How Many Rats Can a Rat Have in a Year?

Rats are prolific breeders and reproduce very prolifically. A female rat can have as many as six litters a year, each containing around 12 pups. Over the course of three years, a pair of rats can produce as many as 482,508,800 pups. Read this report to understand more about the breeding cycle of the brown rat.

Rats are nocturnal creatures that leave their nests at dusk. They are very efficient hiders and can survive in high populations without humans knowing about their presence. Although rats are more frightened than mice, they have been known to adjust quickly to new environments, routines, and food sources.

Rats have five-week gestation periods and become sexually mature in about three months. During spring and fall, female rats mate and have a litter on the way. When a female rat has finished a litter, she restarts the reproductive cycle. By week five to nine, she is pregnant with her next litter. In an ideal environment, a female rat will produce up to six litters in a year.

The gestation period of a female rat varies according to the type of rat you have. Depending on the type, it can last up to 22 days. During this period, a female rat will give birth to six to twelve babies in a litter. These number of babies is high and can lead to a full-blown infestation in no time.