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Rat Facts

Latin Name: Rattus norvegicus (Brown or Norwegian Rat)
Female: Doe
Male: Buck
Young: Pups
Life Span: 2-4 years
Litter Size: 6-16 pups
Birth Weight: 5-7gms
Eyes Open: 10-16 days
Gestation Period: 20-22 days
Average Weight: Male 400-800gms / Female 400-800gms
Sexual Maturity: Male 6-10 weeks / Female 6-10 weeks
Weaning Age: 3 weeks
Diet: Omnivorous

History of the Rat

Rats belong to the rodent family. There are over 80 different species of rat throughout the world. The most common, Black and Brown rats, are thought to have originated from Asia and managed to stow away in merchant ships and other means of transport, which carried them across the world.

It is thought that the Black Rat reached Europe in the 4th Century and caused outbreaks of the Plague in the 6th and 7th Centuries. The famous spread of the Black Death (or Bubonic Plague) in the 1300s earned the rat its unsavoury reputation. However, the rats were merely the hosts of the fleas that actually spread the disease.

The Latin name Rattus Norvegicus means Norwegian Rat (now known as the Brown Rat)

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