Source: Wikimedia Commons
Naked Mole-rat
AdvancedHeterocephalus glaber
An almost hairless, wrinkled pink rodent of underground tunnels with large incisors outside its lips. It lives in eusocial colonies where only the queen breeds, and outlives every other rodent at over 30 years.
Difficulty
Advanced
Temperature
18〜26℃
Lifespan
22–31 years in captivity (records over 37)
Size
14.7–16.5cm long; 30–80g
Humidity
40〜60%
Diet
Herbivore: underground roots, bulbs and tubers
About
The naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) is a burrowing African rodent. It lives in East Africa, including Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya, in tunnel systems about 2m below grassland and savanna at 1,100–3,000m. A colony has a breeding queen, breeding males and non-breeding workers: smaller workers gather food and tend young, larger ones defend and dig. Such eusociality is extremely rare in mammals. It is also described as the only mammalian thermoconformer, letting body temperature track its surroundings; cold animals huddle and hot ones move deeper. It eats underground roots, bulbs and tubers. It is the longest-lived rodent, living 22–31 years in captivity with records above 37. In Japan, captive-bred animals occasionally reach specialists as colony groups.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Lifespan of the Naked Mole-rat
The Naked Mole-rat lives 22–31 years in captivity (records over 37).
Size of the Naked Mole-rat
The Naked Mole-rat grows to 14.7–16.5cm long; 30–80g.
It is 14.7–16.5cm long and weighs 30–80g, with wrinkled, almost hairless brownish-pink skin, sensitive body hairs for feeling its way in the dark, and tiny eyes.
Basic Info
Origin
Underground in grassland and savanna of East Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya)
Lifespan
22–31 years in captivity (records over 37)
Size
14.7–16.5cm long; 30–80g
References & Sources
Edited & verified by: BreederDirect editorial team
The taxonomic, regulatory, and husbandry data on this page are compiled and verified against the authoritative primary sources below.
Taxonomy & Authority
Accepted name: Heterocephalus glaber Rüppell, 1842
Authority databases: GBIF · GBIF: Heterocephalus glaber
Nomenclature follows global taxonomic authority databases.
Regulations & Conservation Status
Not CITES-listedIUCN LC · Least Concern
Not covered by CITES, the Invasive Alien Species Act or the specified-animal rules. Imports fall under Japan's animal import notification system (Infectious Diseases Control Law, MHLW): a health certificate from the exporting country's government must be filed with the quarantine station, and rodents must come from a holding facility designated by that government. Animals bred in Japan can be sold and kept without notification. Never release captive animals into the wild.
Sources: MHLW: Animal import notification system (JA) / Species+ CITES query (not listed) / Ministry of the Environment: Invasive Alien Species list, incl. species requiring a species-name certificate (JA)
Regulations may change. Always verify the latest information with the relevant authorities.
Naked Mole-rat Listings
Loading latest listingsFind listings for this species
