The species is believed to be quite a bit more numerous in the state than the range map shows (i.e., many counties without known records). The hispid cotton rat does not appear to well adapted for dealing with habitat change (Table 1). "The Hispid Cotton Rat's fur is sprinkled or streaked with blackish or dark brownish and grayish hairs. Where do they live? The southern range reaches northern South America in Peru, Ecuador, Columbia, Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana, and Brazil. Sigmodon hispidus (Hispid Cotton Rat) is the most wide-spread species of Sigmodon in North America. and R.K. Swihart. The Texas coastal prairie is composed of habitat patches characterized by monocots, dicots, or a mixture of both plant types. Litter sizes range from 1-12 (average 5-7) young. 1983. This species can occasionally be seen scurrying across roads, like a small version of a Hispid Cotton Rat. Journal of Mammalogy 64(4):580-590. The Rats molt, losing and getting a new coat, three times in three months as they move through juvenile and subadult stages and into adulthood. What do they look like? Young are weaned after 15-20 days. Title Hispid Cotton Rat Range - CWHR M123 [ds1911] Publication date 2016-02-0100:00:00 Presentation formats digital map FGDC geospatial presentation format vector digital data Other citation details These are the same layers as appear in the CWHR System software. The Rats molt, losing and getting a new coat, three times in three months as they move through juvenile and subadult stages and into adulthood. Often the most common small rodent of open farm and old field habitats in the southeastern United States (Whitaker and Hamilton 1998). They may be abundant in old fields with broomsedges and other grasses, in marshes, and in thickets and other habitats with dense growth of … Litter sizes range from 1-12 (average 5-7) young. Where do they live? A cotton rat is any member of the rodent genus Sigmodon.Cotton rats have small ears and dark coats, and are found in North and South America.Members of this genus are distributed in the Southwestern USA, Mexico, Central America and South American countries of: Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Guyana and Suriname.Many of the species are found in Mexico. Evidence suggests northward expansion is also occurring in Kentucky. Geographic Range. In North Carolina, the cotton rat is most abundant in the lower piedmont and coastal plain, and less abundant in the valley areas of the southern Appalachian mountains (Lee et al. Evidence suggests northward expansion is also occurring in Kentucky.