Lifespan

The lifespan of pet rats in the UK averages around 23 months, while the longest lived rat is recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records for 1995 as 7 years and 4 months. Personally I have heard anecdotal reports of rats reaching the age of 4 years, whereas my oldest rat attained the age of 33 months.

Studies have shown that having a diet 80% of the volume of a free-feeding diet can help to extend lifespan. This information needs to be set against the rats’ love of food to obtain a balance which maintains quality of life. Regular exercise also helps to extend lifespan, so regular opportunities to come out of the cage and possibly the provision of a wheel could be useful. Food restriction and exercise advantages will not pass down to future generations, although it is possible that the tendency to take more exercise is hereditary.

There is research which concludes that neophilic rats, ie those which enjoy new experience, have longer lives than neophobic rats. This is thought to be due to the lower levels of stress hormones produced. The question is whether this can be worked backwards so that breeding for neophilic rats will extend the lifespan generation by generation, or whether neophobia/neophilia is an on/off condition. The Independant 9 December 2003

Rats which grow and mature slowly tend to have longer lifespans. It is possible that selection for the largest rats for breeding purposes has had an impact on their longevity as well as their size.

longevity-in-the-rat.pdf - Article by Alan Gangi (copied under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States)

Rat Lifespan Survey 2010

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