rodent identification

firefly08 · 03-01-2014 03:58PM #1

Hi not sure if this is the best forum to post this...apologies if not. I caught a couple of rodents in my apartment and I'm not sure whether they are mice or small/young rats. Could anyone help me to identify them please?

There are a few reasons I think they might be rats:

- I found droppings which seem too big for mice. Reading online, people say mice droppings are about the size of a grain or rice...these are more like the size of a bean or something.

- the rodents were small but had large heads and were kind of dull witted, which made me think they are young, but they are too big to be young mice.

Attached is a blurry pic of one I caught a few weeks ago. I threw him out alive and it's possible he found his way back in. Yesterday I found the droppings in my apartment and soon afterwards I caught the culprit in a bucket...I took it far away from my apartment to let it go but he was dead when I took the cover off.

I have much clearer pics of the droppings and the dead rodent if that would help...is it ok to post those if it would help with identifying them? Thanks!

OpenYourEyes · 03-01-2014 04:54PM

Any pics of the tail? I'd imagine that'd be a good help in ID'ing it!

firefly08 · 03-01-2014 05:07PM

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

Any pics of the tail? I'd imagine that'd be a good help in ID'ing it!

Thanks...these 2 pics are the clearest pics I have of the tail. It looks very short to me, for either a mouse or a rat.

I should probably add that I live in North America, but I am pretty sure that the mice and rats are basically the same here as back home and everywhere else.

ANXIOUS · 03-01-2014 05:11PM

Looks kind of like a shrew.

fryup · 03-01-2014 05:38PM

its a shrew

maybe the new invasive type

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 03-01-2014 05:50PM

fryup wrote: »

its a shrew

maybe the new invasive type

I thought the OP said it was is North America.

Certainly is a Shrew but the US has many species. To be it looks like a Least Shrew.

mathepac · 03-01-2014 06:04PM

I was gonna suggest a young water-vole (the stubby tail is usually a dead give-away, it acts like a rudder in the water). If OP lives near a grassy-banked water-way, it's a possibility.

http://a-z-animals.com/animals/water-vole/

firefly08 · 03-01-2014 06:45PM

Great thanks for the input everyone...it never occurred to me that it would be anything other than a mouse or rat.

There is a big river near by but in any case there are probably various species of voles and shrews over here that you wouldn't see back home.

It's a relief to know it's probably not a rat anyway.

Out of curiosity, what makes it look like a shrew as opposed to anything else? Is it just the tail?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 03-01-2014 06:54PM

firefly08 wrote: »

Great thanks for the input everyone...it never occurred to me that it would be anything other than a mouse or rat.

There is a big river near by but in any case there are probably various species of voles and shrews over here that you wouldn't see back home.

It's a relief to know it's probably not a rat anyway.

Out of curiosity, what makes it look like a shrew as opposed to anything else? Is it just the tail?

Google images of shrews from north america. You'll vsee the fairly distinctive snout and body shape.

cuddlycavies · 04-01-2014 09:40PM

Shrews are insectivores rather than rodents and are not as likely to enter your home. i'm thinking vole here

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 04-01-2014 10:03PM

cuddlycavies wrote: »

Shrews are insectivores rather than rodents and are not as likely to enter your home. i'm thinking vole here

Sorry to disagree with you but in over 35 years in this house there has never been a rodent inside but I have had shrews on 3 occasions.

When in the states (where OP is) I came across a couple of different species of shrew in houses and garages?

rodent identification

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