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Small animals, such as a fly, snail, or little sea crab, have to cope with physical processes that proceed much faster in relation to their size than they do for bigger animals.

Therefore, I wonder, do small animals perceive events surrounding them as going faster or slower compared to bigger creatures, such as us humans?

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    $\begingroup$ I recommend considering the lifespan and rate of movement for a given animal when trying to answer this question. Cheetahs are large but nevertheless fast. Worms and common snails are small but nevertheless slow. Even in the realm of mammals, animals of similar sizes can vary greatly in their movement and response rates. Compare sloths with house cats. $\endgroup$
    – Michael
    Commented May 14, 2016 at 19:56
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    $\begingroup$ @Michael I´m not asking if animals with a difference in lifespan or response rates and their speed of movements perceive time in a compared to us, slow motion or fast forward rate. I´m asking if little animals (independent of their lifespan and rate of movement), like a snail, perceive time in a different way than us, because small animals have to cope with physical processes that are developing faster. $\endgroup$
    – Deschele Schilder
    Commented May 14, 2016 at 21:38
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    $\begingroup$ Lifespan has got to have an effect here. A turtle, for example, has a potentially very long lifespan, so its sense of time with respect to mating has got to be slower. For animals who hibernate, there has also got to be a slowed sense of time during much of hibernation season since there is no need to be racing in thoughts when you are going to do practically nothing the whole next week. Even a human's sense of time changes when in a fight-or-flight state. The pressure to think and act depends on the need, which relates to more than just body size. $\endgroup$
    – Michael
    Commented May 14, 2016 at 21:56
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    $\begingroup$ Also, consider looking into the human brain's clock mechanisms, as described here: news.mit.edu/2015/… [and here:] scientificamerican.com/article/your-brain-has-two-clocks $\endgroup$
    – Michael
    Commented May 14, 2016 at 22:02
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    $\begingroup$ I agree that an animal who must act or think upon the movement of individual molecules may by necessity have a very fast thinking pace and corresponding sense of time. Comparing earthworms to humans, however, I am not sure there is much necessity for difference in time perception. I am merely arguing that size may be no more important than lifestyle, lifespan, feeding patterns, mating schedule, body materials, and predators when it comes to sense of time. When these other factors remain similar, indeed size seems to play a relatively linear role. $\endgroup$
    – Michael
    Commented May 16, 2016 at 11:00

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