What kind of Rat?

A Pack Rat, that’s what!

More specifically, a White-throated Woodrat, Neotoma albigula.

There are several different kinds of related Woodrats, just to make things confusing for humans. And in addition, Woodrats are not the same as the rats we usually think of, when we think of rats–those are the Old World Rattus rats.

Woodrats or Pack Rats look more like giganto mice, with their big ears and big dark eyes. Their tails are also fuzzier than the bare Rattus tails.

These amazing creatures can survive on the moisture they get from the vegetation they eat, and do not need to drink water. How’s that for a desert adaptation!

Quite a while back we talked about Pack Rat middens, the amazing homes the White-throated Woodrats build in the desert.

These folks must have special skills, to build such large defensive structures without getting nasty stab wounds, since middens often include a lot of cactus branches.

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Who lives in this cactus?

Who you find living in any particular cactus will depend on when you look.

Many of the large holes in saguaros are originally drilled (although the process sounds more like a jack hammer than a drill) by Gila woodpeckers, who peck into the cactus to hollow out an area for a nest.

One interesting result is that the cactus, always fearful of losing moisture, forms dense scar tissue around the excavated area. This means that when the cactus dies and the flesh falls away, what’s left is the interesting lattice of cactus skeleton, plus an occasional hard rounded shape that looks something like a boot—so it is called a cactus boot. Native people gathered them and used them as containers for liquids.

Back to the cactus-dwellers. While the plant is still alive, these nests drilled inside saguaro cacti are prime real estate, the perfect place to find thorn-protected shelter until the kids grow up and fly away. At first, after the cactus heals and get less gooey, the  Gila Woodpeckers or related birds who excavated the nest holes get first dibs. But later years may bring entirely new sets of residents.

New Desert Creatures Mysteries e-book

Now you can get a great Desert Creatures Mysteries e-book.

It goes into detail about the strange animals of the desert, and some of the cool science about them.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/455225

Packrat Middens

Packrats, Neotoma albigula, make interesting nests in which to store their treasures—and themselves.

When you are out in the desert, the trick is how to spot a packrat nest. It’s not always easy. I guess that’s the idea, when you are building a hideaway.  Basically, look for a crazy, almost random pile of sticks and leaves, and often cholla cactus stems. The nests can range from a foot to 8 feet wide, and are often at the base of a shrub or cactus.

Apparently, If you went inside a packrat nest or midden, an activity the packrats vigorously discourage, you might find shiny bits of human treasures—foil, metal, or other bright objects, since packrats seem to like shiny things as much as we do.

Packrats do like cholla cacti, somehow managing to avoid their really nasty and determined thorns. There’s even one variety called the jumping cholla—I would stay away from those! The name comes from how easily a stem can get detached and glom onto you. A packrat favorite! Cholla stems are certainly a good defensive addition to a habitation—the dry stems are probably even nastier than green ones. According to the Desert Museum, packrats love to eat prickly pear fruit. So they are really cactus creatures.