Pack Rats Flashcards
Neotoma are also known as what common names? How did they get that name?
Pack rats or wood rats. Habit of dropping the item they are carrying and taking new material if they find a more attractive object during foraging. Also pick up shining objects or silverware from camps.
How many species are in the genus Neotoma?
19 species
How much do pack rats weigh?
200-450 grams
Where are wood rats found?
Central and North America.
In what habitats do wood rats live?
Variable - Low, hot, dry deserts to humid jungles and rocky slopes above timberline
Do wood rats burrow?
Some species build houses on the ground or placed against rocks at the base of a tree. Build close to spiny cactuses, if available. some species do not build houses but use crevices among rocky outcrops.
What are wood rats used for in research?
Behavioral, neurological, and reservoirs for zoonotic agents.
What is a unique component of the serum of wood rats?
Antihemorrhagic factor against western rattlesnake venom. Similar to cotton rat and opossum.
When are wood rats active?
Nocturnal and active throughout the year.
When are wood rats reproductively active?
Long or all-year breeding cycles but small litters. In the southern part of range, breed at any time of year. In the northern part of the range, begin breeding in December or January and continue producing litters until August to October.
Describe reproduction in the wood rat.
Gestation is 30-40 days. Mothers wean young in about 4 weeks. Young reach sexual maturity at 7-8 months.
What is unique about nursing in wood rats?
Incisor teeth of young are laterally divergent for the first 2 weeks of life and the mother’s nipple fits into this gap. Young are dragged around attached to mother’s teat.
What wood rats possess a ventral marking gland?
Eastern wood rats, androgen dependent
What diet can captive wood rats be maintained on?
Standard laboratory rat diets. Water ad libitum, although often obtained from food sources in the wild.
Are wood rats social?
Generally solitary. Variable reports about fighting in captivity.
Infect of wild wood rats with what pathogen has been associated with decimation of wild populations?
Baylisascaris procyonis roundworm of racoons, due to encephalitis from cerebral migration of the parasite.
What zoonotic agents do woodrats serve as reservoirs for?
Plague, Trypanosoma, Toxoplasma, Whitewater Arroyo virus
What disease is common in aged captive Key Largo wood rats? What is the suspect cause?
Chronic glomerulonephropathy, manifesting as tubular proteinosis and membranous glomerulonephritis progressing to sclerosis. Resemble lesions seen in lab rats, dietary influence suspected.
