Live naked

They also regularly practice coprophagy, the reingestion of feces, which allows them to maximize their uptake of nutrients from their food.

At the Smithsonian's National Zoo, they are fed apples, carrots, corn, green beans, kale and sweet potatoes as well as primate biscuits.

If a queen dies or is removed from a colony, a few females may fight to the death in order to become the new queen.

Naked mole-rats live in complex underground burrow systems.

Naked mole-rats are eusocial, meaning they live in large colonies in which only one female breeds and the majority of workers (both males and females) spend their entire lives working for the colony. Colony size averages 70 individuals, but colonies of up to 295 have been observed.

The animals in these groups are very closely related.

Naked mole-rats are usually 3 inches (7.5 centimeters) long and weigh 1-1.5 ounces (28-42 grams).

However, soldiers can weigh up to 2 ounces (57 grams), and the queen, who is the largest member of the colony, can weigh up to 2.5 ounces (71 grams).

They work assembly-line style: the front animals break through the dirt while a string of workers sweeps the soil through the tunnel system to an opening at the surface, where another worker kicks the dirt up onto the ground above its head, forming a mole hill.They have no external ears and they have tiny eyes, which make them virtually blind.Their sense of smell is important, and they are also very sensitive to vibrations in the ground and the movement of air currents.Unlike most other mammals, they cannot maintain a steady body temperature.Their temperatures fluctuate with the ambient temperature, making naked mole-rats essentially cold blooded.