# At what age is a rat fully grown?



## Minky

I adopted a rat from a shelter a few months ago. I thought she was kind of small, so I named her Baby. She wasn't hyper like a baby, but her coat was very soft and silky. 

Two or three months later, I noticed that she seemed to have suddenly "filled out". Her face looked a bit wider, and she seemed to get ever so slightly larger. Also, her coat is more coarse now, more like my other rats. 

So I'm wondering at how many weeks the final growth phase occurs, so that I can try to guess her age.


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## Grawrisher

I've heard at 6-8months thy tend I stop growing 


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## Hey-Fay

Yep, 8 months is when they're considered grown.


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## alexn

But 8 months isn't necessarily set in stone. One of my girls (Daisy) had a big growth spurt around a year old 

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## binkyhoo

I would say in my experience about 6 month adult. But that does not mean that they don't change with age. We do as people, change with age and so do our little friends. My Brutus tail seem to be getting larger and more hefty. It is an awesome tail. So sez I.


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## Minky

Thanks everyone for the info. 

Another thing that changed was that her collar spots got darker. They used to be barely perceptible, and now you can definitely tell she has a collar. And her head became more "wedge" shaped (she's a dumbo).

It's possible Baby had a growth spurt because of the improved diet. I guess it's safe to assume she's around one year old, possibly younger. 

Is there a chart anywhere with photos of rats at different ages?


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## nanashi7

There's this: http://www.rattyrat.com/guidebook/howold.html


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## binkyhoo

There is something about telling age by looking at the pads of their paws. Young ones will have smooth pads and older ones more lumpy. I cant find it, but maybe some one of us can.


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## Rat Daddy

Honestly, I think rats keep growing well past a year old, at some point it's pretty slow and not noticeable but my oldest rats have always been the largest.


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