Why do you use rats in your experiment rather than other animals?

Question: Why do you use rats in your experiment rather than other animals?
- Keywords:
  animal,
  animal testing,
  experiment
Asked by u11hourigank to Heather on 27 Jun 2013.
- Heather Eyre answered on 27 Jun 2013:
  
  The kidney disease I research develops slowly, and mice don’t really get it the same way rats do.
  
  Also, I have a lot of different things to test the kidneys, urine and blood of my rats for and as mice are so much smaller I wouldn’t be able to test everything I need to test for very easily.

Question: Why do you use rats in your experiment rather than other animals?