Raticate

The **raticate** (*Megamus pokevus*) is a species of large rat-sized mouse that originally did not exist, but has since been created by SciiFii due to the demand for Pokémon-like animals as pets. However, due to pet releases by careless pet owners, the raticates can be found throughout the mainland Africa, Eurasia, and Americas. A raticate is a rather large murid and can weigh twice as much as a black rat (*Rattus rattus*) and many times more than a house mouse (*Mus musculus*). The head and body length ranges from 15 to 28 cm (6 to 11 in) while the tail ranges in length from 10.5 to 24 cm (4 1⁄4 to 9 1⁄2 in), therefore being shorter than the head and body. Adult weight ranges from 140 to 500 g (5 to 17 3⁄4 oz). Exceptionally large individuals can reportedly reach 900 to 1,000 g (31 1⁄2 to 35 1⁄2 oz) but are not expected outside of domestic specimens. Raticates usually run, walk, or stand on all fours, but when eating, fighting, or orienting themselves, they rear up on their hind legs with additional support from the tail – a behavior known as "tripoding". Raticates are good jumpers, climbers, and swimmers, and are generally considered to be thigmotactic, i.e. usually attempt to maintain contact with vertical surfaces. Raticates are mostly crepuscular or nocturnal; they are averse to bright lights. The average sleep time of a captive raticate is reported to be 10 hours per day. They live in a wide variety of hidden places near food sources, and construct nests from various soft materials. Raticates are territorial, and one dominant male usually lives together with several females and young. Dominant males respect each other's territories and normally enter another's territory only if it is vacant. If two or more males are housed together in a cage, they often become aggressive unless they have been raised together from birth. Raticates primarily feed on plant matter, but are omnivorous. They eat their own faeces to acquire nutrients produced by bacteria in their intestines. Raticates, like most other rodents, do not vomit. Raticates are generally afraid of rats which often kill and eat them, a behavior known as muricide. Despite this, free-living populations of rats and raticates do exist together in forest areas in North America and elsewhere. The raticate can breed throughout the year if conditions are suitable, with a female producing up to five litters a year. The gestation period is only 21 days, and litters can number up to 14, although seven is common. They reach sexual maturity in about five weeks. Under ideal conditions (for the raticate), this means that the population of females could increase by a factor of three and a half (half a litter of 7) in 8 weeks (5 weeks for sexual maturity and 3 weeks of gestation), corresponding to a population growing by a factor of 10 in just 15 weeks. As a result, the population can grow from 2 to 15,000 in a year. The conservation status of the raticate is **Least Concern** due to successful conservation efforts, the raticate's wide range, and its tolerance to habitat loss, allowing it to survive and thrive in man-made habitats, including cities and suburbs, being viewed by humans as "large rats" by many, despite being mice instead of rats.