How Big Can Rats Become?
Rats can reach sizes of up to 2.7 feet, so if you’re worried about these creatures, you should take measures to prevent them from getting out of hand. To prevent this, keep them from breeding and multiplying in your home. If you can’t control their population yourself, call a professional rat control company. They can help you remove them from your property and prevent them from breeding and multiplying.
The world’s largest rat is the capybara, which is nearly one ton and can grow to be as long as a human. A few million years ago, a species of rat lived on the island of Anguilla, which is 1,000 feet long and nearly twice as long as a human adult. This rat, which is known officially as the Ambyrhiza, was more than twice the size of modern rats.
Rats reproduce very quickly. A female can mate up to 500 times in just six hours, which makes it possible for her to produce up to 2,000 young per year. A typical litter of baby rats weighs between five to eight grams and is two to four inches long. These young are ready for breeding about 48 hours after delivery.
Rats can grow to enormous proportions, although a giant rat would most likely be too large to be functional and would die quickly. Rats’ body length and legs are shorter than those of cats. However, some rats are much bigger than the average housecat, weighing between two and three pounds.