What Size Are Rats in the UK?
WouterWhat size are rats? Rats have a gestation period of 22 days, after which they become sexually active. Females give birth to litters of four to twelve pups in a year. The females tend to blind their young for nine to fourteen days before weaning them. Rats reach sexual maturity at approximately eight to twelve weeks.
Black rats live in packs of 20-60 and are highly active and nocturnal. They feed on plant matter and are good climbers. They require about fifteen grams of food and 15 ml of water per day. Fancy rats are smaller than their wild cousins and are suitable for pets.
There are three main species of rats in the UK. The common brown rat is the most common and lives in the ground. This rat has small ears and a blunt nose. Black rats are rare in the UK and generally appear in harbours and ports, where they were stowed away from ships.
Rats are omnivorous, with a pre-breeding population of around 6.5 million. They are a problem in urban areas because their poisoning can affect other wildlife in the area. They are also a major pest in stored foods and are carriers of several human diseases. Weil’s disease and plague are common diseases carried by rats. Despite their size, rats are much larger than mice. A typical adult weighs around 3.3 pounds (1.5 kilograms) and is about the size of a cat.
