How big do they get?

3096 Views 29 Replies 6 Participants Last post by renay, Aug 9, 2007

Holly

Discussion Starter · Aug 7, 2007

When I hear "city folk" who don't know about Pet Rats talking about the kind of rats that inhabit their city sewers, they make these wild guys out to be REALLY big. "Cat-sized," they say.

Well, Gus is a fairly large young adult (8 mo.) and he weighs 1 pound, 1 ounce. (17 ounces.) Even though he has some growing to do, I don't expect he will ever be much more than 2 pounds.

I know that Pet Rats and their wild cousins are all Rattus Norwegicus (sp?) and come from the same family of rats. How large can this kind of rat get?

Are wild rats generally larger than Pet Rats? Why?

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Krickette

· #12 · Aug 8, 2007

Maybe they are talking about swamp rats....That's what we have around here...
http://www.bali.co.kr/zoo/image1/%C1%E304Nutria.jpg
they're like, 3-4 feet long with their tails.
they're massive. The biggest menaces ever. Nice target practice, though, lol!

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Krickette

· #14 · Aug 8, 2007

Forensic said:
Krickette said:

Maybe they are talking about swamp rats....That's what we have around here...
http://www.bali.co.kr/zoo/image1/%C1%E304Nutria.jpg
they're like, 3-4 feet long with their tails.
they're massive. The biggest menaces ever. Nice target practice, though, lol!

Click to expand...

Nutrias? (Or muskrats for that matter)... I suppose perhaps, but in New York?

yeah, i guess they don't have them up there, huh? I forget not everyone's city's are below sea level, lol!

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Krickette

· #17 · Aug 8, 2007

Yeah, I'm joking about that. There are a ton of people who do "hunt" them. They've done more damage to the wetlands than I can begin to address. They've gotten so overpopulated it's insane. Honestly I hate the little buggers, but no, I don't shoot them.

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