Talk:Brown rat
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"Adult body weight averages 320 g in males and about 200 g in females, but a very large individual can reach 500 g"? What's the source of this? In my experience it's more like 300 g for does and 500 g for bucks. // Liftarn
- Could that be a difference between wild-living and domesticated rats? - MPF 23:51, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)
- Yes, read the article on fancy rats it describes them as 300 to 500 so it is that domesticated rats are heavier.
"Rats live wherever people live. It is often said that there are as many rats in cities as people, but that is an untrue urban legend. It is probable that New York City, for instance, has only 250,000 rats, not eight-million."
"Rats in cities are not wanderers. They stay within 65 feet (20 meters) of their nest, and take the same trails to their food source every time they go out. They will cross an alley, but not a street."
These two statements taken out as they are unfounded, and far from true, particularly the latter - MPF 23:51, 31 Mar 2004 (UTC)
I read the above information in an article in the New York Times Magazine. I consider that to be an accurate resource. User:Dinopup
Robert Sullivan, in his recent Rats : Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants apparently roundly debunks the # of rats = # of people urban myth. Probably has other useful rat facts in it as well. Amazon quotes these: "if you are in New York... you are within close proximity to one or more rats having sex" and "26% of all electric cable breaks and 18% of all phone cable disruptions are caused by rats, 25% of all fires of unknown origin are rat-caused, and rats destroy an estimated 1/3 of the world's food supply each year.".- Nunh-huh 00:14, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)
The UK official National Rodent Survey found a 2003 UK population of 60 million Brown Rats, about equal to the UK human population. Whether that population density applies elsewhere may well vary. But the second para above is definitely inaccurate; rats most certainly cross streets, I've seen them do so on several occasions, and even more often found dead rats run over in the process of doing so. And any rat that used the same trail every time would very quickly fall prey to a predator; unpredictability of movements is a key to survival for any wild animal. - MPF 14:17, 2 Apr 2004 (UTC)
- The only "National Rodent Survey" I can find is published by the National Pest Technichians Association, and while I can't find the 2003 edition anywhere, the 2005 edition doesn't have any estimated total population figures, nor would its methods be likely to give one. --bjh21 16:02, 23 June 2006 (UTC)
The 60 Million number is being used by the Keep Britain tidy group. It originally comes from an estimate made by Boulter a century previously where he equated 1 rat to each cultivated acre. UK now has a population of 60M hence 60M rats. See: Channon, D, Murfitt E. 2005. UK Rat myths explored International Pest Control, vol 47, 4 July/Aug 2005 192-4
The picture is of a fancy rat. Although fancy rats are biologically Rattus norvegicus, it feels like putting a picture of a dog to an article about wolves. Though I have never seen a wild brown rat, I doubt they ever look as "good" as the picture shows, bathed, fur shining and groomed etc. --Farside 15:19, 6 Aug 2004 (UTC)
Cannibalism is described as a major cause of death in brown rats. This is a myth.
The source of the pet's litter should be carefully monitored, as wild animals make poor pets.
This doesn't seem to make sense. Has it been mis-edited? Loris 16:11, 13 October 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Name
According to the entry on rats in Los Angeles A to Z: An Encyclopedia of the City and County, Leonard and Dale Pitt, UC Press, 1997, "The Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus named them [Norway rats] as an ethnic joke." Thought it was an interesting allegation. jengod 07:23, 19 December 2005 (UTC)
- The second sentence in the introductory paragraph says that no one knows why they are called Norway Rats, but then the last sentence answers that question: "at that time it was still thought to have originated in Norway." Even if it's not techically redundant, it still is rather clumsy phrasing. CFLeon 00:19, 25 January 2006 (UTC)
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- Hello, I read somewhere that pet rats comes from a line that was domesticated from London 200 years ago and named 'wild city Norways'. Carl Linnaeus published his first work of classification in 1758. So I think the name originates during that era.
hydkat 08:49, 16 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] cheap pets
unfortunately rats aren't cheap pets.. small, yes.. cheap no! they require a well balanced diet, litter/ bedding that is not going to cause them respiratory problems, toys to keep them challenged and entertained. and lots of love! Also, rats aren't hardy. All carry (whether resistant or not) mycoplasma, a respiratory disease. This, if active, is not curable and can cost a lot in vets bills. Females are also prone to mammary tumours. They should ALWAYS be kept in same sex groups; unless neutered or spayed. It isn't responsible to even think about keeping them together. I bought my latest pair as a pair of males. But one was a female and already pregnant. I know have lots of babies, many of them with myco.
[edit] Brown rats in science, citation needed
It will be tough to find a specific citation that says that when molecular biologists refer to rats it is usually R. norvegicus. It would be easy to list a host of citations where brown rats are used extensively. Perhaps the simplest way to support this statement is to point out the amount of genome information listed for R. norvegicus compared to R. rattus. --Aranae 23:11, 16 July 2006 (UTC)
