Marsh rice rat

Marsh rice rats are at home in water. They swim well at the surface and under it, dive to escape predators, and forage along the edges of marshes and ditches at night.

They eat more animal food than most rodents: fiddler crabs, snails, insects and small fish, as well as seeds and green shoots. Their nests are balls of woven grass and sedge built above the high-water line, often in dense marsh plants.

Rice rats are one of the most important small prey animals in southern marshes, eaten by owls, hawks, herons, snakes, raccoons and mink. They also shape the life of the marsh by eating snails and crabs.

They breed quickly and repeatedly, which is what allows them to support so many predators.

Breeding — most of the year in the South
Gestation — about 25 days
Litter — usually three to five young
Eyes open — at about six days old
Weaning — at about two weeks old
Maturity — at about seven weeks old
Lifespan — rarely more than a year in the wild

• Like other wild rodents, rice rats can carry diseases, including hantaviruses; avoid handling them and wear gloves to clean up nests or droppings.
• Draining and filling marshes removes their habitat.
• A rice rat in a boathouse or shed can usually be let out through an open door.

• Every rat is a pest from a city. The marsh rice rat is a native animal of wild marshes.
• Rodents only eat plants. Rice rats catch crabs, snails and insects.

• Hispid cotton rat
• Norway rat
• Round-tailed muskrat