Ask A Scientist General Science Archive

Question:
Why do scientists use rats instead of other animals for experiments?
ages 13-14, from Glen Crest
Zack Petrusa, scott lemerand, and Kris Knopp
 
Answer:
Rats are easy to handle, are small so they don't take up much space,
and it's easy to raise lots of them.  Lab animals are usually fairly
expensive, too.  The rats and rabbits used in labs are generally
bought from a company that specializes in raising them for experiments.
The animals have to be free of any infections, diseases and anything
else that may interfere with what the scientist is trying to do.  These
companies usually guarantee that their animals are healthy and so that
makes them more expensive than pet store animals.
Also, rats are a fairly good representative of a mammalian model...
remember, humans are mammals too, so what may work in a rat could possibly
work in a human too.  Lab animals have been used in many of the cures
for human diseases.
-Joe Schultz