What Are The Types Of Rats?
March 11th, 2010Academically speaking, rats are merely animals commonly called rodents that belong to the subspecies Muridae and the genus Rattus. In the animal world, the rat is acknowledged as the most dominant representative of the rodent genus. It is broadly believed that the 2 most well known rat types, the Norway (or brown) rats and the black rats, trace their origins back to the Asian continent. These 2 types of rats have now proliferated in almost all parts of the world.
Roof Rats
Roof rats (known as Rattus Rattus) are also called black rats & ship rats. They are normally black, slender, 16-21 cm long and weigh about 80-300 gram. Their tail is longer than the head and body & their nose & muzzle are pointed. They are called roof rats because they are climbers. Their paws are built to climb and build nestles in higher parts of homes, rafters, attics and crossbeams of buildings.
Brown Rat
The Norway rat is sometimes known as the house rat, brown rat, gray rat, barn rat or wharf rat. It is the larger of the 2 mentioned here, and one of the best-known species. Rattus norvegicus is their scientific name. They are mostly grayish-brown, with a lighter colored stomach. A brown rat in full size is 18 to 26 cm long and weighs between 400 and 600 gm. Their nose & muzzle are blunt, and they have a tail shorter than its body. They nest in deep burrows and prefer moist conditions.
At around 3 - 4 months of age, these rats start to breed. They breed up to 13 times each year & produce up to 22 in each litter. Brown rats & black rats eat about the same things. Their diet usually consists of vegetables, fruits, cereals, meats, seeds, nuts, grains and invertebrates. They eat about a third of their weight in food every 24 hours.
Rats are recognized to harbor diseases and pathogens that may put lives in danger, and rats are also recognized to cause damage to property. Some of the diseases potentially deadly to man that spread through rats are toxoplasmosis, Weil’s disease, plague & salmonella food poisoning.
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