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A thousand rats removed from a home in Los Angeles for the reality TV show "Hoarders" arrived by 18-wheeled truck Saturday in San Jose. They are being cared for there by volunteers, who were busy Sunday separating the males from the females and hoping for the best.
The hoarder whose home had been ground zero for the rat swarm was not identified, but was said to be receiving "ongoing mental health support." His daughter brought home one pregnant rat, and when it had babies, the litter was not separated by gender.Big mistake.
The rats escaped into the man's house and began reproducing. This was no small matter because rats give birth after only three weeks of gestation, and can have litters of as many as 20 babies at a time. And those offspring are ready to start breeding -- or in this case, inbreeding -- within 30 days.
"He had all these rats reproducing until they had destroyed his entire house," Paul said. "They chewed all the way through the walls."
Photo from San Jose Mercury