Rats are intelligent, social and easy to tame rodents which makes them great pets. They can also be difficult to control as they easily adapt to environmental changes, and cannot be spotted easily. If you are thinking about keeping one as a pet, then you must be wondering how long they live.
Summary:
How long do rats live?
- Pet rats: up to 4 years
- Wild rats: 1 to 2 years
- Naked mole rats: up to 32 years
- The Naked Mole are known to be the longest living rats in the world
An Overview Of Rats
Before we launch into the life expectancy of rats, here is an overview of rats.
Rats are medium-sized, thin-tailed rodents that first originated from Australia and Asia. They are now be found all over the world.
There are over 130 species of rats all over the world. Some of them include the black or roof rat, Norway or brown rat, and the Pacific rat.
The common rat is omnivorous by nature and they eat almost anything. They prefer living in areas near human beings such as farms, industrial sites, and sewers.
What differentiates them from mice is they are larger and have longer and thinner bodies.
Rats have lived amongst humans for a very long time. Unfortunately, they carry more than 40 harmful zoonotic pathogens that cause diseases such as Weil’s disease, Chagas’s disease, Lassa fever, rabies, murine typhus, and Rat-bite fever. [1]
Average Lifespan of A Rat
The average rat in the wild will live for 1 to 2 years. Rats kept at home as pets can live up to 4 years.
The most common causes of death for rats are being hit by vehicles, and being killed by domestic cats and some dogs. Sometimes they are attacked by winged animals such as owls and hawks, snakes, foxes, coyotes, and weasels. Human beings usually also kill rats by using poisons and traps.
Unlike other rodents, rats have no breeding season. They are well-known fast breeders because of their behavior to breed continuously in a short span.
A female rat typically gives birth to six litters a year with 5 to 12 pups. Rats reach sexual maturity after 4 to 5 weeks. This means that a population can grow rapidly from two to around 1,250 rats in one year, with the potential to grow exponentially.
How Long do pet rats live?
The average lifespan of pet rats is up to 4 years.
Generally, domesticated rats have a longer life expectancy than the wild ones. Wild rats live only for up to 2 years or less.
Pet rats live a bit longer as they are less vulnerable to predators. They are well fed at home and rarely lack food. In addition to being properly fed, they also receive veterinary care hence increasing their life expectancy significantly.
On the other hand, many wild rats have a shorter life span due to the many dangers they face. They are easily targeted by predators and are impacted by food fluctuations. They usually face food shortages caused by drought.
How Long Do White Rats Live?
On average White rats live for 2 to 3 years in captivity. In the wild, they live less than a year. They have a similar lifespan as other colored rats.
Many people prefer white rats as pets because they are beautiful, and make amazing pets as well. These rats are quite cheap, low maintenance, very affectionate, and easy to care for.
They are also incredibly intelligent. White rats easily learn tricks, can recognize their owner and love to play games with toys.
How Long Do Brown Rats Live?
Brown rats live in the wild and are one of the fastest aging rodents. They hardly live more than a year. In rare cases, they can live more than 1 year that is if in captivity.
Brown rats like places with available food especially human waste and cereals.
How Long Do Hairless Rats Live?
Hairless rats have an average lifespan of 1 to 3 years.
Although most of them hardly live up to 1 year. They have a shorter life span compared to the other rats.
Hairless rats lack hair and also a thymus gland which normally helps in immunity. This makes them very vulnerable to diseases and their skin is easily irritated and infected easily reducing their life expectancy significantly.
How Long Do Rats Live Without Food
Rats can live for a maximum of 2 weeks without food. This generally depends on the rat’s organism, some can live for only 4 days, others a week but they cannot exceed two weeks.
Because rats can store food in their burrows, they can live for up to one month without water as they get it from the food. This means a rat can die easily without food and not water.
Conclusion
Rats are revered in some cultures. They are seen as very intelligent, quick, and practical thinkers and can survive anything thrown at them. They are a delicacy in some countries as well.
Rats can be easily trained. They can be trained similarly to dogs. Just like dogs they are very food orientated and can do anything for a tasty treat.
Inbreeding in pet rats can affect the rat’s lifespan and general health. If someone is inexperienced in inbreeding they can pass on harmful traits or a hereditary health condition thus shortening their life expectancy.
Finally, the life expectancy of rats largely depends on whether it lives in captivity or in the wild.
Before you go, here is a great video that will educate you on how how to care for your pet rat.
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