Albino rats
The first domestic albino pet rats were born from a single rat captured from a graveyard by the hunter Jack Black, a loyal servant of Queen Victoria. Now they are not only strange beings, but their origin as well.
Large litters
The Sprague Dawley rats, also known to be those used in laboratories, can give birth to 20 offspring per litter, more than their domestic relatives.
A pet rat is a huge and long-lived species
Some rats, such as the Gambian rat, can be huge in sizes up to almost 4 kg. It is not the most common, but it can happen. You surely would not want to find it at home. On the other hand, the Guinness Book of Records says that the domestic pet rat that lived the longest was 7 years old. Unusual, right? This is because it exceeds its life expectancy by 3 years.
Diseases
Pet rats are associated with the Bubonic plague. However, it was not directly by them that it reached humans. But rather, by fleas that jumped from them to people.
Rats praised as gods
In India, there is the Karni Devi temple, where rats are worshipped and fed daily. In this place they congregate in heaps and are considered sacred. When the plagues hit the rest of the world, these rats did not infect nearby people. This is probably due to the territoriality that caused them to drive away their foreign companions.
By Jimmy
Pet rats in space
Believe it or not, rats also made it into space. Héctor, as the rat was called, left France in 1961. Which is the same year as Yuri Gagarin.
Laboratory rats
To obtain a genetically identical breed, scientists cross brothers and sisters for 300 generations. This makes their DNA 99% identical, even more so than any clone made by science. These animals can go 17-20 days without sleep before dying from a lack of rest.
Rats in ancient times
The Romans did not distinguish between rats and mice, so the name they gave them was Lesser Rat and Greater Rat.
Pet rats are trained in detecting mines
In addition to their contribution to laboratories, rats have other important jobs, such as being trained to detect mines during wars. With their incredible sense of smell, they find them easily. And, also, with their lightweight they prevent them from exploding.
