Acacia Rats
Acacia Rats
thallomys paedulucus
Another species that is not often seen in the pet trade, this species is lovely to keep, as it is always busy doing something. They have a very striking appearance what with their heavy eye make up and incredibly long tails. It is because of the dark fur around their eyes that we have taken to calling them ‘gothic rats’ (ok, so its incorrect… but it suits them!)
Housing:
They adore climbing and need a very spacious (and durable) cage that can be filled with branches, ropes and chains of varying thickness. If provided with a nest box they will utilise it and although I’ve never had a problem with it myself, I have heard that they will store all manner of perishable foods in their nest box leaving it to go mouldy so be careful not to over feed the fresh stuff. Wood shavings or bedding marketing for horses (e.g. Bliss™ or Aubious™) is best to use as a floor covering and if provided with hay they will use it as nesting material.
I had an escapee baby once due to the fact that the bars of thier cage were minutely too big. Cage size is an issue if you wish to keep this species as they need alot of space to thrive. most of the big cages you can find are marketed for chinchillas and have large(ish) square mesh and it was through these that the youngster escaped. I have now got them all in a ferret cage which despite what one would assume has much smaller, horizontal bars which also allow for climbing.
Feeding:
A good quality rodent mix such as Gerri Gerbil™ is a good start to the Acacia rat diet. Add to this some small seeds such as panicum millet which can be fed either loose or in spray form, hung some where in the cage. A good few cat biscuits and a good selection of fruit and vegetables are good additions to this staple diet. They also appreciate the odd insect and take great delight in catching and dismembering locusts in particular.
The average life expectancy of this species seems to be in the region of three years. Gestation lasts for around 25 days and litters are very small most people report having only one baby at a time – the largest litter my pair has produced consisted of just four offspring. My personal experience is that female babies are more likely to be produced than males.
A word or warning when breeding: I lost my first litter because the female knocked the bottle off and I was out all day so didnt find it until the evening. She didnt suffer for the six or seven hours with out water but her milk supply clearly did... she lost all three babies.
Their bottle is now wired to the cage!
