Can rats be light brown in color?

My neighbor found a rodent in her basement and trapped it. It is bigger than a mouse (but fit in one of those enclosed mouse traps), long hair, long whiskers, long tail. I was thinking it was a rat until she said it was light brown. I thought rats only came in black. (or white lab rats.) Can rats be light brown? If not, any idea what this creature was?Can rats be light brown in color?
There are numerous species of rat - you don't say where in the world you are. The two species most commonly found living near people are the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), also called the common rat or Norway rat, and the black rat (Rattus rattus), also called the ship rat or roof rat. These are widespread, having been introduced all over the world by humans, though the black rat has been out-competed by the larger, stronger brown rat in many areas.





Both of these species can actually be a range of colours - brown rats, the ancestors of pet rats, are often brown, the shade of which can vary, and they can also be black or grey. Black rats, whilst often black, may also be brown or grey. Colour is therefore not to be trusted as a determining feature of which species you have. Brown rats are larger and stockier and have a shorter, blunter snout, whilst black rats are smaller with a longer tail, bigger ears and a longer, more pointed snout.





Both these species are considerably larger than mice - an adult would not fit inside an enclosed trap meant for mice, but a young one certainly could. You say the animal had 'long fur' - neither brown nor black rats have particularly long fur, they both appear quite sleek.





Here are a couple of images:





Brown rat:


http://www.naturephoto-cz.com/photos/and鈥?/a>





Black rat:


http://www.breedingcentresharjah.com/ima鈥?/a>Can rats be light brown in color?
yes they can be. http://www.cambridgeenvironmental.co.uk/鈥?/a>


http://www.gotpetsonline.com/pictures-ga鈥?/a>


http://www.gotpetsonline.com/pictures-ga鈥?/a>


I had some in my house that needed to be caught. I don't have the pic online though and I don't think I need to right now since I gave you these links.
Well, I get rats in my hair all the time, but they are auburn. They are sometimes blonde when I die my hair, and sometimes black or brown. So I guess if you were to die your hair light brown, your rats would also be light brown.
Yes they can.