Agouti
The term ‘agouti’ refers to many species of rodent of the genus ‘Dasyprocta’. This article is about agoutis in general and not a specific sub-species of agoui.
In terms of appearance, agoutis look very similar to guinea pigs, but they have much longer legs. They tend to be a light brown or dark brown in colour and depending on the speices, have a rounded or somewhat conical shaped muzzle. Their fur is quite coarse and stands on end if the agouti is alarmed, scared or angry. They have a fairly short tail that has no hair at all on it. The biggest size for an agouti is thought to be able to grow to is around 60cm in lenght, that’s approximately 2 feet. They can weigh up to 4kg.
In the wild agoutis are very shy and rarely interact with humans, yet in captivity they can be tamed easily and have been shown to be relativley trusting of people. They can be found living wild in middle and south America, amongst dense woodland and sometimes in savannah regions.
There are around 11 different species of agouti that can be found in the wild, many of which are threatened by habitat loss.
Many agoutis love to swim.
The gestation period for an agouti is three months and litters consist of around two to four individuals. Some females will only have one litter a year, but some may have two litters; one in May and one in October. Others will breed all year round. When the babies are small, the mother will not allow the father near the nest for fear of hurting the baby agoutis.
The agouti is one of the longest living rodents, having a life span of uo to 20 years!
Agoutis will eat roots, seeds and fruit which has fallen to the ground. Rarely will an agouti will climb a tree in order to get to food.
July 24, 2010
· 
Maddia (Admin) · 
One Comment
Tags: agoutis, common agouti, rodents, wild rodents · Posted in: Agouti
One Response
Looks like a little like a rat!