Several Rat Kinds
Rats are rodents that belong to the Rattus genus of the family Muridae. These are the most dominant species on earth. Lots of rat species exist in the world. Most rodents are herbivorous, but some are omnivorous. In general, there are 2 basic types of rats. They are black or roof rats and Norway or brown rats. Both are believed to have originated in Asia & are now widely spread throughout the planet.
Black Rats
The black rats are sometimes called roof rats & ship rats, scientifically named Rattus Rattus. They are commonly black, slender, 16-21 cm long & weigh about 80-300 gram. Their tail is longer than the head and body and their nose & muzzle are pointed. As the name suggest, roof rats are climbers. Their paws are built to climb and create nestles in upper parts of homes, attics, rafters & crossbeams of buildings.
Norway Rat
The brown rat, which is also known as the Norway rat, house rat, gray rat, barn rat, and wharf rat, is the larger of the 2 mentioned here, and one of the best-known species. Their scientific name is Rattus norvegicus. They are mostly grayish-brown, with a lighter colored stomach. A fully-grown brown rat is 18 to 26 cm long & weighs between 400 and 600 gm. They have a tail shorter than its body and their nose & muzzle are blunt. They prefer moist conditions and nest in deep burrows.
These rats breed when they are three to four months of age. They breed up to 13 times a year and produce up to 22 in a litter. Brown rats & black rats eat about the same things. Their diet mainly consists of seeds, nuts, grains, vegetables, fruits, cereals, meats and invertebrates. They eat about a third of their weight in food every 24 hours.
They contaminate food, carry deadly diseases & damage structures. Some of the diseases potentially fatal to man that spread through rats are plague, salmonella food poisoning, toxoplasmosis and Weil’s disease.
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