Weight and size of a rat from small to adult – table by age

Wanting to understand whether the pet is developing correctly, the rat breeder turns to standard data, comparing the parameters of his pet with them.

What determines the size of the rat and weight

The fact whether the animal becomes large or small when it grows up depends on many reasons:

• species;
• genetics;
• health;
• content.

Therefore, when purchasing a pet, you must definitely see his parents. Little animals never give birth to giants. Therefore, no matter how diligently the owners treat the content of the rodent, genetics will nullify all their efforts.

Important! Animals purchased in pet stores usually lag behind in growth from counterparts raised in nurseries, since sellers rarely purchase rats older than 3 weeks. Babies need 25-28 days to be near their mother. Early weaning from it affects the health of the individual.

It is difficult to measure the length of a pet, since the animal is extremely plastic.

The body of the animal is so arranged that it can stretch up to 40 cm, flatten, or shrink into a lump 10 cm long.

Although some experienced breeders and zoologists still manage to take measurements of animals that are in their usual calm state.

The largest and smallest varieties of rats on the planet

In the world there are real giants among these rodents. Bamboo rats live in China, which reach 4 kg in weight and grow up to half a meter.

And in Africa you can find a reed rat, the size of an adult individual of which is 61 cm. Such a miracle weighs almost 9 kg. In captivity, it can only be kept under conditions artificially created for it.

The smallest species live in New Guinea, on the islands of the Pacific Ocean and in Central Asia. They are called Pacific. The body of the animal is from 11 to 15 cm, and the weight of an adult rat is no more than 80 g.

Wild rats in Russia

These animals are found everywhere: in nature and near human dwellings. Among the wild non-domesticated species we have:

• Turkestan (red);
• black;
• pasyuk (gray).

In their natural habitat, pasyuki grow up to 25 cm excluding the tail and can weigh up to 400 g. Occasionally there are representatives of half a kilo in weight.

The black variety is slightly inferior to the Pasyuks. They are found from 18 to 22 cm with a mass of up to 300 g.

Turkestan red rats are the smallest among this group: from 17 to 21 cm long and weighing 280 g.

There is a myth that giant mutants up to a kilogram in weight and as tall as a large cat appear from time to time among the wild inhabitants of sewers and chemical plants. However, no such facts were documented.

Domestic decorative rats

The Russians are happy to keep and breed these rodents in their homes. These smartest creatures are today listed as human companion animals.

Recently, the selection of rats has reached a new level: a wide variety of varieties have been bred. Rat breeders have developed standards for animals, based on which exhibitions are held and the best representatives are selected.

The goal of breeders is to improve the exterior of animals, immunity, and increase life expectancy. No one is breeding a particularly large variety of rodents.

However, adult domestic rats are still larger than wild relatives: some males reach 650 g. They also surpass them in size, reaching 30 cm.

Rodents kept in captivity and with free access to food are often obese.

Representatives of different varieties and species differ only in the exterior. The size of the animals practically does not depend on the species.

The most popular varieties of ornamental rats in Russia:

• whites (albinos);
• satin;
• tailless;
• Husky
• downy (Fuzz);
• hairless (sphinxes);
• dumbo
• blue;
• double rex.

Standard rat sizes (weight) by month