Giant Kangaroo Rat
The giant kangaroo rat has an extremely small range limited to the west-central region of the U.S. state of California. Specifically, it is currently found only as far north and west as Fresno County and as far east and south as San Luis Obispo and Bakersfield Counties. Scrub desert and piedmont are the basic habitats of giant kangaroo rats. They prefer relatively flat homogenous terrain with shrubs and rocks being almost totally absent. Typical habitat is stretches of easily excavated sandy loam covered with annual grasses and herbs.
Giant kangaroo rat
The giant kangaroo rat is the largest of all kangaroo rats and has a body length ranging from 15 to 20 cm and a tail length of 18 to 21.5 cm. Unlike many other kangaroo rats, D. ingens possesses five toes on each hind foot, a white stripe running across its hindquarters, and a white belly. It also has a distinctive tail that is dark colored on the top and bottom with white lines on both sides.
Reproduction
Breeding takes place in late winter or early spring. Gestation is 28 to 32 days in length. Anywhere from one to six young are born in a burrow in the spring, three being average. The young are cared for by their mothers and fathers and are weaned in 15 to 25 days. They reach sexual maturity in 60 to 84 days. They then leave the burrow and seek new territories within the colony to dig burrows of their own. Giant kangaroo rats have been known to live up to 9.8 years in the wild.
Behavior
Giant kangaroo rats live in circular burrow systems called precincts at the center of their territories. Colonies consist of five to 50 precincts. Being highly territorial, only one adult animal inhabits each burrow. Home ranges average 239 m2 and adults rarely travel more than 47 m away from their burrows. On average males spend about 0.05% of their time away from their home ranges. Females will cross into the territories of males during the breeding season. Giant kangaroo rats are nocturnal and are away from the safety of their burrows as possible. They emerge shortly after sunset and spend an average of less than 20 minutes foraging for food before returning to their burrows. Unlike other kangaroo rats, they are not active before sunrise. They move by hopping with their powerful hind legs, using their long pointed tails as rudders and can move at speeds of up to three meters per second when avoiding predators.
Food Habits
Giant kangaroo rats are granivorous and prefer to eat the seeds and green parts of native desert plants. They are also known to eat grain and the seeds of commercially grown plants if fields are nearby. Food is cured in shallow pits or piles on the ground called ‘haystacks.’ It is then stored in the central cave of their burrow. They extract all the water they need from these sources. In captivity they should be offered a complete diet of rodent lab blocks, and rat or mouse mix, with bits of fruit or veggies regularly. Cheerios or wheat bread are great treats, in small quantities. Do NOT feed chocolate, fried foods, salted foods, candy or junk food! They may enjoy crickets and mealworms if they are captive bred, never feed wild insects as they may carry parasites. Vitamins, like Nutri-Cal are a good addition to their diet, and added calcium during nursing and growth due to demands on their systems at those times, but take care not to overdo it. Water bottles should be used to proved constant, clean water. Ceramic or stoneware food dishes work well for keeping seeds or fresh foods off the floor, and a wire mesh hopper that allows them to eat the lab blocks through without extra waste.
