Reference intervals for the rat — biochemistry, haematology, urinalysis and specialised tests, in one place, with the provenance of every value stated.
Hover any value to see its source and how to check it. The symbol tells you what kind of evidence it is.
- 🔗 14 — Online source — click and verify
- 📕 36 — Printed reference — title and table given; no online copy exists
- ✎ 1 — Citation key on file — full details on request
50 of 51 values (98%) can be checked by anyone, today, without asking us.
Biochemistry
Serum and plasma biochemistry, blood gases and acid–base — 20 values, every one cited.
| Marker | Reference interval | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ALP | 16-96 U/L | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| ALT | 20-92 U/L | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| AST | 59-139 U/L | Sex-specific reference intervals of hematologi |
| Albumin | 3.8-4.8 g/dL | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| BUN | 15-21 mg/dL | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| Calcium | 5.3-13 mg/dL | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| Chloride | 96.3-113.7 mEq/L | Charles River — Lewis Rat Clinical Pathology D |
| Cholesterol | 40-130 mg/dL | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| Creatinine | 0.2-0.8 mg/dL | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| GGT | 0-3 U/L | Loeb & Quimby |
| Globulin | 1.8-3 g/dL | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| Glucose | 50-135 mg/dL | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| LDH | 317-890 U/L | Loeb & Quimby |
| Magnesium | 1.9-2.4 mg/dL | Loeb & Quimby |
| Phosphate | 5.8-8.2 mg/dL | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| Potassium | 5.9 mEq/L (single reported value) | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| Sodium | 135-155 mEq/L | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| Total bilirubin | 0.2-0.6 mg/dL | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| Total protein | 5.6-7.6 g/dL | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| Triglycerides | 26-145 mg/dL | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
Haematology
Complete blood count, red cell indices, reticulocytes and platelet fractions — 23 values, every one cited.
| Marker | Reference interval | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Basophils | 0-1% | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| Eosinophils | 0-5% | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| Fibrinogen | 165-262 mg/dL | Miroshnikov et al |
| HCT | 35-45 % | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| HGB | 12-18 g/dL | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| Lymphocytes | 50-70% | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| MCH | 18.6-20.7 pg | Schalm's Veterinary Hematology |
| MCHC | 31.3-34.4 g/dL | Schalm's Veterinary Hematology |
| MCV | 55.1-64.2 fL | Schalm's Veterinary Hematology |
| MPV | 6.70-8.10 fL | Sex-specific reference intervals of hematologi |
| Monocytes | 0-10% | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| Neutrophils | 10-50% | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| Neutrophils heterophils | 0.71-4.71 ×103/µL | Charles River — Lewis Rat Clinical Pathology D |
| P lcr | 4.05-11.20 % | Sex-specific reference intervals of hematologi |
| Pcv | 35-45% | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| Pdw | 6.75-8.85 fL | Sex-specific reference intervals of hematologi |
| Plateletcrit | 0.65-1.16 % | Sex-specific reference intervals of hematologi |
| Platelets | 903-1594 ×103/µL | Schalm's Veterinary Hematology |
| RBC | 7-10 ×106/µL | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| RDW | 11.3-14.2 % | Schalm's Veterinary Hematology |
| RDW sd | 25.90-34.55 fL | Sex-specific reference intervals of hematologi |
| Reticulocytes | 1.3-4.94% | Schalm's Veterinary Hematology |
| WBC | 5-23 ×103/µL | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
Urinalysis
Urine concentration, protein and tubular injury markers — 2 values, every one cited.
| Marker | Reference interval | Source |
|---|---|---|
| PH | 7.3-8.5 | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
| Specific gravity | 1.022-1.050 | Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9- |
Coagulation and viscoelastic testing
Clotting times, inhibitors, fibrinolysis and whole-blood viscoelastic testing — 5 values, every one cited.
| Marker | Reference interval | Source |
|---|---|---|
| ROTEM extem alpha angle | 73-86 degrees | Cruz et al. |
| ROTEM extem clot formation time | 20-80 s | Cruz et al. |
| ROTEM extem clotting time | 18-77 s | Cruz et al. |
| ROTEM extem maximum clot firmness | 53-70 mm | Cruz et al. |
| ROTEM extem maximum lysis | 1-22 % | Cruz et al. |
Other specialised assays
Pancreatic and inflammatory markers, cardiac and renal function tests, cerebrospinal fluid and therapeutic drug monitoring — 1 value, every one cited.
| Marker | Reference interval | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Troponin I | 1-15 pg/mL | Peer-reviewed literature |
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Sources
All 8 sources behind the values on this page. The number after each value points here. Nothing here comes from anywhere else.
- 📕 Carpenter's Exotic Animal Formulary — Table 9-9 (rodents), 11-8/11-11 (ferret) — Printed reference — title and table given, no online copy exists
- 🔗 Charles River — Lewis Rat Clinical Pathology Data (2008–2011; age 8–10 weeks; male and female intervals combined as min–max) — https://azupcriversitestorage01.blob.core.windows.net/storage-account-container/resources/rm_rm_r_Lewis_Rat_clinical_pathology_data.pdf
- 🔗 Cruz MV, Luker JN, Carney BC, et al. Reference ranges for rotational thromboelastometry in male Sprague Dawley rats. Thromb J. 2017;15:31 — doi:10.1186/s12959-017-0154-0 · PMID 29299031
- 🔗 He Q, Su G, Liu K, et al. Sex-specific reference intervals of hematologic and biochemical analytes in Sprague-Dawley rats using the nonparametric rank percentile method. PLoS One. 2017;12(12):e0189837 — doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0189837
- 📕 Loeb WF, Quimby FW. The Clinical Chemistry of Laboratory Animals, 2nd ed. Taylor & Francis, 1999 — Printed reference — title and table given, no online copy exists
- ✎ Miroshnikov et al, Plasma hemostasis RI in preclinical studies, Lab Animals for Science 2025;8(4):35-44 (formal RI, Table 2) — Citation key on file — full bibliographic details on request
- 📕 Schalm's Veterinary Hematology, 6th ed. (species-specific hematology chapters) — Printed reference — title and table given, no online copy exists
- 🔗 Schultze AE, Carpenter KH, Wians FH, et al. Longitudinal studies of cardiac troponin-I concentrations in serum from male Sprague Dawley rats: baseline reference ranges and effects of handling and placebo dosing on biological variability. Toxicol Pathol. 2009;37(6):754-760 — doi:10.1177/0192623309343777 · PMID 19700656
Method
Evidence-based veterinary medicine (EBVM) only. This page follows the principles of evidence-based veterinary medicine: every value is traceable to a named source, and where the evidence does not exist we say so. A value appears here solely when it can be traced to a named source: a laboratory reference document, an established veterinary clinical pathology reference, or peer-reviewed literature. There is no category of “commonly quoted” or “textbook approximate” value on this site.
Gaps stay gaps. Where an interval has not been established, the entry is absent. We do not substitute a value from a related species and we do not average across sources. 0 values held internally are withheld from these pages because their provenance is not recorded.
One dataset. Every number here is the number our articles use, with the same source attached.
Derived values are labelled. Where an interval was calculated from a published mean and standard deviation rather than formally established, the source entry says so explicitly.
Marcin Siedlecki. Rat Blood Test Reference Ranges. VetBlood, 2026. https://vetblood.io/veterinary-reference-ranges/rat/
Quote or reference it, in whole or in part, with attribution and a link back.
Compiled by Marcin Siedlecki. Last reviewed 2026-08-10. Corrections are welcome at vetblood@vetblood.io — if a value here disagrees with a source you trust, tell us and we will check it.