West African shaggy rat long as the head-and-body length; it is ringed by small scales and clad with sparse short bristles. The head-and-body length of this rat averages and the weight averages . The West African shaggy rat is native to tropical West Africa; its rangeincludes Benin, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. It inhabits wetlands and swampy areas, streams, riverbanks, lakesides, young oil-palm plantations and rice fields. The West African shaggy rat is a terrestrial species. It is nocturnal and a good swimmer. It lives in a shallow burrow, the entrance often hidden under a
Visa policy of the Gambia unless travelling as a tourist on a charter flight. Holders of diplomatic, official, service or consular passports issued to nationals of Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia, Sudan and Tunisia do not require a visa.<br> Nationals of any country with a diplomatic passport do not require a visa. A visa is also not required for tourists arriving on a charter flight. Citizens of the following countries can obtain a visa on arrival: Nationals of other countries and territories require a visa to visit The Gambia and, in the case of travellers using