Rats are various medium sized rodents. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, R. norvegicus. Many members of other rodent genera and families are also called rats and share many characteristics with true rats. A rat has an average life span of 2-3 years.
Specially bred rats have been kept as pets at least since the late 19th century. Rats are sociable, intelligent animals and can be trained to use a litter box, come when called, and perform a variety of tricks. Pet rats are typically of variants of the species R. Norvegicus, or Brown rat, but Black rats and Giant pouched rats are also known to be kept.
Pet rats behave differently than their wild relatives depending on how many generations they have been removed, and when acquired from reliable sources, they do not pose any more health risk than other, more common pets...
No comments:
Post a Comment