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- Rat and mouse
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- Rat and mouse cubs
Rats and mice belong to rodents, but animals are not related to each other by relatives. Gray rats or pasyuki are the natural enemies of mice. As soon as the first one appears in the house, the second ones begin to feel fear and try to leave the house faster. To choose the right pest control method, you need to know how the rat and mouse look, and how they differ.
External differences
Mice and rats are easy to confuse. But, if you conduct a thorough comparison of animals, you can see many differences in the appearance of rats and mice.
Height and weight
Mice and rats are easy to confuse. But, if you conduct a thorough comparison of animals, you can notice many differences.
The mouse is small in size. Her body without a tail is six centimeters. And the weight of the porridge does not exceed 30 g.
Adult pasyuki can weigh a kilogram. Their growth reaches 30 centimeters. Black rat less gray congener, but still more mouse.
Paws
In mice, they are small and have tenacious claws, due to which the pest easily runs on vertical surfaces.
Interesting!
Mice can't jump. They mince and leave frequent traces on the ground.
Rats have strong and muscular limbs. The hind legs are longer than the front ones, which allows the animals to move in leaps. Fingers have membranes called leathery folds.
Head
In the photo of rats and mice, it can be seen that animals differ most of all in the shape of the muzzle, ears and eyes. In mice, the skull has a triangular and slightly flattened shape. In rats, the face is oblong. The gray look has a blunt nose.
The ears of rats are small and triangular. They are pressed to the head. Mice have large pink ears, wide at the base.
Rat eyeballs are small. In the louse, the eyes are large and expressive.
Tail
The rat tail is short and thick. It reaches half the length of the body. Although you can see long and thin tail in rats black, as in mice. But the latter have scales on the “fifth limb”, which are arranged in a circle and thin rare hairs.
Wool
The mouse is silky and pleasant to the touch. And her relative has a tough and gross "head of hair." The cover of an adult resembles a hard pile. Wool does not cover the rat tail.
Differences in intelligence
Often there are disputes between lovers of decorative rodents, who are smarter - a mouse or a rat. But the difference between the animals in the intellect is obvious.
Norushki are able to constantly fall into the same trap. Animals without hesitation swallow the bait with poison and climb into mousetraps.
It’s not so easy to fool a rat. She sniffs at suspicious objects for a long time and behaves carefully. The animal can determine rat traps and traps and goes around them. The rodent is able to explore the environment and analyze. If the area is safe and comfortable, then the rat will lead the rest of the pack there.
Interesting!
The pest regulates the number of flocks. If there are many individuals in the clan, then the mother eats the born baby rats. In the case when there is a shortage of rats, the number of offspring increases.
People holding decorative rats claim that the darling responds to its nickname, singles out the one who feeds it, drinks it and learns simple tricks.Mice are not capable of this.
Lifestyle
Mice and rats prefer to lead a nocturnal lifestyle. The owner of the apartment or house quickly discovers the animals after dark. They scrape loudly, make unpleasant sounds, gnaw on surrounding objects.
Pasuk is a natural mouse enemy. She destroys the livery and expels them from the settled territory. If the mouse smells pasuk, it prefers to move to a safer place.
Interesting!
There are people who specifically give birth to domestic rats. In this way, they try to get rid of the mouse invasion.
If you don’t know how to distinguish rats from mice according to their appearance, look at what kind of food prevails in their diet:
- Pasyuki love to live in landfills. They are omnivores and do not disdain to feast on the remains of the human table. In the absence of nutrition, rats open the hunt for their brethren.
- The mouse loves to nibble seeds and cereals. Her teeth are not able to spoil concrete or brick, but can grind paper, soft wood, leather products.
The behavior of rats is aggressive. If in danger rats will even attack humans. The animals are able to attack in a flock. Shy mice. They try not to catch the eye of people and flee.
What is the difference between a rat and a mouse
Rodent breeders claim that it is easy to distinguish a mouse from a rat. Toddlers have different sizes and look different. But for a person who does not see newborn animals every day, it can be difficult to figure out what kind of representative is in front of him.
Cubs of mice and rats have the following differences:
- Mice have a pointed muzzle. In rat pups, the nose is blunt.
- The ears are large and rounded. Cubs have a triangular and pressed to the skull auricle.
- The tail of the newborn louse is long, and in rat pups it is thick and short.
- Small mice do not have skin folds between the fingers.
The rat reaches the size of an adult mouse per month. At this point, it becomes difficult for many to distinguish a mouse from a rat. If the animals cannot be closely examined, then it is necessary to navigate along rat tracks in the snow or the land they leave:
- On the imprint of the mouse limbs are not visible membranes between the fingers.
- Rat tracks are located at a distance from each other. Fingers protruded. The paw print is wide.
If we compare how the rat and mouse babies look in the photo, then it is easy to distinguish the crumbs.
If it is difficult to recognize the difference between a mouse and a rat, then you should look into the pet store. Decorative animals behave in the same way as their wild relatives. Appearance of animals also does not have big differences with "free" rodents.
I breed these rodents. Very smart and quick-witted animals. I had a mouse that knew its name. But rats are, of course, smarter. They like to play, spend a lot of time on their hands. The same cats, only smaller.
I came across a rat invasion in the house. I tried a lot, but did not succeed in defeating these creatures. So much furniture was spoiled for me, the wires were gnawed. A familiar pensioner said that they used to fight rats with ash. They scattered her along rat paths and the beast left. I tried. The rats instantly left me alone.
I coped with mice with ash. But, probably, in apartments this method cannot be applied.
I accidentally found a rodent brood in the basement. Small and nasty. I decided that I was dealing with rats. Already prepared for a difficult fight for the territory. But these were mice. Normal poison dealt with them.
My sister said that rats can eat each other and somehow they gave her a little animal trained to hunt a fellow. In this way, managed to get rid of pests.
I have never seen these rodents live. They always seemed to be “friends” and very similar. Now I know that the animals are at war.
Who knows if the beast can be distinguished by sounds or corrupted objects. For a week someone has been scratching under the flooring in the apartment. I do not know what to do.
The rat has a specific musky odor and gnaws at a tree. A mouse can ruin paper or bags. In general, get a cat. Its smell will scare away pests.
Danil, you look for a mink. A rat can make a real hole in the floor.
I don’t understand how these animals can be confused at all. The rat is huge and impudent. People are not afraid. He eats everything. The mouse most of all grinds grain and will never attack a person.