Rat (Franchise)

Rats are a rodent species that appear very briefly in the How to Train Your Dragon Franchise.

Description
The Black Rat (Rattus rattus) is a small mammal that usually has a coat of black fur. However, despite its name, this fur can come in other colorations as well. It is slightly smaller than its cousin, the Norwegian Brown Rat.

Function
Rats are only seen to be used as food for dragons, such as Monstrous Nightmares. It is likely that they are also considered a pest in Viking households, similar to how rats are treated in the real world.

Dragon Down
Snotlout tries to use a live rat to attract a runaway Hookfang, revealing that rats are the dragon's favorite food. However, this fails to attract the Monstrous Nightmare.

The Stowaway
A rat can briefly be seen running along a bookshelf while Hiccup is looking for information on Knaff.

Other Mentions
"NO! NO! SON OF A HALF-TROLL, RAT-EATING, MUNGE BUCKET ...!""

- Astrid Hofferson in How to Train Your Dragon

In How to Train Your Dragon, Astrid mentions rats during her angry remarks at failing to have reached the Gronckle before Hiccup. "I'll tell you what it is. Rats. Rats the size of yaks. No, it could also-is it? Yaks the size of rats? Yak-rats! Great, those would be adorable."

- Tuffnut Thorston in When Darkness Falls.

In When Darkness Falls, Tuffnut mentions rats while trying to explain what he saw in the woods on Dragon's Edge.