Fat sand rat
Psammomys obesus Cretzschmar, 1828
The fat sand rat (Psammomys obesus) is a species in the family Muridae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 149.6 g to 177.3 g and live up to 3.14 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the fat sand rat
- Weight
- 149.6 g – 177.3 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 3.14 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 3.2 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 24.8 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 3.29 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 3.44src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the fat sand rat live?
Not recorded
What is the fat sand rat?
The fat sand rat (Psammomys obesus) is a terrestrial mammal from the gerbil subfamily that is mostly found in North Africa and the Middle East, ranging from Mauritania to the Arabian Peninsula. This species usually lives in sandy deserts, but may also be found in rocky terrain or saline marsh areas. Fat sand rats are very selective in their diet, only eating stems and leaves of plants from the family Amaranthaceae, more commonly known as the amaranth family. In captivity, fat sand rats can become obese and rapidly develop diabetes-like symptoms when fed the diet typically given to other rodents. P. obesus has an average lifespan of 14 months in the wild and 3–4 years in captivity.
From the Wikipedia article “Fat sand rat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fat_sand_rat&oldid=1377845650), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the fat sand rat endangered?
The fat sand rat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the fat sand rat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyMuridae
- genusPsammomys
- SpeciesPsammomys obesus Cretzschmar, 1828
Synonyms Psammomys algiricus, Psammomys obesus dianae, Psammomys obesus nicolli, Psammomys obesus terraesanctae, Psammomys roudairei, Psammomys tripolitanus
Other names and names in other languages (17)
- فأر الرمل السمينArabic
- pískomil tlustýCzech
- Fed SandrotteDanish
- Fette SandratteGerman
- Fett-SandratteGerman
- Παχύς ΑμμοαρουραίοςGreek
- jird gordoSpanish
- rasvajirdiFinnish
- Rat de SableFrench
- Rat de sable diurneFrench
- פסמוןHebrew
- デブスナネズミJapanese
- SandløperrotteNorwegian Bokmål
- Vette ZandratDutch
- piaskówka tłustaPolish
- Gerbil-GordinhoPortuguese
- Дневная песчанкаRussian
Relatives of the fat sand rat
Other species in the same genus Psammomys.
Thin sand rat
Psammomys vexillaris
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the fat sand rat?
An adult fat sand rat weighs 149.6 g – 177.3 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the fat sand rat endangered?
The fat sand rat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the fat sand rat live?
The fat sand rat has a recorded lifespan of 3.14 years.
How long is the fat sand rat pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 24.8 days.
What kind of animal is the fat sand rat?
The fat sand rat (Psammomys obesus) belongs to the family Muridae in the order Rodentia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Fat sand rat (Psammomys obesus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/fat-sand-rat
“Fat sand rat (Psammomys obesus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/fat-sand-rat.
@misc{fat_sand_rat_2026,
title = {Fat sand rat (Psammomys obesus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/fat-sand-rat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}