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Animal Age

How old does a Hispid cotton rat get? (age expectancy)

What is the maximal age a Hispid cotton rat reaches?

An adult Hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) usually gets as old as 5.17 years.

Hispid cotton rats are around 27 days in the womb of their mother. When born, they weight 6 grams (0.01 lbs) and measure 4 cm (0′ 2″). As a member of the Muridae family (genus: Sigmodon), a Hispid cotton rat caries out around 5 little ones per pregnancy, which happens around 2 times a year. Fully grown, they reach a bodylength of 16.7 cm (0′ 7″).

As a reference: Usually, humans get as old as 100 years, with the average being around 75 years. After being carried in the belly of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks), they grow to an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) and weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual.

A Hispid cotton rat gets as old as 5.17 years

The hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) is a rodent species long thought to occur in parts of South America, Central America, and southern North America. However, recent taxonomic revisions, based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data, have split this widely distributed species into three separate species (S. hispidus, S. toltecus, and S. hirsutus). The southern edge of the S. hispidus distribution is likely near the Rio Grande, where it meets the northern distribution of S. toltecus (formerly S. h. toltecus). The northern extent of S. hispidus distribution is to the Platte River in Nebraska and from Arizona to Virginia. Adult size is total length 202–340 mm (7.9–13 in); tail 87–122 mm (3.4-4.8 in), frequently broken or stubbed; hind foot 29–35 mm (1-1.3 in); ear 16–20 mm (0.6-0.9 in); mass 50-250 g (1.7-9 oz). They have been used as laboratory animals.

Animals of the same family as a Hispid cotton rat

Not really brothers and sisters, but from the same biological family (Muridae):

Animals that reach the same age as Hispid cotton rat

With an average age of 5.17 years, Hispid cotton rat are in good companionship of the following animals:

Animals with the same number of babies Hispid cotton rat

The same number of babies at once (5) are born by:

Weighting as much as Hispid cotton rat

A fully grown Hispid cotton rat reaches around 111 grams (0.24 lbs). So do these animals:

Animals as big as a Hispid cotton rat

Those animals grow as big as a Hispid cotton rat: