How many years did Ron's rat live? - briefly
Ron’s pet rat survived roughly five years.
How many years did Ron's rat live? - in detail
Ron’s rodent, known as Scabbers, was actually Peter Pettigrew in disguise. The wizarding chronicle places his transformation into a rat in 1981, after the betrayal of the Potters. From that point he lived with the Weasley family until the events of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” in 1995, when his true identity was exposed. This interval amounts to roughly thirteen years.
The extended lifespan is notable because ordinary brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) typically survive two to three years in the wild and up to five years under human care. Magical concealment, as described in J.K. Rowling’s narrative, appears to have prolonged Pettigrew’s rodent form well beyond natural limits.
Key chronological markers:
- 1981 – Pettigrew fakes his death and assumes the rat form.
- 1985–1995 – Appears in several Hogwarts books as Ron’s pet, providing comic relief and occasional plot clues.
- 1995 – Revealed by Sirius Black; the rat’s true identity is confirmed and he is killed shortly thereafter.
Thus, the creature inhabited the Weasley household for a total of thirteen years, a period significantly longer than a typical rat’s natural lifespan, attributable to magical interference.