Hispid Cotton Rat
Sigmodon hispidus
The Hispid Cotton Rat is a native, stocky field rodent that lives in dense Florida grasses, marsh edges, ditches, and overgrown lots.
Hispid Cotton Rats occupy grassy sites throughout Florida, including old fields, wetland margins, roadsides, farms, and vacant lots.
They reproduce quickly when food and cover are abundant. Predators such as owls, hawks, snakes, bobcats, and foxes depend on them as prey.
Habitat:
Freshwater Wetlands, Grasslands and Agricultural Areas, Urban and Residential Areas
Area / Range:
Statewide
Diet:
Cotton rats feed mainly on grasses, seeds, stems, roots, and other plant material, with occasional insects.
Behavior:
They build runways and grassy nests in dense ground cover. Activity often increases from late afternoon through night, though they also move during daylight.
Night, Dawn, Dusk
Active Times:
Best time to see:
Around dusk in dense grass, ditch banks, marsh edges, old fields, and overgrown areas.
Florida Native Status:
Native
Conservation Status:
Common native small mammal and an important prey species within Florida food webs.
Safety Level:
Avoid Handling
Safety Information:
Do not handle wild rodents or droppings. Wear gloves for cleanup, exclude entry points, secure feed, and avoid sweeping dried waste into the air.
Benefits to Property:
They support native raptors, snakes, and mammalian predators and help move seeds through grassy habitats.
Property Concerns:
Dense vegetation near structures may support rodents. They may enter sheds or feed storage and can carry fleas, ticks, and pathogens.
Fun Fact:
Their winding surface runways resemble miniature trails through thick grass and help them travel beneath protective cover.
Wildlife Laws:
Use lawful, humane rodent-control practices. Avoid poisons that expose owls, hawks, snakes, pets, and other wildlife through secondary poisoning.
Identification:
It has coarse grizzled brown-gray fur, a blunt nose, small rounded ears, and a sparsely haired tail shorter than the head and body combined.
Credits:
Facts and images: iNaturalist Hispid Cotton Rat and Animalia Hispid Cotton Rat profile.