It is a common misconception that rats are diseased filthy creatures whose one desire is to infest peoples’ lives. While this idea is not completely untrue, rats are commonly used in many laboratories, and the research that they are used in has helped maintain and improve human health. However, despite their positive scientific uses, rats in the wild do exploit human resources and have been involved in the spread of over forty diseases. There are also various species of rats, including the white rat, black rat, bush rat, long-haired rat, and palm rat. Rats also have various fur colors, patterns, and markings, which means that within each rat species is a variety of appearances that rats may have. Despite their vast differences, all rats do
…show more content…
In fact, if a pair of rats survived for a full year, they and their offspring could produce around 1500 other rats combined. In order to procreate so often, rats gain the ability to reproduce when they reach the maturity of around 3 months. The typical litter of rats consists of 6 to 12 rats, and rats commonly have 4 to 7 litters per year. Breeding may occur all year, but it most often occurs in the spring or fall. Despite the large amount of rats that may be produced, it is very rare that all rats survive their first year of life due to the limitations of food availability and the high number of predators that oppose them. Rat reproduction is extremely similar to the reproduction of other mammals because, like the majority of mammals, rats are placental. This means that male rats mate with female rats that hold their offspring in their uterus for a brief time. While in the womb, the offspring is nourished by a placenta, allowing the offspring to grow and develop within the safety of the mother. When the offspring has fully developed, the mother gives birth and the offspring exits the …show more content…
A rat’s whiskers are hairs – columns of cells – that are used for many functions such as balance. Rats use their whiskers for more than balance, though; rats also use their whiskers for finding food, court mates, and gathering information about the world around them. Rat whiskers are located on their eyebrows, cheeks, and the sides of a rat’s nose and mouth; when a whisker is touched, information is sent to its brain that allows the rat to detect what direction and how far the whisker was moved. Whiskers go through cycles of growth and rest in which they grow, remain the same, and fall out to allow new whiskers to grow in their places. Baby rats are born with whiskers, meaning that whiskers grow and fall off throughout a rat’s lifetime. Because of the importance of using whiskers to collect information about their surroundings, rats constantly sweep their whiskers back and forth at a rate of near seven times per second. Rats have also developed the ability to move some whiskers independently; rats can extend their whiskers to a maximum of 2 inches from their noses. In order to gain a stronger understanding of their nearby surroundings, rats brush their whiskers over the surfaces of objects; because whiskers are extremely sensitive, this technique gives rats a detailed idea of what the object feels like. The whiskers can even detect different sound
In fact, if a pair of rats survived for a full year, they and their offspring could produce around 1500 other rats combined. In order to procreate so often, rats gain the ability to reproduce when they reach the maturity of around 3 months. The typical litter of rats consists of 6 to 12 rats, and rats commonly have 4 to 7 litters per year. Breeding may occur all year, but it most often occurs in the spring or fall. Despite the large amount of rats that may be produced, it is very rare that all rats survive their first year of life due to the limitations of food availability and the high number of predators that oppose them. Rat reproduction is extremely similar to the reproduction of other mammals because, like the majority of mammals, rats are placental. This means that male rats mate with female rats that hold their offspring in their uterus for a brief time. While in the womb, the offspring is nourished by a placenta, allowing the offspring to grow and develop within the safety of the mother. When the offspring has fully developed, the mother gives birth and the offspring exits the …show more content…
A rat’s whiskers are hairs – columns of cells – that are used for many functions such as balance. Rats use their whiskers for more than balance, though; rats also use their whiskers for finding food, court mates, and gathering information about the world around them. Rat whiskers are located on their eyebrows, cheeks, and the sides of a rat’s nose and mouth; when a whisker is touched, information is sent to its brain that allows the rat to detect what direction and how far the whisker was moved. Whiskers go through cycles of growth and rest in which they grow, remain the same, and fall out to allow new whiskers to grow in their places. Baby rats are born with whiskers, meaning that whiskers grow and fall off throughout a rat’s lifetime. Because of the importance of using whiskers to collect information about their surroundings, rats constantly sweep their whiskers back and forth at a rate of near seven times per second. Rats have also developed the ability to move some whiskers independently; rats can extend their whiskers to a maximum of 2 inches from their noses. In order to gain a stronger understanding of their nearby surroundings, rats brush their whiskers over the surfaces of objects; because whiskers are extremely sensitive, this technique gives rats a detailed idea of what the object feels like. The whiskers can even detect different sound