It is hard to guess what a Fat sand rat weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Fat sand rat (Psammomys obesus) on average weights 102 grams (0.22 lbs).
The Fat sand rat is from the family Muridae (genus: Psammomys). It is usually born with about 6 grams (0.01 lbs). When reaching adult age, they grow up to 29.1 cm (1′ 0″). Usually, Fat sand rats have 3 babies per litter.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The fat sand rat (Psammomys obesus) is a terrestrial mammal from the gerbil subfamily that is mostly found in North Africa and the Middle East, ranging from Mauritania to the Arabian Peninsula. This species usually lives in sandy deserts, but may also be found in rocky terrain or saline marsh areas. Fat sand rats are very selective in their diet, only eating stems and leaves of plants from the family Amaranthaceae, more commonly known as the amaranth family. The fat sand rat acquired its name due to the fact that when it is fed a typical rodent diet, it quickly becomes obese and develops diabetes. P. obesus has an average lifespan of 14 months in the wild and 3-4 years in captivity.
Animals of the same family as a Fat sand rat
We found other animals of the Muridae family:
- Nikolaus’s mouse with a weight of 52 grams
- White-footed mouse with a weight of 18 grams
- Andean rat with a weight of 53 grams
- Highveld gerbil with a weight of 89 grams
- Southern Plains woodrat with a weight of 255 grams
- Day’s grass mouse with a weight of 32 grams
- Muskrat with a weight of 992 grams
- Black-footed tree-rat with a weight of 716 grams
- Delicate vesper mouse with a weight of 13 grams
- Dolorous grass mouse with a weight of 50 grams
Animals with the same weight as a Fat sand rat
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Psammomys obesus:
- Savanna gerbil bringing 121 grams to the scale
- Cauca climbing mouse bringing 89 grams to the scale
- Lewis’s tuco-tuco bringing 117 grams to the scale
- Rio de Janeiro arboreal rat bringing 93 grams to the scale
- Slender rat bringing 109 grams to the scale
- Greater tree mouse bringing 105 grams to the scale
- Southern African vlei rat bringing 114 grams to the scale
- Kimberley rock rat bringing 95 grams to the scale
- Pygmy scaly-tailed flying squirrel bringing 100 grams to the scale
- Big-eared hopping mouse bringing 89 grams to the scale
Animals with the same litter size as a Fat sand rat
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (3) as a Fat sand rat: