How big does a Gambian pouched rat get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Gambian pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus) reaches an average size of 36.3 cm (1′ 3″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). A full-grown exemplary reaches roughly 1.27 kg (2.8 lbs). On birth they have a weight of 22 grams (0.05 lbs). Talking about reproduction, Gambian pouched rats have 3 babies about 2 times per year. The Gambian pouched rat (genus: Cricetomys) is a member of the family Muridae.
As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.
The Gambian pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus), also known as the African giant pouched rat, is a nocturnal pouched rat of the giant pouched rat genus Cricetomys, and is among the largest muroids in the world, growing up to about 0.9 metres (3 ft) long including their tail which makes up half their length. It is widespread in Sub-Saharan Africa, ranging geographically from Senegal to Kenya and from Angola to Mozambique (although it is absent from much of the DR Congo, where Emin’s pouched rat is present) and in altitude from sea level to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft).The animals are sometimes kept as pets, but some have escaped from captivity and become an invasive species in Florida. The CDC and FDA in the US now ban the importation of this species. It is also blamed for an outbreak of monkeypox.
Animals of the same family as a Gambian pouched rat
We found other animals of the Muridae family:
- Allen’s woodrat with a size of 22.3 cm (0′ 9″)
- Small pencil-tailed tree mouse with a size of 9.4 cm (0′ 4″)
- Sumichrast’s harvest mouse with 3 babies per litter
- White-throated grass mouse with a weight of 42 grams
- Oligoryzomys microtis with a weight of 22 grams
- Eversmann’s hamster with 5 babies per litter
- Sooretamys with a weight of 144 grams
- Vogelkop mountain rat with a size of 13.4 cm (0′ 6″)
- Brukkaros pygmy rock mouse with a weight of 20 grams
- Guatemalan deer mouse with 1 babies per litter
Animals with the same size as a Gambian pouched rat
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Gambian pouched rat:
- Eastern lesser bamboo lemur with a size of 33.5 cm (1′ 2″)
- Weyland ringtail possum with a size of 31 cm (1′ 1″)
- Black lemur with a size of 39.7 cm (1′ 4″)
- Broad-striped Malagasy mongoose with a size of 31.9 cm (1′ 1″)
- White-faced spiny tree-rat with a size of 29.7 cm (1′ 0″)
- Cozumel raccoon with a size of 42.8 cm (1′ 5″)
- Black-capped squirrel monkey with a size of 30.9 cm (1′ 1″)
- Red acouchi with a size of 36.3 cm (1′ 3″)
- Black capuchin with a size of 43.5 cm (1′ 6″)
- Lutrine opossum with a size of 32.4 cm (1′ 1″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Gambian pouched rat
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (3) as a Gambian pouched rat:
- Chilean rock rat
- Greater hedgehog tenrec
- Collared pika
- Western red-backed vole
- Tibetan sand fox
- Baluchistan pygmy jerboa
- Ash-grey mouse
- Namaqua rock rat
- Southeastern shrew
- Heermann’s kangaroo rat
Animals with the same weight as a Gambian pouched rat
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Cricetomys gambianus:
- Long-nosed potoroo with a weight of 1.07 kilos (2.36 lbs)
- Green ringtail possum with a weight of 1.15 kilos (2.54 lbs)
- Potto with a weight of 1.08 kilos (2.38 lbs)
- Spotted giant flying squirrel with a weight of 1.04 kilos (2.29 lbs)
- Lake Mackay hare-wallaby with a weight of 1.5 kilos (3.31 lbs)
- Fennec fox with a weight of 1.32 kilos (2.91 lbs)
- Malagasy giant rat with a weight of 1.18 kilos (2.6 lbs)
- Humboldt’s hog-nosed skunk with a weight of 1.1 kilos (2.43 lbs)
- Northern olingo with a weight of 1.2 kilos (2.65 lbs)
- Llanos long-nosed armadillo with a weight of 1.15 kilos (2.54 lbs)