How Tough Are Rats?

You might wonder – “how tough are rats?” The answer depends on what you want to do with them. Whether you want to trap them, use them in experiments, or use them as a pet, rats are quite tough animals. They can fall up to 50 feet without breaking bones, and can even swim for three days without drowning. Rats are also highly mobile and can squeeze through openings as small as a quarter. In addition, their tails are longer than their bodies, which allows them to balance on them and wrap around objects for stability. Because of this, rats are able to scale high and traverse dangerous terrain.

Rats’ teeth are among the strongest in the animal kingdom, making them capable of chewing through many different materials. The front teeth of rats can exert up to 6,000 pounds of force per square inch, which is more than double that of the great white shark’s bite! Rats can also chew through concrete, wood, and even metal.

In addition, rats have very strong senses of smell. This means that they’re highly selective when it comes to food. Often, rats will eat only a small amount of a new food to test it out. If they don’t like the taste of something, they’ll eat non-food items to settle their stomachs. Interestingly enough, rats don’t vomit!